Life Education for Ethiopian Youths

[“SHARE” OCT – DEC 2019 ] JOIN HANDS JOIN HEARTS

Written by: Edward Lai (Senior Communications Officer)

 

What kind of person would you like to be?

 

When discussing dreams with youths, despite where they live, they somehow think of being a doctor, pilot, lawyer, teacher or entrepreneur. Dreams may fade in a blink, but it may also be planted in hearts, awaiting to sprout. CEDAR’s Ethiopian partner [1] entered local poor communities, determined on discussing dreams, meanings and values of life with youths.

 

Continue reading Life Education for Ethiopian Youths

We are awake: STOP Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

[“SHARE” APR – JUN 2019 ] JOIN HANDS JOIN HEARTS

 

We put on armors to fight to eliminate harmful traditional practices
Subvert the harmful influences and effects
We are united and determined to take actions
Because we are now well awaken to the scourge.

 

Ignorant people in the past
Have been badly harmed by them
Because they did not know any better.
Ignorant people in the past believed
Harmful traditional practices were good for them
When indeed their lives were at stake.

 

Female Genital Mutilation is a major harmful practice.
Sugar-coated as prestigious and noble,
FGM suffocated our mothers
We regret and repent for the harm incurred.
FGM steals away sexual pleasures, corrupts marriages
And adds complications to child birth.

 

(Lyrics edited by CEDAR Fund, originally written by a member
from the ant-FGM group in Ethiopia.)

 

Under the warmth of the bright and serene sun, a group of Ethiopian village and school girls stood before a hundred villagers, and sang the above song with shiny smiles and beaming faces. Some of them had a uniformed yellow T-shirt on, where the slogan “STOP Female Genital Mutilation” was displayed clearly in the local language. This day was the special day of village education day, and also the performance day of the advocacy club.

Continue reading We are awake: STOP Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Rekindling the Hope of Poor Suburb Children

[ “SHARE” Jan-Feb 2017 ] JOIN HANDS JOIN HEARTS

Children are the hope of our society, and most parents would stop at nothing to provide the best for their growth. However, life is different for the children born in the slums who struggle to obtain necessities daily, consequently giving them more obstacles to a bright future.

Continue reading Rekindling the Hope of Poor Suburb Children

Join Hands Join Heart: A 20 years Journey in Ethiopia | Serena Suen

[ ‘SHARE’ Nov-Dec 2015 ] FOCUS ~ MINISTRY

Written by: Serena Suen (Programme Officer)

In the past 20 years, Hong Kong was returned to China, experienced the Asian Financial Crisis, overcame SARS, went through the Umbrella Movement and experienced many more events. Across the globe in Ethiopia, its capital city Addis Ababa also came out of a 17-year civil war and survived the notorious famine which took 400,000 lives. As the country gradually moved out of the shadow of famine and achieved the highest economic growth in Africa, a generation of children has grown up as well.

Continue reading Join Hands Join Heart: A 20 years Journey in Ethiopia | Serena Suen

Restoring Women’s Self-worth and Dignity by Breaking Cultural Vices

[ ‘SHARE’ Nov-Dec 2015 ] STEP INTO THE WORLD

Breaking cultural vices needs constant intervention and promotion to achieve results. CEDAR’s partner in Ethiopia, Kale Heywet Church Development Commission (EKHC-DC), fights against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Although FGM is banned, the traditional thinking and practice of genital mutilation as a means of ensuring chastity is deep-rooted. EKHC-DC therefore actively educates the public on the harmfulness of FGM through promotional events and workshops, and organises “combat groups” and ‘public awareness ambassadors’ to fight against FGM.

Continue reading Restoring Women’s Self-worth and Dignity by Breaking Cultural Vices

Global Discipleship Programme

[ ‘SHARE’ Jul-Aug 2015 ] FOCUS ~ DISCIPLESHIP

“What’s the most important thing in our lives? Are we willing to risk our lives for Jesus in all circumstances?” “Is there any value or belief so deeply-rooted in our culture that we just accept without question?” These are some of the questions raised by the participants of Global Discipleship Programme (GDP), who went on a 3-week mission/exposure trip to Ethiopia last summer. In this interview, Rev. Pak Loh, CEDAR Fund’s mission pastor, also the mastermind behind GDP, will share more about this programme that shakes up the lives of these participants, prompts them to face the world and themselves, and takes them on a transformational journey.

Continue reading Global Discipleship Programme