"New Outfits for New Year"
It is a custom to get new outfits for New Year. On September 10, Just in time for the New Year, we distributed clothing assortments and footwear to our 96 children. The biggest task (and fun, which ever one takes it) is satisfying each child's interest. Since some of them are young, it is not a mean task to impress them. They look at their friends and quickly lose interest in the ones they got.
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Special gifts were also given to those who showed excellence in various areas including those voted as showing kindness to others.
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"You Are Not Alone"
For the impoverished elderly who have no family, the festive season can be a stressful and lonely time. Through FICDO's "You are not Alone" project, we reach out to such members of our community during key holiday times of the year. On September 10, just in time for the Ethiopian New Year, we donated food items and clothing assortment for 35 elderlies with no family.
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Celebrating the New Year in "Style"
FICDO's General Manager (Volunteer) Habtamu Haile, celebrated the New Year visiting the most vulnerable. He brought home-cooked lunch to their "houses" and spent time chatting with them. That, surely, is living by example and "love in cation"! We salute Habtamu for his selfless act.
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Tackling "Period Poverty"
Because of poverty, gender inequality and cultural taboos, millions of girls in developing countries are unable to manage their menstrual cycle in a dignified, healthy way. Lack of basic sanitary products also affects attendance in school and causes additional stress and anxiety.
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To alleviate this problem, FICDO is partnering with a female medical practitioner in our community to distribute sanitary pads and underwear for girls. This September, FICDO donated a one-year-supply of sanitary pads and menstrual kits for one hundred girls. We thank our partners and supporters for enabling us to do so.
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Annual Public Consultation Day
This year's FICDO's Annual Public Consultation Day was held on Sep 15, in Girum Hotel, Fitche in the presence of various stakeholders. After a lively discussion, areas in which the various stakeholders could collaborate were mapped out.
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Certificates of appreciation were also handed to the various offices and volunteers who supported FICDO's social inclusion projects throughout the year. The meeting venue as well as refreshments were donated by Girum Hotel, for which we are grateful.
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FICDO's 3rd Anniversary
FICDO turned three back in June 2022. However, we needed to wait for September (the time everyone meets up for the New Year) to celebrate the anniversary. So we did it in style... an open air meal of rice, delicious coffee, and lots and lots of love and fun. No, we didn't invite media, no dignitaries...Just the volunteers and the children we serve. It was a fun day.
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Board Meeting
FICDOs' Board Meeting was held in Addis on Thursday September 15. We deliberated on a number of issues.
No, it is not what it looks like...the meeting wasn't boycotted by the lady members. They just couldn't make it.
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Meeting with Salale University Officials
FICDO's volunteer leaders met with Salale University President, His Excellency Dr Genanew Gofe in the latter's office. We discussed on areas the University and FICDO could further collaborate. As a grass-root volunteer-run organisation, FICDO can serve as a platform to connect the University with the rest of the local community by providing volunteering opportunities. The University can strengthen FICDO through technical support. We are grateful for Dr Genanew's and the University community's all round-support.
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Information Session in Addis
We have had a successful info and thank you session in Addis, on September 17, 2022. We presented a report on FICDO's work and thanked all those who enabled us. It was great to catch up with old and new friends as well as supporters. We are heartened by the outpouring of support from the participants.
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Catching Up with FICDO's Supporters
On Sep 30, we had a zoom call with old friends from college who are now working as senior scientists in the various International Organizations of the CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research). We setup sub-committee that will lead this group and mobilise like-minded folks. We are encouraged and deeply touched by their kindness and support.
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"Transformative" Volunteering
It is true that transformative volunteering creates space for participants to reach beyond the immediate context and circumstances of themselves. Here is a practical example - a story of one of our volunteers. The gentleman came to seek for a handout. He thought he had nothing to give and reluctantly gave a shot to volunteering. Later, he realised that he has actually what many of those who we serve need the most, i.e. love. He not only drops lunch to a number of elderlies in the town, but takes his time to feed them and tidy their houses. Based on the feedback we got from those who we serve and fellow volunteers, this gentleman has been voted as the "best volunteer of the year". We are humbled to provide such a platform to empower members of our community.
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Keeping Eyob's Dream Alive
Eleven years old Eyob (Job), one of the 96 children in FICDO's Integrated Support Program, has a dream to be a Scientist. So, we arranged an exclusive tour - just for him - to the local University's STEM Center.
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It was heart-warming to see Eyob's eyes lit with enthusiasm and hope during the tour. By hosting Eyob and showing him extraordinary kindness, the Centre's staff surely planted seeds of hope in the young Eyob's life. We are grateful.
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Income Generating Pilot Project (IGA) for Women
We are close to the realisation of FICDO's Injera baking and supply IGA for women. Electrical installation and preparation of the the workshop has been completed.
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The women are already organised into two groups and received training. All the equipment required for the project have been secured. We raised about 3000 Euro towards seed money, including through the GofundMe platform, to provide each woman 100kg of teff to start with. We thank all of you who donated. We are still accepting donation through the GofundMe platform, if you would like to chip in.
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We Love Our Guests
On September 6, we received Norwegian couple (originally from Sri Lanka) Mr Rohan Christopher and Dr Tulasi in FICDO's Community Center in Fitche. FICDO Trustees Abera Lemma and Ayele Deneke as well as Ephrem Debele accompanied the guests all the way from Addis.
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On 15 Sep, we received Mr Rafaelle Belagio and Abiot Assefa from Addis. We receive our guests with much love and enthusiasm.
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FICDO's Website
FICDO's official website https://ficdo.org is up and running. Have a peek.
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Want to make a difference in peoples' lives?
You can be part of our exciting projects and make a real difference in peoples' lives. Just twenty euro a month can transform a child's life by covering the cost of meals and other expenses required to keep the child in school for a month. Twelve Euro a month can provide life-saving meals for a month for an elderly with no family. You can empower a young girl/woman by supporting her to get skills training or start a small business. You can contribute ideas, support us with your expertise and prayers. There is a lot we can do together. You can contact us at info@ficdo.org to learn more Thank you.
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About FICDO
FICDO - Fikir Integrated Community Development Organisation is a local non-profit modelling love in action through serving the poor and marginalised. It is board-led and volunteer-run and registered (reg. # 4207) in Ethiopia in June 2019 in accordance with the Civil Society Organisations proclamation no. 1113/2019.
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