A family bakery in Lalibela
Donation protected
My name is Stefan and I am supporting a young man named Firew, who together with his sisters and brothers are building up a bakery and pastry business in Ethiopia, following the end of the civil war in the northern part of the country.
Frew and his younger brothers and sisters come from the holy city of Lalibela, where rock hewn churches are carved out from a single rock. This holy city of Lalibela, a UNESCO registered world heritage site, has been in one of the war zones for the past 6 months. This has destroyed the lives of the Lalibela community, including Firew and his family.
Firew was working as a tour guide for a living before the world wide infliction of Covid 19 and the civil war in the northern part of Ethiopia. It was during my visit to Lalibela that I met up with this young local tour guide.
I learned a lot about his family during my stay with him and he is clearly a strong and ambitious young man, carrying all the family's burden on his shoulder. He comes from an extremely poor family and sadly lost his parents when he was teenager. He had to take complete responsibility to care for his younger brothers and sisters, following the death of his parents. They suffered greatly for years to make ends meet with no one in the family able to find a job to earn money. After many years of suffering , Firew found a job as a tour guide and could finally earn enough money to cover the living expenses of his family.
However, after the disruption of both Covid and the civil war, tourists no longer visit the town of Lalibela which has resulted in financial hardship for the whole Lalibela community, especially for tour guides.
Firew now intends to establish a stable bakery business to earn sufficient money for his family's living expenses .
Firew's words: " If you support my project to succeed, I promise that I will offer you free coffee and cakes when you come to Lalibela for a visit."
Thank you Stefan
Frew and his younger brothers and sisters come from the holy city of Lalibela, where rock hewn churches are carved out from a single rock. This holy city of Lalibela, a UNESCO registered world heritage site, has been in one of the war zones for the past 6 months. This has destroyed the lives of the Lalibela community, including Firew and his family.
Firew was working as a tour guide for a living before the world wide infliction of Covid 19 and the civil war in the northern part of Ethiopia. It was during my visit to Lalibela that I met up with this young local tour guide.
I learned a lot about his family during my stay with him and he is clearly a strong and ambitious young man, carrying all the family's burden on his shoulder. He comes from an extremely poor family and sadly lost his parents when he was teenager. He had to take complete responsibility to care for his younger brothers and sisters, following the death of his parents. They suffered greatly for years to make ends meet with no one in the family able to find a job to earn money. After many years of suffering , Firew found a job as a tour guide and could finally earn enough money to cover the living expenses of his family.
However, after the disruption of both Covid and the civil war, tourists no longer visit the town of Lalibela which has resulted in financial hardship for the whole Lalibela community, especially for tour guides.
Firew now intends to establish a stable bakery business to earn sufficient money for his family's living expenses .
Firew's words: " If you support my project to succeed, I promise that I will offer you free coffee and cakes when you come to Lalibela for a visit."
Thank you Stefan
Co-organisers (2)
Stefan Horst
Organiser
Munich, Bayern
Firew Melkamu
Co-organiser