A charitable organization based in Enderby is looking to raise funds to build a maternal care centre in Ethiopia.
Partners in Ethiopia (PIE), a volunteer organization, has been funding health and education projects in Ethiopia since 2020 with the direction and help of Ethiopian volunteers.
PIE is now raising funds to build a maternal care centre in Agarfa, Ethiopia.
The group has raised $79,000 of the $150,000 project cost, and has now launched a major fundraising campaign to secure the remaining funds.
The project will see the construction of a maternal care centre to replace two grossly inadequate delivery rooms that have no running water. The proposed centre is 2,850 square feet and will have an eight-bed labour room with dividers, a delivery room with two beds, four postnatal care rooms with two beds per room, an office, a medical supply storage area and a reception area.
The centre will be constructed on the grounds of the Agarfa Health Centre which serves a population of 156,000. Ongoing operational funding for the centre will be paid for by the Agarfa community and the Agarfa Health Centre.
The plan for the building design and a full costing of construction is complete.
Partners in Ethiopia includes three former members of Partners in the Horn of Africa, a non-profit organization that was also based in Enderby that funded about $12 million in projects in Ethiopia from 2000 to 2017 under the direction of the late John Baigent.
In conjunction with Ethiopian non-profit partner Vision for Bright Future, the maternal care centre project is being delivered with the support and involvement of the local community, government and health officials. Local government and community members will contribute 15 per cent of the project’s cost with materials and labour, demonstrating their stake in the project.
Partners in Ethiopia operates under the umbrella of Rose Charities Canada, a B.C. registered charity that provides the legal and financial framework for PIE for a fee of four per cent of the initial $50,000 in donations, capping their total fee at $2,000 per year. Therefore, all funds raised, minus the fee and a small per cent for expenses associated with fund transfers to Ethiopia, go directly to the projects in Ethiopia.
All donations over $20 qualify for CRA tax credits.
The Agarfa community initiated the conversation with PIE on the need for a new maternal care centre. A new centre will greatly enhance the outcomes for childbirth and maternal and infant health. While great improvements have been made in the last 20 years, Ethiopia still has an infant death rate eight times higher and a maternal death rate 40 times higher than Canada’s rates, according to World Bank.
For full details on the project and for donation information, visit partnersinethiopia.org.
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