The Tesfa Sponsorship Trust UK supports the work of two community-based NGOs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by facilitating the sponsorship of children and elderly people
The ‘cooking heroes’ at CBISDO, where many of our sponsored children our based
The ongoing effects of inflation have continued to push up the costs of providing food to our sponsored children and elderly. Just as inflation has affected us here in the UK, food prices have risen sharply in Ethiopia: the peak was 33% earlier in the year but it’s still at over 20%. Other costs, such as administration, have risen too. This is making it increasingly difficult for our partner, CBISDO, to provide the food component of the sponsorship programme within the budget that we are currently providing (£15 per month for each child and £12 pm for an elderly person).
We will be writing to sponsors individually to suggest some ways we might be able to help, but if you would like to respond more quickly then please click below to make a donation.
Tadesse Haile tells the story of one former sponsored child who has used his success to give back to the community where he grew up.
Yohannes Getachew is a 30 year old young man who lives in Addis Ababa Ketema neighborhood of Kebele 05 in Addis Ababa city. Yohannes lost his mother when he was three and his father at 11. He was raised by his aunt and uncle. He was recruited for the Life Church sponsorship support program by the former IHA UDP program officers for his outstanding academic achievement while in Grade 1 of his primary school years.
The sponsorship support for Yohannes continued until his college years. He has graduated from the Addis Ababa University Building College in Urban and Regional Planning and Design in August 2019.
He has started his career with employment in the Sub City office of the Addis Ababa city administration. Yohannes was satisfied neither with the salary nor the duties and responsibilities assigned to him. So he started his first side business with a video rental and play station shop. He resigned from his employment after seven months and moved into his second business of bread distribution. He has stayed in this business for three years and moved into printing and advertising. Yohannes has a very strong entrepreneurial motive that stimulates him for a higher goal.
Like all charities, we are required to submit our annual report and accounts to the Charity Commission each year. Our report and accounts for the year up to 31 March 2023 have been accepted and published on the Charity Commission’s website, and you can read them for yourself here:
(Click the link above, then choose ‘Accounts and annual returns’ from the list on the left).
At the time of reporting, the total number of children being sponsored through Tesfa was 162 (down 2 from the previous year) along with 20 elderly (up 2 from the previous year). Sponsorship funds of £30,319 and additional gifts of £7,654 were sent to our 2 partners in Addis Ababa, supporting their work as follows:
CBISDO (Community Based Integrated Sustainable Development Organisation) – at the time of reporting, 135 children and 16 elderly people were being sponsored by our supporters
AHISDO (Addis Hiwot Integrated Sustainable Development Organisation) – at the time of reporting, 27 children and 4 elderly people were being sponsored by our supporters. Please see their website for more details and an overview of what they provide for the community they serve http://ahisdoethiopia.org/
The extra monies include £450 for AHISDO to purchase a new printer and £6,582 to support the elderly sponsor program at CBISDO received from the Kunde Foundation (a charitable trust set up by a close friend of the late Founder of CBISDO and AHISDO with very similar mission to Tesfa).
We remain hugely grateful for the continued commitment of our sponsors and supporters by investing in the lives of the most needy children and elderly in the communities we support in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – the support continued throughout the pandemic which is a testimony to the commitment of our supporter base and their belief in how much of a difference sponsorship can make to the lives and futures of those in most need.
Like all charities, we are required to submit our annual report and accounts to the Charity Commission each year. Our report and accounts for the year up to 31 March 2022 have been accepted and published on the Charity Commission’s website, and you can read them for yourself here:
At the time of reporting, the total number of children being sponsored through Tesfa was 164 along with 18 elderly. Sponsorship funds of £30,988 and additional gifts of £9,537 were sent to our 2 partners in Addis Ababa, supporting their work as follows:
CBISDO (Community Based Integrated Sustainable Development Organisation) – at the time of reporting, 137 children and 17 elderly people were being sponsored by our supporters
AHISDO (Addis Hiwot Integrated Sustainable Development Organisation) – at the time of reporting, 27 children and 1 elderly person were being sponsored by our supporters. Please see their website for more details and an overview of what they provide for the community they serve http://ahisdoethiopia.org/
The extra monies include £500 for AHISDO to purchase a new computer and £8,925 to support the elderly sponsor program at CBISDO received from a newly developed relationship with the Kunde Foundation (a charitable trust set up by a close friend of the late Founder of CBISDO and AHISDO with very similar mission to Tesfa).
We remain hugely grateful for the continued commitment of our sponsors and supporters by investing in the lives of the most needy children and elderly in the communities we support in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – the support continued throughout the pandemic which is a testimony to the commitment of our supporter base and their belief in how much of a difference sponsorship can make to the lives and futures of those in most need.
Many of our supporters will remember Dr Jember Teferra, whose inspirational work with the poor of Addis Ababa led to the founding of the two NGOs that we support today.
‘Bible reflections from a life devoted to the poor’ by Jember Teferra, is a new book of her devotionals collected together and edited into a modern readable language by Sheila Johnson and compiled by fellow author, Arthur Champion. Her faith and determination shine through the Bible reflections, which are explained through the story of her life and enhanced by full-colour photographs of the projects. The result is a very personal and readable book giving a remarkable insight into Jember’s life and faith.
Well-known poet, ex-chancellor of Manchester University and OBE, Lemn Sissay, wanted a copy of the book because he had met Jember as a young man. He then posed with the book at the Cheltenham Literature Festival! This goes to show the impact meeting Jember had on people.
Clare Blake, published devotional writer with the Bible Reading Fellowship says of the book, “This book is spiritual dynamite – it will change your life” The Rev Jo Regan of Stroud Baptist Church on reviewing it recently, said: “I loved this book and will use it for my own devotionals.” The book, costs £10 to cover printing costs, plus P&P, but donations over and above this go to two charities – the Birhan College which trains up other workers to sustain and continue the work of the projects and the Tesfa Sponsorship Trust UK which sponsors children (and young people) and the elderly in the projects.
To obtain a copy of ‘Bible Reflections from a life devoted to the poor’ please email Sheila Johnson at journojohnson@aol.com
Paul Wilson, our chair, had the chance to visit Addis Ababa earlier in the year and see for himself what a difference the sponsorship scheme is making in the two communities that we support.
Paul meets some of the leadership at CBISDO
“I finally made it back to Addis Ababa after nearly 4 years!”, said Paul. “It was an amazing time, so good to see the way that the two projects are serving their communities. Special thanks to all those who sponsor a child or an elderly person (or both in some cases!!), you are making a real difference to their lives.”
One of the project staff with some of the young people from the Special Needs School
Tesfa Sponsorship Trust works with two Ethiopian-run NGOs in Addis Ababa called CBISDO and AHISDO. In each project area we facilitate the support of both children (and young people) and also the elderly.
The ‘food on foot’ programme that supports housebound elderly people
In CBISDO, there was so much community life evident – 100 or so elderly visit the day care centre which includes a hot meal at lunchtime as well as the children coming to collect a takeaway meal after school.
The hard-working kitchen staff preparing stacks of ‘injera’!
It was really evident from even Paul’s brief trip that both CBISDO and AHISDO have proven their adaptability and resilience throughout the Covid pandemic and through the global inflation crisis that is currently hitting them hard – they are still adapting and driven by a passion to serve the most deprived families in their community.
Supplies of sanitary materials – including soap and sanitiser – for sponsored elderly
The trustees of The Tesfa Sponsorship Trust UK continue to be massively grateful for the commitment and support of our sponsors. We are committed to continuing and growing our partnership with CBISDO and AHISDO – both through the sponsorship schemes and also supporting capacity building in both organisations. With regard to the latter, we are currently funding the training of the Management and Board members of both NGOs through Tesfa’s consultant, Tadesse Haile (a long standing supporter of the NGOs and friend of the late Dr Jember).
Like all charities, we are required to submit our annual report and accounts to the Charity Commission each year. Our report and accounts for the year up to 31 March 2021 have now been accepted and published on the Charity Commission’s website, and you can read them for yourself here:
This financial year covered one of the most difficult periods in recent memory – the global coronavirus pandemic. Our partner organisations in Addis Ababa worked hard to adapt their programmes to support our sponsored children and elderly through this difficult time. In particular, we are so grateful to our supporters who generously donated to our Covid appeal – money which was put to use to provide essential supplies and protective materials to members of the communities that we support.
Please do read the report for yourself, and feel welcome to contact us if you have any questions.
Thank you to all our sponsors and donors for your support during this year.
Hoping everyone has had a good Christmas! Here’s some more Christmas cheer from the sponsored children and elderly in one of the charities we partner with, CBISDO. Just loving the enthusiasm from the children as they wish their sponsors a Happy Christmas! Special thanks to you all for your ongoing support in so many ways.
We wanted to say thank you, again, to the many sponsors who so generously supported our special Covid Appeal back in the Autumn. We’re delighted to report that over £3,000 was raised in total and has now been put to good use in the project areas in Addis Ababa.
Families receiving their supplies of foodstuffs and sanitary materials
The funds have been used by both of the project areas to provide basic foodstuffs such as Teff flour, pasta, rice and oil. It has also provided funding for hygiene related products, such as hand sanitizer and cloth face masks as well as T-shirts for people living in the area with public health messages around hand washing and social distancing. Your money has made such a difference to families who would otherwise have gone hungry and may have reduced the spread of Covid in an area where people live close together in often challenging circumstances.
Like all charities, we are required to submit our annual report and accounts to the Charity Commission each year. Our report and accounts for the year up to 31 March 2020 have now been accepted and published on the Charity Commission’s website, and you can read them for yourself here:
This 12 month period marked only the second full year of Tesfa Trust’s operation, and in that sense it was an encouraging year. We spent much of the year putting in place the administrative systems and governance policies that will allow us to manage the sponsorship programme responsibly and effectively. An important part of this process has been to appoint Tadesse Haile as our consultant and representative in Addis Ababa. Tadesse is a long-standing contact, and has provided an invaluable bridge between us in the UK and our friends and partners on the ground in Addis.
The Tesfa Sponsorship Trust UK 