The Rotary Club was delighted to welcome Bisrat Sime, the Country Coordinator for Canadian Humanitarian in Ethiopia, as well as Deb Northcott who with spouse and Rotarian Dick run this charity.  Bisrat has been with Canadian Humanitarian since 2010 and with other NGO's prior to that since 1996.

Bisrat spent some time detailing the program in the area of Addis Ababa, as well as several centers in the south of the country. He spoke about the need for care, for vocational and educational training and support for high education that they have been able to provide.

 

They are involved with over 1600 children in 7 different centers.  He gave several great examples of success stories with graduates, who have gone on to professional careers and have broken the cycle of poverty.  He spoke about the difficulty of operating with COVID restrictions over the past year, involving home study, phone comsultation and scheduled visits to promote social distancing.  He also spoke about the political instability, which has resulted in an ongoing war in the north part of the country which is very troubling.

He finished his talk by thanking all those present for their support over the past years, which has been vital and essential to their success.  He is confident and hopeful that Rotarians will continue to support the organization and their work.