ElectricAid Project of the Month

Integrated Rural Community Development in Ethiopia - and Development Education & Awareness in Ireland

Self-Help Development International (SHDI), based in Hacketstown, Co. Carlow, is a small and interesting development agency which specialises in two endeavours which make it an ideal partner for ElectricAid. The first is community-based integrated rural development programming, mostly in East Africa; the second is development education and awareness here at home in Ireland.

We have developed a strong and fruitful relationship with SHDI. In their development education efforts we have:

• Hosted their "Africa Framed" exhibition, which gave a realistic and positive view of life in the developing world.
• Part-funded their excellent educational resource books "Uisce" and "Development" in 2004/5 with a total of €19,900, which are now in use in hundreds of Irish schools.

In direct development projects in 2002 we contributed €6,000 for seeds and agricultural training for 264 farm families, as part of SHDI's highly successful integrated programme in Sodo, Ethiopia.

In 2005, we helped again with SHDI's integrated plan for Bora, also in Ethiopia. The programme will run from 2004 to 2008, and concentrates on crop and livestock production, soil and water conservation, and public health. ElectricAid's funding was in the area of veterinary health services - the people were experiencing high levels of unnecessary and preventable animal deaths - and livestock was their primary economic activity. A grant of €8,500 from ElectricAid enabled the construction of a communityowned crush for animal feedstuffs, the provision of a revolving veterinary drug fund, and an animal health post. These initiatives are up and running and making a real difference. The overall Bora project is aimed at a rural population of 90,000 desperately poor people and aims to make rural life productive and sustainable. ElectricAid is honoured to help on your behalf, with your money.