Ethiopian Partnership Committee Activities and Projects

Project List Project Descriptions Home

During the Annual Global Missions Banquet each year, the Partnership committee celebrates the fruits of their mission partnership with the Illubabor Bethel Synod in Ethiopia. In order to comprehend the scope of their shared ministries, a list of programs and projects was compiled for distribution at the meeting. The list below was originally created for the 2004 Banquet and updated for each year's annual banquet.

Partnership programs and events- past, present, future: •    iCARE - More •    Youth shelters – Alito and Algae - More •    Visits to and from Ethiopia - More •    Church-to-Church partnerships:  More          -Winchester First with Mettu          -Harrisonburg First with Jima          -Covenant with Beddelle •    Lynn Connette’s ministry of teaching synod leaders - More •    Brian Gilchrest’s ministry •    Micro finance development - More •    HIV/AIDS Education Project for Children and Youth Sunday School - More •    HEART Project - More •    Illu-Green Youth Center project - More •    Bill Burslem's medical missions ministry - Read about Bill's most recent trip - More •    English for Ethiopia English Tutoring School in Mettu - More •    Water projects •    Bekele Mulatu’s studies for a Masters of Arts degree in Applied Community Change and Conservation from Future Generations in Franklin, WV •    Yonas Dibisa’s study at UTS-PSCE •    The Ethiopia Mission Network (a network of all PCUSA persons and organizations who minister in Ethiopia) - Read more about the network •    Supporting the operating expenses of the Bethel Synods office in Addis - More •    Repairs to Bethel Synods compound and fence in Addis - More •    Rebuilding the guest house in Mettu after it was destroyed by fire this spring - More •    The Interfaith Listening Project: the Visit of the EECMY President and two Muslim leaders from Ethiopia to Shenandoah Presbytery in September 2004 - More THIS IS AN AMAZING MINISTRY AND MISSION THAT SHENANDOAH PRESBYTERY NEEDS TO LIFT UP AND CELEBRATE!!!! It's a wonderful story of what God is doing both in Ethiopia and  in Shenandoah Presbytery.  It is a privilege to be a part of this mission partnership.    TOP

Project Descriptions The HEART Project  Read More     With one million children in Ethiopia orphaned by the loss of one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, Shenandoah Presbytery and Illubabor Bethel Synod (IBS) of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), are partnering in a project to help support the ministry to orphans of AIDS and their families.

The Mettu Guest House Rebuilding Project     A devastating fire destroyed one of the main guest facilities on the IBS compound in Mettu in early March. This guesthouse included a kitchen, dining and living area, two bedrooms and three separate bath facilities. All the furniture and appliances were lost. This facility provided a home away from home for visitors from within the local synod, visitors from other synods and from Addis Ababa, and for international visitors from Presbyteries like ours. It also provided a source of income for IBS.     The cost to rebuild and refurbish the guesthouse was about $ 20,300 US.

iCARE and the Gore Home for Children  Read more     The iCARE program of Shenandoah Presbytery sponsors 50 children at the Gore Home. The IBS leadership and Mr. Alemayu Sima, the director of the Gore Home were recently informed by EECMY that of 20 youth hostels evaluated within their different synods, the Gore Home ranked number one for quality of services. And under Mr. Sima’s leadership and administration the Gore Home’s farm has expanded, and in addition to coffee beans, is now producing honey and vegetable crops.

iCARE and the Youth Shelters at Alge and Alito   Read More    Alge and Alito are in remote areas of the Illubabor region. The iCARE subcommittee of the Ethiopian Partnership Committee has been successful in raising $10,000 dollars to help construct a youth shelter in each of these communities. These shelters provide a dorm like environment for about 40 students and a place to stay during the school year. Without these shelters these students, who live in areas without high schools, would be denied a secondary education.

Church-to-Church Partnerships Read More Harrisonburg First - Jima Church-to-Church partnership     In February 2004, 2 pastors and 3 laypersons from First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg returned from a whirlwind trip to Jima where we signed a partnership agreement with the Mekane Yesus (“dwelling place of Jesus”) Church. Our adventures were many. Some of us were casting out demons while others of us were swaying to African chants. One pastor was asked to carry a lost chicken in his lap on our trip to Jima while another, when speaking to university students, was chastised for speaking of dating (it seems that dating is unacceptable among respectable Ethiopians). We found many reasons to smile and many reasons to cry in that land of sharp contrasts. And through our laughter and our tears, we developed a fierce love for the people we came to know. Surely God has bestowed great blessings of spiritual richness on the Christians of Ethiopia. Covenant - Beddelle Church-to-Church Partnership     One of the Church-to-Church partnerships in our Presbytery is that of Covenant in Staunton and the Beddelle-Bethel congregation in Beddelle, Ethiopia.  The covenant of partnership was signed last summer (2003). Next summer (2005) a team from Covenant plans a travel to Ethiopia for a visit to Illubabor Bethel Synod offices in Mettu and a visit with our brothers and sisters in Beddelle.  Covenant Church has two members who have traveled to Ethiopia under the auspices of the Presbytery.  Peggy Roberson, session member, taught in women’s leadership schools in both 2000 and 2003 while Jeff Ryman, choir director, was there in the summer of 2003 to help with music and to learn something about Ethiopian music.  The church-to-church committee meets periodically to discover ways to share their excitement with the entire congregation.  Travel for the team in 2005 will be part of the Outreach Committee’s budget.  Yonas Yigezu, former president of IBS and currently a student at Union-PSCE, has been immensely helpful to the committee.

The Rev. Dr. Lynn Connette’s Teaching Trip (March 29- April 19, 2004)     Lynn has been traveling to Ethiopia to teach in the IBS area at least once a year for several years. On the 2004 trip, she had the joy of traveling with her 15-year-old daughter Sarah. Lynn taught in the Presbyteries of Mettu and Yayo in the areas of conflict management, pastoral care and counseling. Sarah accompanied her mom on her busy schedule as Lynn fulfilled her teaching and preaching opportunities, but she was still able to make some fast friends in Mettu and the short time they were in Addis. Sarah’s visit to the Gore Home for Children and the opportunity she had to speak with IBS HIV/AIDS workers further enriched her experience and enabled her to share a young person’s perspective on these two important areas of our partnership with IBS.

Dr. Bill Burslem’s Medical Missions Trip   Read Bill's trip journal     Dr. Bill Burslem will be leaving for Ethiopia on the 3rd of May, 2004, for an extended medical mission. Dr. Burslem plans to provide medical services for several of the clinics served by the Illubabor Bethel Synod and the small hospital in Mettu, during his stay from early May through the month of August. Dr. Burslem will be wearing several hats during this trip and he may be also working with the IBS leadership on their fledgling micro finance project.

The Rev. Kathleen Burslem Haines & English for Ethiopia Project  Read more     Four students from Shenandoah Presbytery and Lutheran Presbyterian Campus Ministry at JMU will be traveling to Mettu in June to provide English tutoring to high school students for five weeks. Dr. Spencer Cowles, an EMU business professor, will be joining the group and will be teaching economics courses to selected high school and college students. And Telile Dange, a recent graduate from EMU will also be involved in the tutoring program and help the group with their assimilation process.        This project is an effort to address an issue consistently identified by IBS during our 15 years of partnership; the need for English tutoring to help students to continue academic studies at the university level.     We hope to make this an annual trip, bringing together college students, university faculty and other students, teachers and leaders in IBS English Tutoring Project, Summer 2004     Kathleen Burslem Haines, her son Ben, Jess Goins, Rebekah Hay and Telile Bayissa traveled to Mettu in June 2004 to provide English tutoring to high school students for five weeks. This project is an effort to address an issue consistently identified by IBS during our 15 years of partnership; the need for English tutoring to help students to continue academic studies at the university level. Kathleen hopes to make this an annual trip, bringing together college students, university faculty and other students, teachers and leaders in IBS.

Micro finance project     We have been working with the leadership of IBS since 2001 to help develop a micro finance project in the Mettu region. Shenandoah Presbytery and the Illubabor Bethel Synod hope to develop a micro enterprise program similar to ones that are providing economic opportunities in other developing countries for people who have entrepreneurial skills but lack the necessary capital. Dr. Senyo Adjibolosoo, an economics professor from Point Loma University in California has made two trips to Mettu, in the summer of 2002 and 2003 to lay the groundwork for this project. We plan to fund another trip this summer or fall to continue this effort in partnership with IBS

Illu-GreenYouth Center in Mettu     Illubabor Bethel Synod developed a youth facility in Mettu. They envisioned this facility as a place that will seek to provide additional support for the spiritual, educational and physical needs of many of the adolescents and teens in the Mettu area. They purchased an existing building and compound near the high school in Mettu, which making it convenient for the young people of the area to take advantage of the programs and which the staff IBS plans to develop for many uses. In 2007, it serves the community also as a motel for travelers and the restaurant provides good food for all in the community.

Children and Youth AIDS Education Project     The Ethiopian Partnership Committee has helped fund the AIDS Education Project of the Illubabor Bethel Synod. IBS has developed AIDS education material and strategies to enlighten and inform the people throughout the Illubabor region in their effort to combat the spread of this debilitating and deadly disease. The materials and strategies they have developed have become the model for AIDS programs in other parts of the country, and is being used by the Ethiopian government in their efforts.       Our Presbytery pledged $ 7,000 a year for three years to help fund this critical program. And these funds are derived from a portion of the hunger offering from our Presbytery’s four cents a meal offering. In 2007, the presbytery continues its support of this important resource.

Bethel Synod Coordination Office (BSCO)     The BSCO facility in Addis Ababa, which was administered by Mr. Solomon Nega, is an indispensable part of the Ethiopian experience for both missionaries serving in Ethiopia and in other parts of Africa, and for visitors from Partnerships like that of Shenandoah. BSCO serves to both coordinate and facilitate trips, affords communication between partners, and provides a home away from home for guests and missionaries alike. PCUSA funding for this office was terminated at the end of 2004 and we are cooperating with other mission partnerships within the Ethiopian Mission Network to generate the funds needed to keep this office functioning.

Bethel Synod Coordination Office (BSCO) - Compound Wall     The city of Addis Ababa informed BSCO’s administration that the wall encompassing their compound had deteriorated to the point that it needed to be replaced. This wall surrounds the entire compound which includes their offices, living areas and the girl’s school with approximately 1,000 students. This is another area where the Ethiopian Partnership Committee is working within our Presbytery and with the Ethiopian Mission Network to generate the funds necessary to help rebuild this wall and comply with the local government’s mandate. Background. Ato Solomon Nega, former Coordinator of the Bethel Synod's Compound Office wrote: "The BSCO is located on Gulele Road which houses the guesthouses, administration and elementary and high school. Most of the houses that are in the compound were built about fifty years back. The front fence, which is on the main road across from the Pasteur Institute, was built at about the same time fifty years ago. It was made with rocks not fit for a proper fence and so, because of this as well as longtime service it started cracking about fifteen years ago. We have been patching it for several years, but unfortunately, because of minor earthquakes, some road construction, and some utilities work, the major part of the fence started falling. The Addis Ababa City Council has noticed the disrepair of the fence and is pressuring us to get it repaired."     Therefore, the total amount needed for the fence was USD $11,104.00.     Many visitors have traveled to Ethiopia from Shenandoah.  Many, if not most, have passed through the BSCO compound.  In 2004 alone, some 25 people have traveled through the BSCO compound en route to our visit partner synod, the Illubabor Bethel Synod.  This facility is the entry and exit point for almost all travelers to any of the Bethel synods. The fence provides security for both those who live and work within, and for visitors as well as a protection for the buildings and the school located on the compound.  This fence is an essential component of our mission connection to Ethiopia.     This project was completed in 2005 with additional funding required to cover the balance of the costs.