SUNSHINE ACTION 耀陽行動

Addis Ababa - ETHIOPIA Volunteer Tour -

 "非洲愛心埃塞俄比亞-阿迪斯阿貝巴行"  

852-6888 4028sunshine@sunshine-action.org

Ethiopia is one of the World’s poorest countries. Out of a population of around 80 million (2008) people, 35 million people are living in abject poverty. In one of the world’s poorest countries, where about 44 per cent of the population lives under the poverty line, more than 12 million people are chronically or at least periodically food insecure.

Most of them live in rural areas with agriculture as their main occupation. With 80% of Ethiopians dependent on agriculture as their main livelihood, severe arid conditions due to persistent lack of rainfall coupled with civil disputes have worsened Ethiopian poverty.

Climate Changes Increasing Ethiopia Poverty

Increased poverty, water scarcity, and food insecurity are just some of the negative impacts set to hit small-scale farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia as a result of climate change in the region. While Ethiopia is no stranger to climatic variability, having suffered droughts that have contributed to hunger and even famine in the past, climate changes is set to make the lives of the poorest even harder. The persistent lack of rainfall is a major factor in rural poverty. Recurring droughts leave poor farming families without food crops, causing periodic famines. People lack coping mechanisms for facing drought-induced famines, and contingency planning is inadequate.

Causes of poverty in Ethiopia:

Some of the causes of poverty in Ethiopia are:

• Arid conditions leading to irregular production in the agriculture sector.

• Improper marketing strategies of agricultural products.

• Degrading ecology

• Technological know how being poorly developed.

• Transportation facilities are poorly developed.

• Failure of the rural people in participating in awareness programs meant for them

• Absence of sufficient rainfall

• Shortage of food products owing to several conditions.

• Absence of proper socio economic infrastructure. This includes lack of potable water, proper

• education and health programs.

• The HIV/AIDS pandemic is driving poor people even deeper into poverty, depriving families of the young adults who are their most productive members. It is estimated that about 6% of Ethiopia’s adult population is HIV-positive. Together, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and malaria seriously affect the health of large numbers of Ethiopians, many of them in rural areas.

 The state of public health is considerably better in the cities. Birth rates, infant mortality rates, and death rates are lower in cities than in rural areas owing to better access to education, medicines and hospitals. Life expectancy is higher at 53, compared to 48 in rural areas. Despite sanitation being a problem, use of improved water sources is also on the rise; 81% in cities compared to 11% in rural areas. As in other parts of Africa, there has been a steady migration of people towards the cities in hopes of better living conditions.

There are 119 hospitals (12 in Addis Ababa alone) and 412 health centers in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a relatively low average life expectancy of 58 years. Infant mortality rates are relatively very high, as over 8% of infants die during or shortly after childbirth, (although this is a dramatic decrease from 16% in 1965) while birth-related complications such as obstetric fistula affect many of the nation's women.

As of 2012, Ethiopia's prevalence of HIV/AIDS for adults aged 15–49 was estimated at 1.30%. The most affected are poor communities and women, due to lack of health education, empowerment, awareness and lack of social well-being. The government of Ethiopia and many private organizations like World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations, are launching campaigns and are working aggressively to improve Ethiopia's health conditions and promote health awareness on AIDS and other communicable diseases. Many believe that sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea result from touching a stone after a female dog urinates on it and there is a general belief that these diseases are caused by bad spirits and supernatural causes.

Ethiopia has high infant and maternal mortality rate. Only a minority of Ethiopians are born in hospitals; most of them are born in rural households. Those who are expected to give birth at home have elderly women serve as midwives assist with the delivery (Kater, 2000) The increase in infant and maternal mortality rate is believed to be due to lack of women's involvement in household decision-making, immunization and social capital.

Dallol volcano in the Danakil desert, Ethiopia

DEFORESTATION

Deforestation is a major concern for Ethiopia as studies suggest loss of forest contributes to soil erosion, loss of nutrients in the soil, loss of animal habitats and reduction in biodiversity. At the beginning of the 20th century around 420 000 km² or 35% of Ethiopia's land was covered by trees but recent research indicates that forest cover is now approximately 11.9% of the area. Ethiopia is one of the seven fundamental and independent centers of origin of cultivated plants of the world.

Ethiopia loses an estimated 1 410 km² of natural forests each year. Between 1990 and 2005 the country lost approximately 21 000 km².

Current government programs to control deforestation consist of education, promoting reforestation programs and providing alternate raw material to timber. In rural areas the government also provides non-timber fuel sources and access to non-forested land to promote agriculture without destroying forest habitat.

TRADITIONAL FOOD

BUNA (coffee) is the favourite drink of many Ethiopians. It is drunk in a unique and traditional way called the ‘coffee ceremony’. The coffee beans are roasted over charcoal, then ground and placed in a Jebana (coffee pot) with boiling water. When ready, it is served to people in small cups, up to three per ceremony. The first cup is called ABOOL, the second TONA, and the third BEREKA. This is a social ceremony and will last for at least an hour.

Mission of the trip:

- Donate food to the poorest of the poor through local organizations

- Plant the Planet Ethiopia

- Assessment to the local NGOs and needy people in the slum Kechene

Min. Fund-Raising Amount HK$6,800/volunteer (excluding travelling & personal expenses)

埃塞俄比亞聯邦民主共和國，通稱埃塞俄比亞，是一個位於非洲東北的國家，前稱埃塞俄比亞人民民主共和國。舊稱「阿比西尼亞」。

和一般非洲國家不同，埃塞俄比亞在第二次意大利埃塞俄比亞戰爭被意大利侵佔（1936－1941年）之前，一直維持其古老的君主制，並未有受到殖民主義浪潮的吞噬。1974年，一次軍事流血政變將1930年代以來一直統治埃塞俄比亞的皇帝海爾·塞拉西一世（Haile Selassie I）推翻以後，埃塞俄比亞廢除君主制實行社會主義，直至1991年才結束和放棄社會主義政治制度。非洲聯盟（非盟）總部位於該國首都亞的斯亞貝巴。

埃塞俄比亞的人口有8432萬，相較於1983年僅3350萬，根據2007年的人口及住房普查顯示1994年至2007年間年均人口成長率為2.6%，較1983年至1994年間的2.8%略為下降，但人口成長率仍居於世界前十位。全國約有80多個民族，所使用的語言大多數屬亞非語系，主要為閃米特語族及庫希特語族分支，後者則包括了奧羅莫人、阿姆哈拉人、提格雷族及索馬利亞族，這四個民族即佔埃塞俄比亞四分之三以上的人口。 根據2007年埃塞俄比亞人口普查，奧羅莫人為最大民族，佔34.49%，阿姆哈拉人佔26.89%，索馬利亞族及提格雷族分別佔6.2%及6.07%，其他民族分別為錫達莫族4.01%、古拉格族2.53%、沃萊塔族2.31%、哈迪耶族1.74%和阿法爾族1.73%、加莫族1.5%、Kefficho族1.18%和其他佔11%。

語言[編輯]

阿姆哈拉語為聯邦工作語言，通用英語，主要民族語言有奧羅莫語、提格雷語。根據民族語統計，埃塞俄比亞境內共有90個獨立語言。

宗教[編輯]

埃塞俄比亞是一個具有悠久和豐富的基督教傳統的國家，早期基督教從公元1世紀開始就已經在埃塞俄比亞北部和中部傳播了。現在全國人口中62.8%信仰基督教（其中全國人口的43.5%信奉埃塞俄比亞正教，18.6%信奉基督新教，0.7%信奉天主教）。埃塞俄比亞也是伊斯蘭教最早傳播到的國家之一，33.9%信仰伊斯蘭教。2.6%信仰原始宗教，0.6%信仰其他宗教。歷史上埃塞俄比亞境內一直有大量猶太人，他們自稱貝塔以色列人，但現在他們大都移居至以色列。

  FACTS about Ethiopia

There are more than 80 different ethnic groups in Ethiopia with just as many languages and over 200 dialects are spoken throughout the country. Ethiopia is the only country in Africa with its own unique script. Ethiopia claims to hold the Ark of the Covenant as well as a piece of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. Ethiopia is known as the Cradle of Mankind, with some of the earliest ancestors found buried in the soil.  Lucy (3.5 million years old), the most famous fossils found, were unearthed in Hadar. Ethiopia remains one of the only nations in Africa never to be colonized.  It was occupied briefly by the Italians from 1936 to 1941. Ethiopia is home to 9 UNESCO World Heritage sites, more than any other country in Africa.

• The area of Ethiopia is 1,104,300 sq. km, which makes it approximately as big as France and Spain combined.
• The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa, which means "new flower" in Amharic.  The altitude is 2,355m (7,726 ft), making it the 3rd highest capital city in the world.  It is also the diplomatic capital of Africa.
• More than 70% of Africa's mountains are found in Ethiopia.  Probably due to the high altitude in the country, Ethiopians are famous for being great long distance runners.
• Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile River, which meets the White Nile River in Sudan to form the Great Nile River. Lake Tana supplies 85% of the water to the Great Nile River.
• The Danakil Depression is home to one of the lowest points on the African continent - Dallol, at 116m below sea level - and one of the only lava lakes in the world - at Erta Ale volcano.
• The Great Rift Valley, the most significant physical detail on the planet that is visible from space, cuts through Ethiopia from the northeast to the south of the country

                                                                                               

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