Integrated Sustainable Development through women in East Africa!

   The poverty eradication by 2015, as explained in Millennium Development Goals of United Nations for Ethiopia, is only a non-meditated wish! Talking is very simple, but making it reality it needs great human efforts! It requires vision, dedication and the commitment that should be conveyed to the poor masses in the rural Ethiopia. East Africa can be developed only by educating the poor. It is also true for the entire Africa.


    The poverty in Africa is related to the condition of the rural masses that are no lesser than hungry savages. What is the solution for uplifting them? Donations and projects of millions can do nothing as long as the greedy mediators swallow 70 percent of the money! Free food and free money can spoil the uneducated masses, women and youth. The youth will have the tendency to get satisfied by the small food for work programs and they develop laziness, and attitude towards pleasure seeking mechanisms, and turn out be real beasts.

   The place of implementation is Adigrat City in Tigray State of Northern Ethiopia, having total population of 96000 in an area of 1877.46 hecters. The Adigrat City Administration has certified to start an Integrated Sustainable Development project to help the rural women farmers who have suffered severe food insecurity from recent year’s climate variation. The project is sponsored by Dr. Rajeevan himself from his own salary. It is an individual effort and conviction, that simple and committed mechanisms can make changes in the lives of rural communities!

    The project was started on 17th February 2010 and consists of the selection of 25 families who will be supported with regular income generating, sustainable livelihood mechanism. On 16th March 2010, five families out of the twenty five families have been given two high breed hens to develop a home-based poultry production. These five women will earn from the selling of eggs, selling of chicks, also will have some daily nutrition. When they get the first production of chicks they will donate two hens each to the local authority and it will be given to other five families and they continue to produce eggs and chick and earn on daily basis.

Mr. Goitom (Manager 04, Kebele, Adigrat) donating the hen!

      

              Dr. Rajeevan donating the hen!

      The 25 women are divided into different groups, known as Self-Reliant Groups (SRGs) who will develop this sustainable livelihood mechanism, which involves microfinance which saves the money and it will provide the money for the development of pre-primary and adult education, water and sanitation, health facilities and employment to the educated youth. Mr. Goitom Teklu, Manager, Kebele (village) 04, Adigrat City and Mr. Haftu Kidane (SSecretary, Sustainable Africa Initiative, a non-registered NGO) continuously monitor the progress and control the microfinance system and the delivery of other facilities, together with Dr. Rajeevan.


   The project is an attempt to change the concepts of the international organizations like United Nations and other bodies also about the rural population itself! Other mechanisms like dairy farming, cotton weaving (as in Gujarat in India), and other possible mechanisms which can bring sustainability and development through self-reliance and hard work by the women, who are the fore-front runners of rural family development. It is only through self-reliance we can bring changes into the lives of rural populations in Africa, and particularly in Ethiopia and there by empowering the Ethiopian rural community through self-reliant sustainable livelihood mechanisms!