Direct Aid to Mekele Refugees
Donation protected
The conflict between the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front has left more than 200,000 people without access to nutritious food, shelter, and warmth [1]. We're a group of volunteers and professional engineers with Engineers Without Borders who worked with the Mekele School for the Blind in Ethiopia for more than 5 years, and we created this fundraiser because we're shocked by what's happening to our friends and colleagues [BBC report, Doctors Without Borders].
Few aid organizations are operating on the ground due to the conflict, so these people aren't able to get the help that they need, and the internally displaced people living in Mekele have had to crowd into repurposed buildings and classrooms for shelter, without adequate access to nutritious food, bedding, sanitary and medical supplies [3].
Our contact on the ground, who's chosen to be called Araya in this fundraiser for safety, has estimated that there are between 6,000-8,000 people living out of the Ayder Primary School Refugee Camp in Mekele, of which there are 60 pregnant women, 200 nursing mothers (under 6 months), and about 1000 children under the age of 5. All of these people desperately need basic necessities, including high-nutrient and high-calorie foods, sanitary supplies like soap and pads, and blankets and mattresses.
We're raising donations help to the most vulnerable people in this refugee group: pregnant women and young children. We hope to raise $10,000 in the next two weeks to supply these people with these basic necessities.
A view inside a classroom at the Ayder Primary School Refugee Camp. Faces have been blurred to protect the identities of these people.
We'll send the full amount that we receive from this fundraiser as direct aid to Araya in Mekele. The transfer fee is less than 5% of the amount that we raise for a given week, and the rest of the money will be spent by Araya getting aid to the displaced people living out of this school.
Last week, we sent $100 through this channel, which Araya used for 200 servings of noodles and 50 sanitary pads (images attached below).
Recent Supplies donated through this channel. Faces have been blurred to protect the people in this photo.
We want to raise enough money to supply mattresses and blankets to the pregnant women who are sleeping on the ground, high-nutrient and high-calorie foods, sanitary supplies like soap and pads, and water storage tanks.
Please forward this fundraiser to others you know who may be interested in donating.
If you want to help further, contact your senator or representative and ask to increase aid to Tigray!
-Concerned Engineers Without Borders: Ethiopia Chapter Volunteers
Few aid organizations are operating on the ground due to the conflict, so these people aren't able to get the help that they need, and the internally displaced people living in Mekele have had to crowd into repurposed buildings and classrooms for shelter, without adequate access to nutritious food, bedding, sanitary and medical supplies [3].
Our contact on the ground, who's chosen to be called Araya in this fundraiser for safety, has estimated that there are between 6,000-8,000 people living out of the Ayder Primary School Refugee Camp in Mekele, of which there are 60 pregnant women, 200 nursing mothers (under 6 months), and about 1000 children under the age of 5. All of these people desperately need basic necessities, including high-nutrient and high-calorie foods, sanitary supplies like soap and pads, and blankets and mattresses.
We're raising donations help to the most vulnerable people in this refugee group: pregnant women and young children. We hope to raise $10,000 in the next two weeks to supply these people with these basic necessities.
A view inside a classroom at the Ayder Primary School Refugee Camp. Faces have been blurred to protect the identities of these people. We'll send the full amount that we receive from this fundraiser as direct aid to Araya in Mekele. The transfer fee is less than 5% of the amount that we raise for a given week, and the rest of the money will be spent by Araya getting aid to the displaced people living out of this school.
Last week, we sent $100 through this channel, which Araya used for 200 servings of noodles and 50 sanitary pads (images attached below).
Recent Supplies donated through this channel. Faces have been blurred to protect the people in this photo. We want to raise enough money to supply mattresses and blankets to the pregnant women who are sleeping on the ground, high-nutrient and high-calorie foods, sanitary supplies like soap and pads, and water storage tanks.
Please forward this fundraiser to others you know who may be interested in donating.
If you want to help further, contact your senator or representative and ask to increase aid to Tigray!
-Concerned Engineers Without Borders: Ethiopia Chapter Volunteers
Organizer
Gregg Willcox
Organizer
Seattle, WA