EMRDA Re-Launches A New Website

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; August 20, 2004 - Addis Ababa based NGO Ethiopian Muslims' Relief and Development Association launched a new website.

With the new website:

Ethiopian Muslim's Relief and Development Association chose Ethio Networks a leading Amharic website design and management company to create a simple site that allows visitors to quickly grasp the information they are seeking.

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EMRDA is legally registered indigenous NGO established in 1994 by a group of dedicated persons to heal the degraded conditions of underprivileged Ethiopians from absolute poverty regardless of sex, ethnicity and religious differences.
Emrda.org

Ethio Networks is a leading Amharic website design and management company.
EthioNetworks.com

EMRDA – in preparation to distribute food aid for drought affected victims

In response to the national call for drought affected people of the Country, EMRDA has got a financial support of 18,500 pound from a UK based humanitarian organization called Muslim Aid UK. Accordingly, it is in preparation to distribute relief aid food for 5000 people in  Fursi and Samu Robi districts of the Afar Regional State. The distribution will be effective since February, 2003.

The funding agency has pledged to release a total amount of   £ 111,000 on monthly basis to continue the relief aid program for 6 consecutive months which can assist about 30,000 victims.

EMRDA has endorsed its second phase development Strategic plan

Backed by a professional consultant EMRDA has developed its second phase strategic plan, 2003 - 2005. The first phase strategic plan of the organization (1998 -2002) has just completed attaining many of the planed activities.

The second phase strategic plan of EMRDA differs from the first phase in that it is prepared in accordance with the current poverty Reduction strategy and the improved government policies. The PRSP, Education for all 2015, The NEPAD and other sectoral national policies and international conventions are well consider under the new direction of EMRDA's development effort.

Cognizant of the severity of some socio-economic problems, and considering the internal as well as external environment it's operating, in its new development strategic direction EMRDA has the following objectives:

• Promoting Basic Education in inaccessible areas of the country through running Alternative Basic Education programs and constructing formal primary schools;
• To support self-reliance and sustainable livelihood improvement of Women and youths, who have lost the opportunity of continuing education, through providing vocational skills training
• To help alleviate the problem of Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS through promoting Behavioral Change intervention programs.
• To support the country's good governance improvement effort through organizing community awareness raising workshops on Democracy, Human rights and Civic issues.
• To help ensure food security through initiating community based income-generating schemes.

A call for life saving

Dear readers!

As you may listen to the head lines of the world media, Ethiopia - the country where its people are recurrently affected by drought, famine, civil war, unemployment and multitude of social hazards, is again faced with terrible drought caused by shortage of rainfall. To that effect, currently, over 15 million people are in need of Food Aid .It is prospected that in a short period of time this figure will rise to 20 million unless the world community stretches its hand for aid.

As a Development and Relief organization, Ethiopian Muslims Relief and Development Association (EMRDA) has been collecting updated information on the drought situation where it is operational. It has also joined the Emergency task force operating in the country, which is established in response to the common effort made to assist victims of the drought in different areas of the country.

The Government of Ethiopia and NGOs as a whole are appealed to the donors, philanthropies and the community in country and abroad to save the endangered lives of the drought affected people. How ever the aid obtained so far is not sufficient enough to feed the increasing number the victims.

Hence, We earnestly request your esteemed organization to solicit funding from philanthropies, individuals and organizations in country and abroad to contribute to the efforts made to assist the drought-affected people, mainly where EMRDA is operating. If you are ready and committed to solicit funding and needs update information about the drought situation on different regions, please don't hesitate to contact our office on the following address:

* 7515, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

   Tel: - 251-1-52 08 03, 09-241590 Fax 251-1-519152

   Contact Person - Haji Adane Mamuye