Two decades in Ethiopia
We have worked in Ethiopia without a break for two decades. Eight regions, over a hundred projects and one commitment: helping rural communities gain access to water, health, education and food security.
Where it all began
In September 2005, three people travelled to Ethiopia to work with Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity. Our organisation grew out of that trip, with one euro of founding capital and plenty of enthusiasm.
In 2007 we were legally recognised as an International Humanitarian Organisation by the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice, registered with the Charities and Societies Agency under no. 0148. That same year we launched our first project on the ground: strengthening primary healthcare in the Afar region. We started by refurbishing and equipping the maternity ward of Dubti Regional Hospital.
We have stayed ever since. We have stood by the country through its crises and its progress: the drought in the Horn of Africa, the worst famine in thirty years, the conflicts in Tigray and Amhara, the pandemic, the locust plague. This continuity makes all the difference. We don’t come and go with each funding call: we stay. That is how we have built genuine relationships with local authorities, community leaders and partners on the ground.
One story, two names
In Ethiopia we are still Amigos de Silva. It is the name that authorities, local partners and communities have known us by since 2007. And it will stay that way. We keep our original name and logo in the country, because they are part of the trust we have built over twenty years of working together.
Eight regions, a long-term presence
ADS in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a vast and diverse country: twelve regional states, two chartered cities, more than eighty languages and landscapes that range from the Afar desert to the northern highlands. We work where the needs, and the trust we have built over the years, make it possible.
Current administrative divisions (12 regions and 2 cities). Boundaries are approximate. Base map: SimpleMaps.
How we work in Ethiopia
Direct implementation
Unlike many organisations that fund local implementing partners, in Ethiopia we implement our projects directly. We have a permanent office in the country and a mixed technical team on the ground. This means we can make decisions quickly, check the quality of every intervention and account in detail for every euro we invest.
Institutional and community coordination
We design and carry out all our projects together with national, regional and local authorities (woreda and kebele) and with the communities we serve. We have long-standing agreements with federal ministries and the regional bureaus of Health, Water and Education. These agreements have allowed us to take part in nationwide programmes, such as the fight against visceral leishmaniasis or the removal of fluoride from water in the Rift Valley.
Local knowledge
Two decades of continuous presence have given us something money can’t buy: a real understanding of the context. We know the federal and regional administrative procedures, the dynamics of each community, the times of year when work can and cannot be done, and the local partners we can trust. Every project we design builds on this accumulated knowledge, not on imported templates.
Our projects in Ethiopia
Looking for a partner to work with in Ethiopia?
Ethiopia has huge cooperation needs. It also has operational challenges that call for experience, local knowledge and a real presence on the ground.
With twenty years of direct work in the country, a permanent office and our own team, Fundación ADS helps organisations with no local base in Ethiopia to carry out their projects.