The parents from Norway, who all have children with mental handicap travelled and met with parents in similar situation. This is the first time such a meeting has taken place in the country and it became an emotional and powerful experience for both sides. The parents in Jijiga were able to see that the problems and the hardship they experience daily, other experience as well, in other countries. This gave them comfort.

The team of 8 people visited also the new building under construction, which will be the new special education unit of mentally challenged children in the region. A further cooperation will be developed between the parent associations in the future, after an association is formed and established in Jijiga.

Cooperation between the Teacher Training College in Jijiga and the Norwegian Teacher Academy in Bergen, Norway will also be established. In Addis Ababa the team met with parents from the “Ethiopian National Association for Mentally Retarded Children and Youth”. They also visited several institutions and made contacts which might result in a future cooperation on National level in the future.

Parents from Norway meet parents in Jijiga and a first contact is established.

The new Special Needs Education Unit under construction. It will be a place for the mentally challenged children and their parent. It will be a place for assessment, counselling and advice.

New building being constructed for the Children Centre, Addis Abeba

Mr. Witzke was welcomed with singing by the children. During the afternoon the children played and received refreshments before going back to their foster homes. The ten children living at the centre, continued with activities until the program finished in late afternoon.

The building will contain three classrooms and one hall for activities. There will also be new sanitation facilities with toilettes and showers both for girls and boys. A new kitchen will be in place to provide the children with food, prepared in a sanitary environment.

We are all looking forward to see the new building finished, hopefully in the end of this year or in the beginning of next.

Every year all the children that IAS is helping goes for a camp at Lake Langano, 280 km South of Addis Abeba. Here they play, swim, and are socializing with volunteers from Germany.

Volunteers from Germany come every year to be with the children at this camp. In 2005, the camp was between 22 August - 2 September. There where 47 children from IAS programme, 22 volunteers from Germany and other helping staff. This is the highlight of the year for these children. Ten of them are living in the Childrens Home and the others are sponsored in foster homes. The pic of the two girls with IAS t-shirt is both HIV positive.

The girl to the right (see above photo) lost her mother a short time ago to Aids and is now in a foster home. The other girl lives with her HIV/Aids infected mother and is HIV positive herself. Very sad! But it is a joy to give them this time in Langano so that they can forget all the misery the are going through for some time.

This school needs a major renovation, IAS has received funding for some of the renovations. The roof, windows, doors and floor must be constructed and the plan is also to construct new toilets.

Today the school is in such bad shape that the 650 students, classes 1-8, can not attend their classes. IAS is also planning to open a clinic in Ime. Currently there are no clinics in the area.

IAS supported orphanage in Addis Ababa together with two trainees; Micha Leng (Germany) and Andreas Fahlcrantz (Sweden)

Computer class at IAS supported orphanage in Addis Ababa (Photo: Andreas Zetterlund)

Ketema Kinfe Country Director ketema.kinfeias.nu

Tigist Tadesse Accountant tigist.tadesseias.nu