Ethiopian Heritage Festival Fun in Georgetown

Ethiopian Heritage Festival Fun in Georgetown

On July 26 &  27, 2014 we will have a booth at the 4th Annual Ethiopian Heritage Festival at Georgetown University. We will be selling the Mothers Coop goods, promoting our Child Sponsorship Program, taking donations and spreading awareness. This is the first year we will be a part of the festival and are grateful for the opportunity and looking forward to some great family fun.

Please stop by if you are in the Washington DC area, the weekend is going to be spectacular!

The Ethiopian Heritage Society  is “devoted to promoting Ethiopian culture through literature, music and the arts, enriching the lives of Ethiopians and Ethiopian American’s in our new adopted countries and promoting cross cultural understanding to be part of the cultural mosaic of North America.”

From the Ethiopian Heritage Society website

Learning Lessons In Life At Fresh and Green by Angela Chukunzira

Learning Lessons In Life At Fresh and Green by Angela Chukunzira

AngelaI was a volunteer at Fresh and Green and it ended up being a learning experience which transformed me beyond my imagination. The whole experience made me view the world from a whole new perspective.

As a volunteer, you pass on various skills to the rest of the community without expecting anything in return but at Fresh and Green I got so much contentment and love from the entire community! I learnt that volunteering is more of interaction and connecting to the community. I taught spoken English and even learnt what it takes to be a teacher!

I learnt so much about myself and got a much deeper understanding of what life is about. I also acquired virtues I did not posses before like patience and thoughtfulness. Every Monday we had devotion in the “coffee room” and various religions were represented. It made me feel whole in that in as much as I did not understand the prayers and the language, I understood that God is universal. We also connected spiritually with other workers in the school.

I acquired a child-like innocence when I was singing with the children in the KG .Those kids have a burning urge to learn!! They were so eager to learn new things and were extremely receptive. I thought they would easily forget the songs I taught them but the next time I went they sang the song over and over again. Just to emphasize on how the kids desire to stay in school. In case one may wonder how eager they are to learn, they learnt to sing a song in Swahili (a language they barely know or hear about!).

Another outstanding element of Fresh and Green is the sustainability. Muday has not only taken the children out of the streets but has also set out to ensure that their mothers are getting a means to earn a living. She also guarantees the children 3 meals in a day.

The mothers have formed a cooperative in which they make crafts and Habesha scarves for sale. They also assist in domestic tasks in the school. How sustainable can a system be? This goes ahead to abolish the dependence syndrome that I have observed in most charitable organizations which unfortunately are not sustainable. The plans that Fresh and Green have for the future are big! With the very spirit of sustainability transforming it to a boarding school in the outskirts of Addis Ababa in the near future will enable the children remain in school. This project’s sustainability really touched my heart.

My faith in humanity was equally restored. I left home not trusting ‘strangers’ because of my own personal encounters of theft and corruption I observed in my own social system. When I met Muday and learnt how hard she worked just to see to it that the children did not sleep hungry and in the streets, I felt a gap in my heart was re-filled. This attitude of giving was spread out to my fellow volunteers and most of the Ethiopian people.

I later met Trish Hack, who valued those children as though they were her very own. In a culture that is saturated with individualism and consumerism, I am so glad that there are hearts willing to give themselves away for the sake of others. I am still grateful that humanity’s conscience is not completely lost.

Through my volunteer experience, I also made lifelong friends! My fellow volunteers with AIESEC firstly, the Addis Ababa University fraternity and I cannot forget to mention Glory Rain. She would give everything to see to it that Fresh and Green lives on. We traveled to other parts of Ethiopia together and made memories to last a lifetime.

Living by example is what Muday lived by. She lived a life of simplicity and her own children are enrolled at Fresh and Green. This goes to show she firmly believes in the system and in making a difference. The simple lives led by Fresh and Green community members constantly reminded me that a happy heart and good health are the fundamentals of life.

Though my volunteer experience is over, I continually fall in love with the community so closely knit. They say home is where the heart is, and for me, it is Fresh and Green, Addis Ababa. My heart is open and a new life continues to bloom within.

Dancing With the Stews 2014 Festivites Feed Ethiopia!

Dancing With the Stews 2014 Festivites Feed Ethiopia!

On May 8th, 2014 we hosted our second annual “Dancing With the Stews” fundraiser! We paired six flight attendants with six world class, champion, professional dancers for a night of entertainment and generosity.

The dancers were judged in three categories: Pre-Event Fundraising, Peoples Choice, and Judges Favorite.  Tobi Kretschmer and Cindee Gennaro Sperry took home the Mirror Ball Trophy by winning overall! Fernanda Deren and Solomon Singer won the “Peoples Choice”,  Andrew Williams and Esther Frances won the “Judges Favorite” and Tobi and Cindee also won the “Pre-Event Fundraising!

The night started off with a spectacular VIP reception produced by Valerie Jensen and Lou Rudy. Thank you to Juice Press and Freddy Quintos for providing the delicious raw, vegan, kosher, organic food and Dublin 6 for stocking the Bar.

Arthur Murry Manhattan provided practice space, Capezio gave shoes to all of our flight attendants and Jordy let us use their exquisite gowns.

Our Master of Ceremonies was Fox Business News anchor Cheryl Casone and she presented us with a night to remember!

This year was spectacular and everyone there had a great time. If you were unable to make it you can watch the recording of the live stream and still make a donation to help the children at Fresh and Green Academy!

We are already thinking about next year and if you think you want to be a “Dancing Stew” add your name to the list.

View photos from the show!

DWTS 2015 is already in the works!
Click the button below and complete

the web form on the following page

Keep me updated!

Sign up today and stay tuned for more information!

 

(photo by Bill Brady Photography)

Shop the Mothers Cooperative and Feed a Family.

Shop the Mothers Cooperative and Feed a Family.

The Fresh and Green Mothers Cooperative has been expanding and the quality of their items is top notch!

Eighty-one women in the neighborhood of Kotebe in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, have changed their lives by joining the Mothers Cooperative. The women not only create beautiful hand made items at Fresh and Green Academy’s onsite crafting area, help cook the meals for the children and help out at the school, but they have established true friendships and help each other through the tough times.

The women of the cooperative used to spend their days begging and prostituting themselves just to eat and feed their families, but now, thanks to your purchases and donations, they have hope for the future and have become empowered beyond belief.

The scarfs made by the women are available now through our Etsy page

Order before December 19th and have a beautiful scarf in time for Christmas!

We are Making Progress but Still Need Your Help!

We are Making Progress but Still Need Your Help!

Now, thanks to your generous donations, the security wall is back up keeping the school safe and giving the children a place to play.

Thanks to your donations, the new security wall is complete.

Thanks to your donations, the new security wall is complete.

We still need your help to rebuild the block of classrooms that was partially destroyed. The building needs to be completely torn down, moved and rebuilt in brick. This project will cost close to $10,000.

To make things even more challenging….. The land that the school sits on is going up for sale in a few months. Fortunately, we have been given the opportunity of first refusal and a discounted price in order to keep Fresh and Green Academy operating, but we can’t do it without you.

The immediate financial needs are as follows in USD:

$106,000. for the purchase of the 732 sq meters of land including the main school building, which houses the principal and director’s offices, library, science lab, and classrooms for 5th through 8th grade. The kitchen, Mothers Coop area, showers and bathrooms, and director’s home are also included in the price.

$10,000. for the relocation and the rebuilding of the first through fourth grade classrooms. Government regulation requires the building to be reconstructed in brick which raises the construction price significantly.

$2,500. to purchase new desks.

To see the school and it’s needs check out our video.

To donate specifically to theses projects you can use the button below. As always, your donations are tax deductible.

Thank you for making a difference.