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Elsa was recently featured in an article by Humans of Fuzia, a network that shares the stories of exceptional women, you can read the full article by clicking below.

As an outdoor activity, the girls’ football team was one of the first projects we were able to resume after the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. 13 new girls joined the team of 20 this January as the older members move onto different stages of their education. Training still takes place every weekend, with extra support this year from a football skills coach.

We are pleased to have been able to support the school where the girls train with the construction of showers. This means that the team members are now able to shower on-site after training, as well contributing valuable extra facilities for the school.

The coach has been training the team with dedication and they will be tested this week as they participate in the Gondar girls football tournament for the first time!

In Bishoftu, 17 girls have been recruited onto an under 20s team and 24 boys continue training with an under 20s team. Both teams have taken part in local tournament games since the end of the school term.  

The Kindu Klub and Playgroup are on-site clubs for young people in Gondar providing spaces for learning and play for sponsored children and their siblings. We recently moved offices in Gondar, giving us the opportunity to refresh the club spaces.

The new office is in its own compound so we have greater freedom to adapt the space for our needs. As well as a room for the Kindu Klub, the Playgroup shelter has been rebuilt, and we have been able to build an additional outdoor canteen so that the children who use the clubs can enjoy a meal prepared by the cooks on each visit. 

Both clubs continue to provide a valuable space for children who are unlikely to have access to toys, educational materials or spaces to study at home. The club activities will continue to run as usual throughout summer to help children catch up on missed school days last year. 

As part of our merger, Together We Learn - Ethiopia has been registered as a local Ethiopian charity. This allows us to get more local input on the way the organisation is run and access to more funding.

It was also an opportunity to engage new board members to help us achieve our mission and provide valuable support to the team in Ethiopia. There are currently five members on the board and each one brings valuable knowledge and experience on gender equality, development, HR, law and youth empowerment.

“I believe there is a huge potential in youth, and no nation can move forward without tapping this massive potential. That is why I aspire to see meaningful youth engagement and participation in the social, political, and economic arena. Children are the leaders of tomorrow. If we invest more in children’s holistic development, the world becomes a better place to live in the future, and education plays a key role. Together We Learn gives me this opportunity to work and invest my time and expertise in children’s development.”

Ethiopia Abebe, Board Member

Like many organisations, the death of George Floyd and ensuing discussion around racism gave our UK team pause for thought last summer. We set up a committee to review and suggest areas for improvement in terms of our diversity, equality and inclusion in September and have been reading, discussing and learning since then in order to honestly assess how we could be doing these things better.

It is a journey, and we want to ensure we take effective actions that are right for us, rather than rushing to publish targets. You can read about our learning and commitments so far in our blog.

Following a peak in April daily infection numbers decreased drastically in Ethiopia before beginning to increase again in August. Most recently roughly 500 cases a day are recorded. Vaccines have been given to frontline health workers and the elderly. Schools, colleges and universities have now all returned to operating as usual. Some university students are continuing their courses over summer as there was a delay in the start date this year.