WIREDGOV

Vulnerable families in south west Ethiopia will gain increased food security and access to clean water thanks to a £413,983 grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

The grant to the CAFOD is one of 17 being made to UK organisations through the Fund’s International Communities programme which supports projects tackling the causes of poverty and deprivation and the impact they have on people’s lives.

CAFOD’s project in the Burji district of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s region of Ethiopia will improve management of agricultural and natural resources, directly benefitting just under 2,400 households with skills training and business plan development and indirectly benefitting approximately a further 2,500. Training will be provided to farmers on practices suitable to local weather patterns and soil structure, improved seed varieties will be distributed and a seed supply system established.

To reduce livestock disease, fly trapping materials will be distributed in each location to control the prevalence of tsetse flies. AND Iproved disease resilient cattle, goats and poultry will be provided to vulnerable households. Around 125 agricultural dams will be constructed to prevent flooding, gullies will be constructed to avoid soil damage and increased vegetation cover created to prevent soil erosion from heavy rains.

Teamrat Belai, Senior Livelihoods Programme Officer, CAFOD in Ethiopia, said: “We will work with our local partner Agri-Service Ethiopia to support some of the most remote farming communities in southern Ethiopia. The Burji communities are not able to produce sufficient food from their farmlands, as they are overused and become less productive over time. Nearly three-quarters of the total population of almost 62,000 has serious food shortages and cannot feed their families throughout the year. This grant is essential to help more than 5,000 households become self-sufficient, to learn how to rehabilitate land, produce more food. Additionally, the grant will provide access to a clean water supply for the families who are most affected by water shortages. The farmers will have new skills to make money to buy essential items and services and to improve their land productivity. So in addition to better farming, the project will provide alternative sources of income and more choices for people in Burji."

Also in Ethiopia, UNICEF receives £443,857 to support 12,000 families from the Amhara region that do not have a household member fit for work and families that are caring for children that are at risk or abandoned in their communities. Foster carers of orphans and young people leaving care are usually deemed too high risk for microcredit organisations which exacerbates the orphan crisis situation. UNICEF will introduce flexible financial and non financial support packages in the form of business support, start up loans and training.

A project in Punjab, Pakistan, will help to improve the health of pregnant women to reduce maternal and infant deaths. Feed the Minds receives £472,575 to train 4,800 women in 150 rural villages in Narowal District on the importance of sanitation, nutrition, clean water and vaccinations as well and the dangers of anaemia, septicaemia and dehydration. One woman in each village will be selected and trained as a community midwife to support women give birth safely.

A similar project run in northern Uganda receives £498,489 to make pregnancy and childbirth safer and improve newborn and child health in 67 villages in the Gulu and Amuru districts. Women and Children First will increase the number of women receiving ante-natal and post-natal care and the number of women giving birth in health facilities.

Afrikids receives £281,160 to improve primary education, the rights of disabled children and livelihoods of women in the Kassena Nankana District of northern Ghana. The quality of teaching will improve in 45 schools while families with disabled children will receive goats and training on their rearing to provide a sustainable income. Women will gain access to micro-finance loans and training including market research and record keeping.

Peter Ainsworth, Big Lottery Fund Chair, said: “Thousands of households in this part of Ethiopia suffer from severe food shortages and struggle to feed their families. This project will help around 5,000 households become more self-sufficient by learning how to improve the productivity of their land and grow more food.

“The Fund is supporting practical ways of tackling the causes of poverty and deprivation, to help improve the lives of some of the poorest people across the world.”

For other grants being made click here.

Further information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888

Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572

If you have a hearing or speech impairment you can contact us using Text Relay at
18001 plus 0191 376 1776

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: http://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund

Notes to Editors

• The Big Lottery Fund, the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• The Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 the Fund has awarded close to £6bn.
• The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• In the year ending 31 March 2013, 28% of total National Lottery revenue was returned to the Good Causes
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, over £31 billion has now been raised and more than 400,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.