ETHIOPIA
Gondar, Ethiopia’s fourth largest city, with a population of 300,000 inhabitants, is a forgotten tourist treasure in one of Africa’s poorest countries. To reach Gondar, SOS Chrétiens d’Orient staff travel a long day’s journey from the capital Addis Ababa. The road is bumpy, but the result is worth it. Welcome to the capital of a former empire, whose architecture bears witness to the vibrancy of 17th-century Ethiopia. But critical conditions plunge the palaces of the past and the inhabitants of the present into a deep coma, leaving the visitor both mesmerised and saddened. 80 kilometres to the north lies the frontline, where federal forces are battling the Tigray Liberation Front in a latent conflict that is rapidly escalating.
SOSCO operates in an unstable environment, undermined by poverty, insecurity and the spectre of an economic crisis. With the devaluation of the Ethiopian birr, inflation is threatening an already distressed population.
The organization decided to reach out to 1,500 students at the Catholic school in Gondar, where the Cistercian monks in charge of the school receive students from all communities every year. The harshness of the situation and the the limited resources available to them prompted the monks to ask SOSCO for a help. The monks struggle to maintain the school’s social and unifying role, but they lack everything: Classroom furniture, school supplies, educational equipment and so on. In this fragile context, school education becomes unaffordable for students and monks.
SOS Chrétiens d’Orient would like to start by gradually providing, schoolchildren sitting on the floor, with tables and chairs that are essential for the educational process.
The people of Gondar see their future more in terms of day-to-day survival than a bright future.
Children in Gondar need your support and generosity to provide them with a suitable working environment. Thank you for your assistance.
Aujourd’hui ils arrivent, grâce à Dieu ils ne nous ont pas oublié. Je me suis placée sur le balcon pour guetter au coin de la rue leur arrivée. Ces jeunes en pull blanc fiché d’un cœur rouge qui si gentiment me font don tous les mois d’un colis hygiénique.
