Tearfund Canada and the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada are supporting the Ethiopia Kale Heywet Church Development Commission (EKHCDC) with a three year recovery and food security project in in the Raya Alamata District of Southern Tigray, Ethiopia.
Two consecutive years of war in Tigray have resulted in thousands of deaths, many displaced people, disrupted livelihoods and widespread trauma. Following a peace agreement, the survivors returned to find their houses burned, assets looted, and business firms and other means of living destroyed.
This three-year project will focus on restoring the livelihoods and food security of 1,200 households (6,000 individuals) in war affected communities in Raya Alamata District. EKHCDC will supply these participants and their households with agricultural inputs such as seeds (teff and sorghum), farm tools, and restocking of small ruminants. In addition, EKHCDC will introduce conservation agriculture (CA) methods of farming to boost productivity of the land. 36 self help groups will also be established to encourage women to engage in business activities that will increase their family income and maximize food security status.
The projects will also address issues of sexual & gender-based violence (SGBV). During the war, many women and girls in the target areas were affected by SGBV which left them with horrific emotional, physical, and spiritual scars. The project will train trauma healing facilitators to support and help the victims. The project will also work on empowering women and gender transformation through gender based trainings and awareness creation.