The WEEMA team is thrilled to be honored recently by the Kembata-Tembaro Zone Administration as its top nongovernmental community partner.
The award, announced last week at the Kembata-Tembaro Zone’s Cultural, Historic and Language Symposium in Durame, recognizes WEEMA’s wide-ranging contributions to improved clean water access, healthcare, and educational opportunities over the past eight years.
Read MoreThere are 39 primary schools in the Tembaro District and none of them has ever been open and accessible to children with disabilities. As a result, thousands of young disabled children in the district have no formal opportunities to learn in school, engage with other children, and thrive as they grow older – a situation that will propel most of them towards a life of isolation and poverty.
Read MoreHolistic, community-led development underpins all of WEEMA’s work in Ethiopia. But what does that really mean?
The “holistic” part is a recognition that communities where we work have diverse interrelated needs.
Read MoreWEEMA is beginning work on a new effort over the next year to ensure that we ‘walk the talk’ in protecting women’s rights.
This summer, we received funding from InterAction’s project, From Pledge to Action, to develop a detailed policy and staff training to prevent and respond to a core gender equality issue - sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment.
Read MoreKebebush Berena is no stranger to change. Since her initial interactions recruiting and enrolling women for WEEMA’s Self Help Groups (SHGs), Kebebush has watched the women she supports grow and develop into financially savvy savers.
Read MoreDespite a sharp decline in child mortality rates during the past few decades, nearly 200,000 Ethiopian children under age 5 still die each year from preventable illnesses.
Read MoreIn India, a revolutionary 37-year-old known as the “Padman” is solving an age-old problem by creating low-cost sanitary pads for millions of Indian women. WEEMA staff recently visited with the Padman to see if the entrepreneur’s success could be replicated in Ethiopia.
Read MoreIn Europe and the United States, we take libraries for granted. They’re in our schools. They’re in our cities. They’re in our neighborhoods. Not in Ethiopia.
Read MoreYou may have heard the expression “busy as a bee” and wondered, what is it that bees are so busy doing? As the expression implies, making honey is a very labor-intensive process for bees.
Read MoreA certificate can make all the difference.
In Ethiopia, people living with disabilities encounter many disadvantages in society and are often subject to stigma and discrimination. They are disproportionately poorer, and particularly vulnerable to crises.
Read MoreYeshiwas Desta is a farmer and the proud father of six children. His land is rocky and rugged and doesn’t produce enough to provide food for his family. Yeshi worked hard to change the fertility of the land by terracing, planting forage grass, and diversifying his crops by adding banana, mango, avocado, coffee, soybean, and ginger.
Read MoreIn 2014 WEEMA started its first Self Help Groups (SHG). We were fortunate enough to benefit from the experience of other organizations who had already established SHGs in neighboring communities and in other parts of Ethiopia. Today we have 112 SHGs in two districts – and 2,033 women participating.
The Degale Public LIbrary and Computer Center has made a world of difference for Betelihem who ranked second in her 9th grade class last year at the Mudula Secondary and Preparatory School.
Read MoreFor the Saruma Primary and Middle School, March brought more activity thanks to WEEMA’s Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management project. As you read in our last blog post about this project, providing girls with reusable pads keeps girls in school and raises menstrual health and hygiene awareness in the whole community.
Read MoreRecently, our U.S. staff had the opportunity to meet with the Hujent Lenam Women’s Self Help Group (SHG). Hujent Lenam means “We work together and grow up”.
Read MoreSetting Students up for Success at Higa Boarding School
Higa Boarding School was opened in 2017 to improve the quality of education in Kembata-Tembaro Zone and to encourage students to complete secondary education.
Read MoreWe are excited to announce that WEEMA will begin to register Women's Self Help Groups as legal entities starting this year!
Recognizing women as agents of change, we currently work with 2,200 women in rural Ethiopia who comprise 112 Women's Self Help Groups. Each Self Help Group consists of 20 women and meets weekly to save money, make loans, learn from each other, and provide social support.
“The app guides me through each step. It makes our life simple. I consider the application as a ‘‘virtual doctor’’ that assists me to the right diagnosis and treatment.” - Bette, Health Extension Worker
Read MoreProlonged labor or multiple pregnancies can result in weakened pelvic muscles and can cause complications, including prolapses in the uterus (the uterus falling out the body). Women living with a prolapse are often publicly shamed and ostracized.
Read MoreOur WEEMA beekeeping cooperatives continue to grow and thrive!
Did you know that Ethiopia is the largest producer of honey in Africa? Beekeeping is a local and centuries-old industry in Ethiopia with large potential for growth.
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