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The Future of ECF: Goals and Assistance

ECF’s education and development program at Aleltu has come a long way since its humble beginnings in mid-1990’s. We are more than half way toward matriculating 500 children and helping to bring improved development and conditions and sustainable behavior change among the surrounding communities. In the forthcoming years, 35-40 additional children will be enrolled every year at ECF’s Aleltu program. The following are the objectives and priority areas of assistance.


1. Child Sponsorships
The ECF program is growing, and it is extremely important to receive contributions by benefactors to help meet the basic program costs. As a first priority, ECF needs the assistance of individuals, businesses and other organizations to take up child sponsorships. Presently, only some 25% of the children have sponsors. This is the most direct and affordable route for individuals and businesses to get involved in a modest but meaningful way. Sponsors can choose to have direct relations and correspondence with the assisted children. In the next three years, ECF needs to enrol at least 400 additional child sponsors. $25.00 per month, or $300.00 per year for each student provides them a full life at Aleltu.


2. An Endowment Fund
The ECF Village in Aleltu needs to sustain itself into the future as a platform for various programs. An endowment fund needs to be established to help cover the core recurring costs. ECF needs the assistance of philanthropists, foundations and businesses to help capitalize such a fund. ECF’s objective is to establish an endowment fund of $500,000.


3. On-Site Resource Generation
ECF currently undertakes resource generation activities such as field crop production, vegetable gardening, dairy production, baking and handicraft production. ECF needs to expand the operation to include other resource generation activities such as milling, honey and poultry production, pottery, weaving, embroidery and sewing. ECF seeks a strategic partner to help strengthen and expand its farm-based resource generation activities. Those individuals or organizations that are working in this industry could be of great help and could realize the immediate benefit of participation.


4. School Expansion
Under the current growth phase. ECF Village in close partnership with USAID has completed the fourth phase on construction and development, with the completion of the high school classrooms, library, computer and science labs. ECF is seeking financial support for 2008-2009 to fund the next growth phase, to include a vocational center, expansion on dining and kitchen areas, expansion on agriculture and income generating program.


5. Local Economic Development Program
The poor rural and peri-urban communities around ECF Village in Aleltu need to be assisted to grow out of poverty through local economic development. ECF seeks an appropriate strategic partner to develop, resource and operate with ECF a small business development program as well as a skills development center for the surrounding communities. Training courses would include vocational training such as building construction and technology, electrical installation, auto mechanics and maintenance, metal work, blacksmith, woodwork and carpentry. It would also include literacy and other more basic life skills training.


6. Reproductive Health
ECF in partnership with the community and USAID is implementing an extensive community outreach and capacity building program in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention. Prevention interventions are focused on youth and undertaken on the basis of baseline research, best practices, consultations with community representatives and national strategies. Activities involve creative approaches such as peer-based education, community drama and workshops. ECF seeks a major HIV/AIDS healthcare corporation as a strategic partner to enable ECF Village to expand its prevention outreach to include assistance for primary health care in the areas of reproductive, respiratory and intestinal health.