In the southern region of Ethiopia, communities
have suffered from harsh drought conditions for decades. Most households
depend on cash and food assistance programs for survival. As a result,
life expectancy rates are decreasing rapidly, children are malnourished,
and most have little hope for the future.
In response, CHF International recently
launched the Generating Employment and Building Independence (GEBI) program
in the regional capital of Awassa, in Ethiopia's Southern Nation Nationality
and People's Region. CHF International, in collaboration with United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), the regional government and
the local districts (weredas), is focusing on linking the chronically food
insecure population to local and regional markets. The program works to
generate employment and build citizens' economic independence by assisting
the Ethiopian government in implementing and strengthening its new Productive
Safety Net Program (PNSP). The PNSP is a major donor-government collaborative
effort that aims to reduce food insecurity and hunger, by providing food
or cash to people who participate and work in the initiative's public
employment programs.
CHF International held an event on May 5, 2005 to celebrate the launch of GEBI, which was co-hosted by the regional government's Food Security Department and attended by representatives of the regional government and seven local weredas (districts). The event was very successful, as it was the first time the regional and wereda governments discussed the progress and challenges of the PSNP. Many unresolved issues regarding the PSNP, such as the transferal of wages to GEBI's poor and undernourished populace were clarified.
GEBI allows members of the participating communities to enhance their agricultural productivity through improved technologies. Bee-keeping and poultry production have been introduced to the local population, so they can sustain regular incomes and reduce their dependency on cash and food assistance programs. A number of activities, such as the construction of wells to improve community access to water, methods to irrigate their fields, and special ploughs to increase the land's ability to retain moisture, have also been promoted within each community.
The new technologies have resulted in one of the most successful crop seasons the communities have ever had. Farmers and other beneficiaries are selling their produce to their communities, contributing to the area's economic growth. The region has benefited greatly from CHF International's training programs, which is enhancing their chances for future success.
CHF International has been working in Ethiopia since January 2004, empowering communities by exposing them to a more diverse base of income-generating opportunities and helping alleviate the economic impact and physical vulnerability that come after years of drought.