About Us
Inside the office block
The Bridget Creche
New Mums for Mums Centre - Creche added
Last update to this page: January 13th 2009.
During 2005, we succeeded in raising sufficient funds to begin the construction of our new centre as our previous premises were temporary and we were rapidly getting too big for them! In July 2006, we moved in and since then, we have been raising funds to help us complete the remainder of the building.
We moved into the new building in July 2006 as the first wing was almost complete. Initially, we were still using two containers for training. By July 2007, two wings were completed - the office block and the training rooms. The new centre includes office space, training rooms and a cafeteria in which we plan to sell products prepared as part of the food preparation training. We have planted a lovely garden in which we have flowers, herbs and vegetables (used in our Food Preparation training).
In July 2008, our Bridget Crèche opened its doors to the children of some of the destitute young women undergoing skills training at Mums for Mums. The money for the crèche building was donated by Mr. & Mrs. Sue Woodsford of Cambridge, in memory of their youngest daughter, Bridget, who tragically died in a car accident in Japan back in 1995.
The crèche is a lovely, light circular building, thatched with straw and bamboo in the traditional Gojo/tukul style (traditional Ethiopian house). It has lots of storage space for toys, child-size tables and chairs and plenty of floor space to play. Read more about the Bridget Crèche in the Jan-June 2008 newsletter
You can see the original site plan in our October-December 2006 newsletter. The centre was designed by a British architect, free of charge. The Municipality of Mekelle donated a suitable plot of land in the town. We also enlisted the voluntary help of a local experienced construction manager and a pair of German architects who are living here to help in the building process.
Due to financial constraints, the new centre is being built in phases. We still need more funding to finance future phases. If you would like to help by making a donation to the building fund, please complete our Enquiry Form or Contact Us by email or phone.
The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the new Mums for Mums Centre was conducted on December 5th 2005. There were more than 120 people present for the ceremony, mostly beneficiaries of Mums for Mums services. The ceremony started with a blessing and prayer led by an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian priest followed by breaking of bread
(Himbasha - a traditional Tigray bread, baked as a large round loaf and eaten communally) especially baked by one of our supporters. You can see photos and read a report of this ceremony in our September-December 2005 newsletter (PDF file).
See archived photos of the new building.
Kate Community Centre for the Elderly
The Kate Community Centre for the Elderly is under construction on additional land given to Mums for Mums by Mekelle City Municipality.
With an average life expectancy of 47 years, little is
heard about older people in Ethiopia. Even so,
many older people live in difficult situations with
little material or moral support – there is little in the
way of state social security for the elderly, leaving
them vulnerable to poverty. Greater opportunities
and mobility for younger people break up the
traditional extended family, taking away the
children who would naturally look out for ageing
parents.
Taking these factors into consideration, there are
an estimated 2000 elderly women (aged 60 years
or older) in Mekelle in a vulnerable situation.
The centre will be open 6 days a week, providing
the following services:
- A daily hot meal
- Sanitation facilities
- An environment for education on basic environmental issues, personal hygiene and caring for those with HIV/AIDS
- Basic medical services, such as eye treatment for some commonly occurring conditions like trachoma – the centre will provide these services in collaboration with local clinics
Mums for Mums hopes that many of the elderly
women in the local community will treat the centre
as their own. Every day, with the centre’s doors
open to the local women, this will give them the
opportunity to meet and talk with their friends -
drinking coffee and passing the time of day with
their friends, getting a shower or wash, before
returning home.
“Tadesse Kassahun” – the firm of Architectural
consultants - generously donated its time and
resources to prepare the design of the Centre free
of charge, and the cost of the initial foundation work
has been met by funds raised by Kate Doherty and
her Soroptimist friends, from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
Home-based Care
We are currently expanding the Home-based Care programme to other regional towns outside Mekelle, including Axum, Adua, Shire and Maichew. Care-givers are being trained in each of these towns and we are providing them with the equipment they need. This project is being funded by Pathfinder International.