Rebuilding families , one child a
Twenty three years ago, in a casual discussion with group of friends about our country and our people, we discovered that we were all aching to help but did not know how to do it or where to begin. We all have tried to help here and there with no big result. So on this day, we decided to form a group and try to make a difference in the lives of others. The goal was to change the life of one person at a time, which brought about our slogan, “One Child at A Time”.
The Wegene Ethiopian Foundation (WEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and non-governmental organization that has been serving the impoverished communities of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for over the last 23 years. The founding board directors have played a significant role in mobilizing Ethiopians in the Diaspora to give back to their original homeland, using the resources in their newfound homeland, the United States. Our Wegene founders, Ethiopians who now reside in the U.S., have achieved their success through education. The importance of education inspired this group of friends to establish the Wegene Ethiopian Foundation.
The word “Wegene” in Amharic (Ethiopia’s official language) means “empowering my community or my people.” Wegene is a grassroots, community based organization designed to sponsor and support Ethiopian families in their home setting. Wegene is unique in that it supports impoverished families via the local people – possibly neighbors, friends, and others who are a part of the community.
To date, 167 families have been supported by Wegene, of which 61 have become self-sufficient.
Our mission is to improve the daily lives of the less fortunate and disadvantaged children and their families in Ethiopia by overcoming three critical barriers in the seemingly unbreakable poverty cycle:
• POOR OR NO EDUCATION
• POOR HOUSING
• FAMILY INSTABILITY
seOur work in Ethiopia addresses three critical barriers: poor education, poor housing, and family instability. Wegene has a grass-root approach of supporting hardworking destitute families by providing assistance in their own homes and surroundings without uprooting them from their already existing network of community support. We use an innovative and integrated approach where designated local volunteer caretakers are assigned to each family.
Wegene caretakers are liaisons between the sponsored families and our American supporters and volunteers. The caretakers play a key role of making sure our mission is fully executed. The caretakers also follow-up on the families to ensure they have a positive living environment, and that all other basic needs of the families are met correctly. These caretakers not only understand the cultural and social context, but also live in the same communities as our sponsored families. The overall success of our foundation is primarily reflected in the long-term successes of the families and children that it supports. This is why our approach is holistic and longitudinal.
This year fund raising was at the Hilton hotel addis ababa for the first time and went successful and well supported.
W.E.F
P.O. BOX 11293
MCLEAN, VA 22102-9293
WEGENEETHIOPIANFOUNDATION@GMAIL.COM
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t a time