Self Help Africa has embarked on its most ambitious ever fund-raising campaign - 'Help Plant the Seeds of Change'. Hundreds of events, activities and collections are set to take place across the country in the coming weeks, as co-ordinators across the 26 counties mobilise support in their locality for the effort.
The centre-piece of the campaign is Ireland's first ever 'National Sandwich Day', sponsored by 'Pat the Baker', to take place on Friday, November 14 next.
Self Help Africa was one of the beneficiaries of the 'International Bazaar', organised in Dublin in late November by the country's Diplomatic missions. A school project in Ethiopia will benefit with funding support as a result of the event, which was held at the former Jury's Hotel in Ballsbridge.
More than 40 countries were represented at the bazaar, which has been organised by the diplomatic community for the past number of years, and supports childrens projects both at home and abroad. A large number of visitors attended on the day.
Ethiopia trek
A group of close to 30 Irish supporters travelled to Ethiopia on Self Help Africa's annual fund-raising field visit to our programme countries.
During the trip the group visited Self Help's programmes in the Sodo, Huruta, and Bora and Butajera areas, and got an opportunity to meet the rural communities with whom the organisation is working.
Minister for Overseas Development Peter Power TD praised the work of Self Help Africa, when he formally launched the merger of Irish NGO 'Self Help Development International' and UK charity 'Harvest Help', in Dublin, in August.
Read more
Thumbs up from top blog web-site
Self Help Africa has received the thumbs up of one of the world's top web-blogs - The Huffington Post, which in a recent article on Malawi, made a favourable comparison between the organisation's work in the country, and the approach being espoused by celebrities such as pop star Madonna.
New Programmes
Preparations are at an advanced stage for new programmes to be started by Self Help Africa in Malawi, Uganda and Ethiopia. The organisation has also started work in Burkina Faso in recent months.
'The Big Idea'
Above is a short clip from the RTE documentary 'The Big Idea', which followed the journey of Irish student Tara McGrath, as she travelled with Self Help Africa to Ethiopia at Easter. Tara was a winner at the BT Young Scientists Exhibition - and travelled with Self Help on it's annual schools visit to Ethiopia, where she had the opportunity to field test her winning invention - a fuel efficient stove. Her trip was sponsored by Irish Aid.
Family to visit Eritrea school
The parents of an Irish teacher who died tragically more than a year ago, visited Eritrea and the school which they have built in her memory.
Margaret and William Gill set up the 'Barbara Gill Memorial Fund', after their daughter's death in a road traffic accident, in 2007. Barbara had earlier visited Self Help's programmes in Eritrea, and had been planning to support the construction of a new school in the country. Her family and friends raised more than €100,000 for the cause.
Band Aid legacy lives on
The lasting legacy of funding support that Self Help Africa received from Bob Geldof's Band Aid Trust is to be seen at an irrigation scheme beside Lake Ziway in Adami Tulu, Ethiopia, where an irrigation scheme started nearly 20 years ago now has almost 23,000 farmer members.
Read more
Alphabet Ball
Self Help has received nearly €10,000 from the annual charitable Alphabet Ball towards the cost of a school construction project, in Eritrea. The benefit ball, which is held annually to raise funds for educational projects in Africa and Asia, has awarded €9,913 towards the cost of a planned school construction in Gogne, Eritrea.
