As much as we enjoy Addis Abeba, after two days the Can-Go Afar team had collectively spent enough time in the urban jungle that is Ethiopia’s capital city. So, on Friday we packed our bags, bid farewell to Addis, and boarded an 8 a.m. flight to Semera, the capital of the Afar State.
Within an hour we had traded the cool damp weather of Addis for the dry hot climate of Afar. As we stepped of the Bombardier turbo-prop plane in Semera the contrast was striking, as we were greeted by a blast of 35 C heat; twice the temperature of Addis.
Luckily, we were also greeted by a team of local friends arranged by our local partners at the Afar Pastoralists Development Association (APDA). After being dropped off at the hotel for a quick rest, the CGA team drove to Loggia, a bustling village south of Semera that is home to APDA and its Executive Director, Valerie Browning, aka “Maleeka”.
As the Program Coordinator of APDA, the oldest and largest humanitarian non-profit organization in Afar, Valerie oversees more than 1,000 people and two dozen projects throughout the vast region.
Among those are many that are funded and supported by Can-Go Afar, which has cultivated a very positive working relationship with APDA (and Valerie) over the past decade.
Today we were here to check in on some ongoing projects and touch base on some new ones being funded by the 1 million ETB (Ethiopian bihr) raised at our 9th Annual Gala Fundraising event in Ottawa. As promised at that event, these initiatives are focused exclusively on providing drought relief, recovery, and prevention in the form of food aid, medical aid, livestock recovery, and the building of weirs (a type of dam) in the hardest hit woredas (districts).
According to Valerie, weirs give an Afar community the ability to withstand and survive drought conditions by collecting up to 7,200 cubic litres of rain water over the course of a year. That translates to more than 1 million litres of water that can be used for livestock, to cultivate plants and wildlife, and of course to drink.
“This is a highly significant project” she says “In the short-term weirs will provide water for the Afar and their animals to thrive, and in the long-term will foster the growth of plants and trees.”
“Weirs have a tremendous roll-on effect as well. As there’ll be less need to migrate, they help keep families together, and they really bolster the Afar’s pastoralist lifestyle. In short, this project will allow them to live an easier life.”
This effort, combined with Can-Go Afar’s Livestock Challenge, will help the Afar truly get back on their feet after the devastating drought of 2015/2016 that affected more than 10 million and is considered the worst in Ethiopia in 50 years.
Some of the worst affected were of course the Afar, who already live in the hottest (and thirstiest) inhabited place on earth, in a region that is too desolate for many NGOs or aid agencies to travel too.
With more than 200,000 Afar families currently in immediate need, The Can-Go Afar Foundation decided that we could not wait until our next gala fundraiser in 2017 to provide help. That’s why we launched The Can-Go Afar Livestock Challenge, our first ever crowdfunding campaign.
Our GoFundMe initiative aims to generate $50,000 to help restock up to 1,000 goats and sheep that perished during the drought. $50 will buy a goat (breeding-age), $100 will buy a sheep, and $500 buys enough goats for an Afar household of 12 people.
If we reach our goal, 100 of the neediest Afar households will receive a full complement of livestock and will be returned to their pre-drought conditions.
It couldn’t be simpler: Buy a goat (or a sheep), save a life.
In the four days since we launched the Livestock Challenge on CBC Radio we have generated $5,250 which is more than 10% of our goal. This is a great start, and we thank all of our supporters — but we need to keep the momentum going if we want to make a real and effective change for the better.
We encourage you to check out our project at GoFundMe.com/CanGoAfar and pledge to help the Afar — the oldest indigenous tribe on earth — get back on their feet.
If you are a previous Can-Go Afar supporter, and would prefer to donate in more traditional way please go to go to our PayPal page or fill out our Donation Form on our website.
If you have already donated, please send this link to The Can-Go Afar Livestock Challenge (www.GoFundMe.com/cangoafar) with your family and friends. And please share it on social media, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Also be sure to keep an eye on our website for tomorrow’s blog post, as we visit the remote Bidu Woreda and see a weir as its being built. You can also stay-up-to-date on our Facebook and Twitter pages, where we are posting photos daily.
Thanks, Inshalla, and Gaaxa Key from Afar!
