Tsedale and Timnit Joint Fundraiser for Tigray
Tax deductible
In solidarity with Tigray: Joint fundraising campaign by Tsedale Lemma and Timnit Gebru, in partnership with Tegaru Disaster Relief Fund (TDRF)
There is nothing that can describe the agony of watching 7 million people experience the severity of death in slow motion; and yet that is exactly what every day is like for those 7 million Tigrayans besieged inside the Tigray regional state, in northern Ethiopia, due to what the United Nations (UN) called “a de facto blockade.”
For 18-months, we have tried to raise global awareness using our voices about Ethiopia's devastating genocidal war on Tigray. Now we want to up our support by raising funds. To do that we have signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with TDRF, who will use their established institutional mechanisms to ensure the funds raised in this campaign reach the people of Tigray.
The funds to be raised by this campaign will support three areas that are not only dear to us but are also the most affected by the genocidal war: The women of Tigray, healthcare, and education.
Women: A recent joint report by Tigray Bureau of Health and Mekelle University revealed that a shocking number of more than 120,000 girls and mothers were subjected to horrific sexual violence. Human Rights Watch had already sounded the alarm as far back as November 2021 that "the Ethiopian government’s blocking of aid with health facilities in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region destroyed is preventing sexual violence survivors from getting post-rape care." Little has changed since then.
Healthcare: According to a recent study conducted by Mekelle University, the civil war has decimated 80% of hospitals, 78% of health posts, and 72% of health centers in Tigray. The latest available data by the UN shows around 3.9 million people in Tigray need health services and interventions.
Education: The latest data by the UN shows more than 1,000 schools in Tigray that were damaged by the civil war left an estimated 160,000 students without their right to education. Around 77 schools are being used to accommodate internally displaced persons (IDPs), instead of being places where the children of Tigray go to learn. The fate of about two million school children in Tigray is no better. This grim assessment does not take into account the suffering of around 60,000 Tigrayan refugees sheltering in Sudan. The latest data indicates that 19,189 individuals are housed in Um Rakuba Refugees camp and 23,750 reside in Tunaydbah Settlement.
Malnutrition rates among Tigrayan refugees in Sudan has increased as a result of poor living conditions in the camps. The camps lack adequate essential relief items and there is a shortage of fuel and other NFIs (non-food items), including cooking gas and cooking utensils. Most of the refugees in the Hamdayet area sleep under trees near roads, in basic tents or sleeping bags, while some are being hosted by the local community in Hamdayet town. In the two camps and reception sites, there are medical supplies and personnel shortages. Refugees with chronic health conditions do not have adequate access to medications. The overcrowded camps and reception sites have led to the spread of communicable diseases, including COVID-19 and hepatitis. There is also an increase in the demand for psychosocial and psychological support as a result of trauma experienced by the refugees escaping prosecution and sexual violence as a result of ethnic violence and genocidal war.
The refuges’ struggle to live a dignified life is as dire as the needs of the millions of Tigrayans inside Tigray. With the organizational support generously provided by TDRF, we are launching this one-month campaign to raise money to help in the three areas described above, and in return we depend on your generosity to help us raise the funds, in solidarity with Tigray.
Thank you!
Tsedale Lemma and Timnit Gebru in partnership with TDRF
source:
Fundraising team (2)
Timnit Gebru
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
Tegaru Disaster Relief Fund
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
Tsedale Lemma
Team member
