Ethiopiaid Australia

06/08/2026

Stay informed with the latest updates from Ethiopia, including the challenges communities are facing, developments from our project partners, and the impact of our work on the ground.

Inside this edition of Selam:
• **Situation Update:** Food, fuel and fertiliser price hikes continue to affect communities across Ethiopia
• **Global Update:** Conflict looms following Ethiopia’s elections
• **From Our Project Partners:** Strengthening communities through care, education and opportunity in Gondar
• **Project Partner Update:** Child protection and women’s empowerment in Arba Minch

Read the latest edition of Selam today - https://ethiopiaid.org.au/content/selam-your-winter-newsletter/gjeb3m

28/07/2026

When Terefech experienced a traumatic childbirth, she lost her baby and developed obstetric fistula - a devastating childbirth injury that left her isolated and believing there was no hope.

For nine months, she suffered in silence, unaware that treatment was possible.

Everything changed when she met a Safe Motherhood Ambassador from Healing Hands of Joy. Through this connection, Terefech was referred to the Hope of Light Fistula Centre, where she received the life-changing surgery and compassionate care she needed.
Today, her story has come full circle.

After recovering, Terefech trained as a Safe Motherhood Ambassador herself.

Former fistula patients are uniquely placed to reach women others cannot. Drawing on their own lived experience, Safe Motherhood Ambassadors identify hidden cases of fistula, connect women with life-changing treatment, and offer hope to those who may feel they have nowhere to turn. They also educate communities about safe pregnancy and childbirth, speak at pregnant women's conferences and community gatherings, and help break the silence and stigma surrounding fistula.

This is how lasting change happens. Women who once received care become trusted leaders, ensuring others can access the support they once needed themselves.

When you support Ethiopiaid Australia, you're doing far more than helping one woman heal. You're helping build a network of women who are transforming lives in their own communities.

Every woman treated has the potential to become a voice for change - sharing knowledge, restoring hope and helping more stories come full circle.

27/07/2026

One of the greatest privileges of my role is learning from the remarkable people leading change in their own communities across Ethiopia. Time and again, they remind me that the most meaningful, lasting change doesn't come from outside - it grows from within communities themselves.

That's why I wanted to share this reflection from Valerie Browning. Her words capture one of the most important conversations happening in international development today: localisation.

Valerie is the founder of the Afar Pastoral Development Association (APDA) and has spent more than three decades living and working alongside communities in Ethiopia's Afar region. In her recent paper, she challenges us to rethink what genuine partnership looks like.

For Valerie, localisation is far more than shifting funding or handing over projects. It means recognising that communities are the experts in their own lives. They understand the complexities of the challenges they face, and they hold the knowledge, relationships and leadership needed to create solutions that are relevant, sustainable and lasting. The role of those outside the community is not to direct that change, but to listen, learn and walk alongside local leaders as they shape their own future.

As Valerie writes:
"More and more I am realising that the organization I work with, and me as an individual, have no right to spell out the future for another. I need to totally listen to the community, they disclosing the dimensions of the issue and they declaring what is needed to solve the problem."

It's a powerful reminder that lasting development isn't something done for communities - it's something built with them, and ultimately led by them.

Thank you for following along and engaging with these stories. Every conversation helps amplify the voices of local organisations like APDA, whose leadership and deep understanding of their communities are creating lasting change.

If you'd like to read Valerie's full paper and explore her perspective on localisation in greater depth, click here - https://ethiopiaid.org.au/content/localization-is-it-possible/gjeb3g

Because lasting change begins with local people leading the way.

- Sharon

26/07/2026

Creating lasting change starts with strong local partnerships.

We're proud to partner with incredible local organisations like Yenege Tesfa Integrated Development Humanitarian Organization, who are creating brighter futures for vulnerable children and families in Gondar, Ethiopia.

Together, we're helping deliver programs that provide children with safe homes, nutritious meals, access to education, and the opportunity to thrive.

Over the past few months, through our partnership:
- 84 children received food and hygiene supplies.
- 86 children and caregivers received new bedding.
- 602 preschool children accessed nutritious daily meals.
- 182 students received scholarships and essential support to stay in school.

Yenege Tesfa is also building stronger, more sustainable communities through agriculture, dairy, livestock and poultry initiatives that help generate income and create long-term opportunities for local families.

By working alongside trusted local partners, Ethiopiaid Australia helps ensure communities are leading the solutions that create lasting change.

Learn more about the incredible work of our project partners and the impact they're making across Ethiopia – https://ethiopiaid.org.au/content/yenege-tesfa-building-hope-in-gondar/gjeb3i

23/07/2026

When people think about Ethiopiaid Australia, they often think about children accessing education, women recovering from obstetric fistula, or communities building brighter futures through locally led development.

But among our many incredible project partners is one whose work is rarely spoken about - yet holds a special place in our hearts.

Hospice Ethiopia is providing something every person deserves, no matter where they live: comfort, dignity and compassionate care at the end of life.

Many of us have experienced the care, compassion and dignity that hospice or palliative care can bring when an elderly parent, family member or friend reaches the end of their life. It's a service that offers comfort not only to the person receiving care, but to everyone who loves them.

Now imagine facing a terminal illness without access to that support.

That's why Hospice Ethiopia's work is so important. Together, we're helping strengthen palliative care services in regional hospitals by training doctors, nurses, pharmacists and social workers in pain management, end-of-life care and emotional support. Through ongoing mentoring, that training is creating lasting improvements for patients and their families.

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion and comfort -regardless of where they live or their circumstances.

Today, we're shining a light on this remarkable project partner and the quiet, life-changing work they do every single day.

*Photos by Joni Kabana

21/07/2026

Over the past couple of weeks, Ethiopiaid Australia was delighted to welcome Valerie Browning, founder of the Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA), on a special visit to Australia — and for a limited time, you can get your hands on a signed copy of Maalika: My Life among the Afar Nomads of Africa.

In this remarkable book, you’ll meet one of Ethiopiaid’s longest-standing project partners and step inside the extraordinary story of a woman who dedicated her life to supporting communities in one of the most remote and isolated regions of Ethiopia.

After arriving in Ethiopia during the 1973 famine, Valerie went on to co-found the Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA), helping deliver healthcare, education, clean water, and human rights support to Afar communities for decades.

Maalika offers a powerful glimpse into life in the Afar region — the resilience of its people, the challenges they face, and the impact of long-term, community-led support.

Best of all, proceeds from every book sold go directly back into local healthcare and education programs in Ethiopia, continuing Valerie’s mission to support those most in need.

Only while stocks last.

Get your signed copy here or before they’re gone:
https://ethiopiaid.org.au/content/buy-maalika-by-valerie-browning/gk72iw

02/07/2026

Who are we?

We're Ethiopiaid Australia.

For more than 18 years, we've been partnering with trusted local organisations in Ethiopia to create lasting change where it's needed most.

Together with our incredible supporters, we're helping women access safe motherhood, restoring dignity to fistula survivors, protecting children, expanding education and healthcare, empowering communities, and creating opportunities for brighter futures.

We believe the most powerful solutions come from the people who know their communities best. That's why we invest in locally led programs that deliver real, sustainable impact.

Every donation. Every share. Every conversation. Every person in this community helps make that possible.

Whether you've been with us for years or you've just discovered our page, welcome.

29/06/2026

The end of June is just a date.

Dates come and go.

But for women living with obstetric fistula in Ethiopia, the need remains.

Every day, women continue to live with the devastating physical and emotional impacts of this preventable condition often isolated, in pain, and without access to the care they desperately need.

Behind every statistic is a woman waiting for life-changing surgery, compassionate support, and the opportunity to rebuild her future with dignity and hope.

Your support can help provide access to treatment and transform a woman’s life forever.

Please donate today >> https://ethiopiaid.org.au/c/gpP and help ensure no woman is left suffering in silence.

23/06/2026

For more than 30 years, Dr Ambaye has dedicated her life to helping women recover from the devastating effects of obstetric fistula.

As the founder of Hope of Light, one of Ethiopiaid's trusted project partners, and one of the world's most experienced fistula surgeons, Dr Ambaye and her team provide life-changing surgery, medical care and support to women across Ethiopia through four specialist fistula hospitals and outreach programs in remote communities.

"Women who suffer fistula live very difficult lives. Many believe this illness is a punishment for their sins," says Dr Ambaye.

The physical injury is only part of the story. Many women face isolation, stigma and overwhelming grief after losing a baby during prolonged labour. Yet with treatment, hope is restored.

Dr Ambaye recalls a patient named Zinash, who developed fistula after a difficult labour that tragically claimed her baby's life.

"After surgery, she began to smile again and talk about her plans for the future. Fistula treatment is not only about repairing an injury. It is about helping a woman regain her health, her confidence and her place in her community."

While surgery changes lives, prevention remains the ultimate goal. Dr Ambaye believes that with better maternal healthcare, education and community awareness, obstetric fistula can one day be eliminated in Ethiopia.

With continued support, more women can access the life-changing treatment they desperately need today, reclaiming their health, dignity and future, while helping protect future generations from this preventable condition.

Every donation helps provide surgery, care, rehabilitation and hope to women who would otherwise suffer alone.

Donate today and help ensure this life-changing work continues >> https://ethiopiaid.org.au/c/gpP

20/04/2026

I was doing some filing today (not something I do often enough) when I came across a link to the video of 60 Minutes meeting Valerie Browning in 2009.

Child mortality has certainly improved, but sadly not enough, largely due to access to health care, clean water and food still lacking. And seeing Valerie sharing the camel milk – her favourite – saddened me, milk is now in short supply.

Watching the world being destroyed instead of made better is heartbreaking. Thank you to all of you who do care and are doing what you can to better the lives of others.

You can watch the video here

1.7K likes, 221 comments. "Meet the nomadic tribe regarded as the "greatest survivors" | 60 Minutes Australia"