What is Ahead doing for the people of the Gujii zone and Ethiopia?

Ahead works with organisations and individuals in the UK and other countries to raise awareness of health, education and development issues in Ethiopia

We conduct and sponsor research on health, education and development needs

Raise funds to support and initiate projects to address identified needs.

Providing improved healthcare.

One major reason for ranking 170 out of 177 in the UNDP Human Development Report is Ethiopia's abysmal health indicators:

Due to a lack of healthcare services in the Zone, its inhabitants and domestic animals die prematurely, even from curable ailments. The government's health initiatives often encounter difficulties coming to fruition, with clinics that may take five years to build but which are then not equipped, and so stand empty.

Much needed new development initiatives that increase participation of local community members in identifying and making decisions about health problems prevalent in their communities, and which ensure the widespread dissemination of vital health information, would significantly improve health status and general well-being.

Ahead wish to equip and populate the facilities to provide better healthcare for all. Mobile services where locals are employed, provisioned with horses or mules for transportation, will enable care to be provided to all districts.

Making education a realistic opportunity

Many children cannot go to school, either because schools are unavailable, or because their families cannot afford to send them. A child's labour is often needed at home to support their family income.

Partly as a result of poor quality education and curriculum content, an overwhelmingly high proportion of school leavers are unemployed or lack the grades to pursue further education. Passing national tests, especially ‘A' levels, is seen as winning a lottery.

Class sizes are often in excess of 100 children. Children with education have not integrated their learning with local, practical applications and miss out on farming experience, so can find themselves with no suitable vocational skills.

Mobile schooling will help, with particular emphasis on solutions to local, practical concerns and knowledge suitable to local development.

Ahead aims to provide district advisors and coordinate their work to the Zone's benefit. Some people have been trained as teachers but will require retraining to update their skills and subjects too.

Development and integrated planning.

Development interventions in the Gujii Zone are limited to very small-scale activities by religious organisations, who are struggling to continue their work due to a lack of funding. There are only two all-season access roads in the Gujii Zone.

Most people in the Gujii Zone are engaged in precarious subsistence economic activities. There is a need to encourage income diversification and promote the concept of saving and investment.

Ahead wish to provide an interest-free loan facility, with the returns being reinvested into new applications. Small amounts can make a big difference to small traders.

Ahead wishes to encourage collective thinking, debates and integrated planning of future local development in farming and business. For example, this may involve planning the amount of cattle and grazing required, along with shifting to drought varieties of plants and animals.

Current Project work

To further the goal of increasing disadvantaged people's awareness of, and access to, healthcare services Ahead commissioned DUBAF to organise HIV/AIDS awareness training among community representatives in and around Wadara town. In addition DUBAF was asked to set up interest free loan schemes with 20 low income households to promote income diversification.

According to this agreement AHEAD and DUBAF co-finance the project by contributing Q19,940.00 and Q36,980.00 respectively. AHEAD gives DUBAF financial and strategic support, while DUBAF is responsible for operational activities and submitting progress reports. The project will produce the following outputs.

Expected Outputs -1:

30 representatives or leaders of rural peasant/pastoralist associations will be given training on HIV/AIDS

1 HIV/AIDS Club organized.

10 members of the club trained on HIV/AIDS.

Club members supplied with training materials.

12 outreach activities will be carried out by the club collectively for community awareness creation.

120 home-based or house-to-house education and care services will be conducted by the club members individually.

Expected Outputs -2:

20 women-headed poor households selected and organized into two business groups.

20 group members (women headed families) will be given training on setting up small-scale business and microfinance particularly on Group-Guaranteed Revolving Loan Fund system.

A total of Revolving Loan Fund of 10,000 (ten thousand) Birr provided (disbursed) to the members through their groups.

Business-making capacities of members built through on-job trainings and technical supports.

Direct Targets (60 people):

HIV/AIDS - Trainee 30 peasant/pastoralist associations chairmen and 10 club members (total target 40).

Micro-finance - 20 households (family head women)

Estimated overall beneficiaries of the project (19,920 people) over 1 year:

It is assumed that all peasant/pastoralist associations chairmen (participants of the training) shall at least pass health message to one person per day during the one year of the project implementation period (10,800 will be addressed during the life of the project).

The HIV/AIDS club will reach out (deliver health messages and healthcare services) to 450 people through monthly outreach programs (5,400 people will be addressed over the year).

Each member of the club will deliver health message individually to at least one person per day during the one year of the project period (total of 3,600 people to be address over the year).

Each beneficiary of the microfinance program assumed to lead family of an average size of 6 individuals (benefiting a total of 120 people).

Sites (Rural & Urban):

The activities and services will be delivered both in rural areas and Wadera town:

Activities in rural areas: the entire activities of PA leaders and 50% of club activities.

Activities in urban areas: the entire information and guidance and 50% of the club activities.