February at The Kindu Trust

Last week in numbers

45 children received hot meals at The Kindu Klub

54 children received a meal at Play Ground

60 children used the Kindu Library

15 children played football together

9 families received parcels

9 home visits were made by the Sponsorship team

Jackie’s experience: supporting students through higher education!

In August 2014 The Kindu Trust carried out a financial review and sadly discovered that numerous sponsors who we thought were active had ceased their payments. We quickly set to work finding new sponsors for all the children, so they could remain as unaffected as possible. Unfortunately, a number of the children we were sponsoring could no longer be considered children; they were university students; attending vocational studies; excelling at college! This made the abrupt stop to their sponsorship that much more complicated – and the process of finding new sponsors all the more difficult.

It is an essential part of the Kindu sponsorship programme to not limit support to children up to the age of 18, but to back a child’s education as far as they can go – enabling them to really fulfil their potential. On the 9th of December we issued a call on Facebook and Twitter for people to support the students, most of whom were orphans, through their last years of education or training.

It was from this humble beginning that something remarkable happened. A woman named Jackie contacted us asking for details of the students and in December she sent The Kindu Trust £100 towards their education, with the promise that she would send some more money in the new year. True to her word, Jackie continued to send in amounts of £100 over the next few months and by the end of January she had paid enough to support one student through the final two years of his course.

The student Jackie helped is Fikadu Girmay. Fikadu is 22 and he is in his first year at Technical College, studying to be an electrician.

Fikadu Girmay, aged 22

Fikadu never knew his father, who was a soldier in the Ethiopian army and his mother died when he was in 3rd grade at school. His mother’s relatives came to the town where they were living and brought Fikadu back to the rural area that his mother was from. No more than a year later Fikadu ran away and returned to Gondar where he lived as a beggar and became very ill. A passer by noticed Fikadu in the street and gave him money, advising him to go to the hospital for help. Fikadu made it to the health centre where a doctor found him lying on the floor, learning that he had no parents or home, she helped him, buying medicine and food and checking in on him as got better. Once he was better the Doctor brought him to Kate, founder of The Kindu Trust, and asked her to help. The Kindu Trust has supported Fikadu and his education ever since.

Between December and February Jackie fundraised so that Fikadu’s education could continue. Using eBay, she sold her unwanted items online and sold donated items, to generate the funds that mean Fidaku will be able to graduate in two years. Jackie is now continuing to fundraise so that she can help even more students who might have to face dropping out of higher education.

Fikadu’s letter of thanks to The Kindu Trust and his sponsors (in Ahmaric)

Fikadu’s thank you message translated in English

The Kindu Trust is incredibly grateful to Jackie for her support.

There are 3 more students who need sponsorship for one up to three years, and you could help them achieve this great goal by donating or fundraising towards the education of these students. Sponsorship for one year is only £192.

Please consult our A-Z of Fundraising Ideas if you’ve been inspired to go out and fundraise and never hesitate to contact us, to find out what you can do to help!

Gondar’s wonders: Fasil Ghebbi

Besides being the place that we at The Kindu Trust call home, Gondar is also a wonderful city and one of the most beautiful places to visit in Ethiopia.

The city is thought to have been founded by Emperor Fasilides in the 17th century. Breaking with a nomadic tradition, Fasilides stabilised himself in Gondar and made it the capital of the Ethiopian Empire. Because of its imperial past, Gondar hosts some of Ethiopia’s most notable historical landmarks.

Fasil Ghebbi, the home of the Emperors, is still open to visitors today. The historical complex, including Fasilides’ castle, is surrounded by a 900 m long wall and it draws on a number of different architectural styles, from Hindi and Islamic, to Baroque. Because of its historical importance, Fasil Ghebbi has been included in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.