July 30, 2022 – Ottawa, Canada
Members of the Afar Community of Ottawa gathered on this day to celebrate the visit to Canada of the Executive Director of the Afar Pastoralist Association (APDA) – Mr. Ismail Ali Gardo – and also of Professor Houssein Ibrahim Houmed, Professor of Philosophy, based in France.
It was an opportunity to celebrate the richness of the Afar heritage, their settlement in Canada, and also to exchange ideas on the many challenges that our People face in Eritrea, in Djibouti and in Ethiopia.
Some very rousing speeches were given, followed by a wonderful feast of traditional foods prepared by the caring efforts of Afar women. The event was punctuated by an exchange of gifts and a cake cutting ceremony by Houssein Ismail, and Warren (Waadee) Creates, President of the Can-Go Afar Foundation.
NB: The Can-Go Afar Foundation has a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with APDA for the purpose of supporting projects in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and beyond. Such projects all revolve around relieving the extreme conditions of poverty such as humanitarian relief for refugees, sponsoring education, shipping medical equipment and medical supplies, providing medical expertise, delivering food supplements, building water infrastructure, supporting maternal health, providing clothing, funding female community-based micro-financing, and financing sustainable development such as traditional housing.
