Meet Project Ethiopia board member, Asamenech Assefa. Hear her reflect on the specific gifts she brings to the Board, what she finds most interesting, inspiring, and challenging, and what she envisions for the future of Project Ethiopia.

Judy Sanderman was recently awarded the “Mind and Heart Distinguished Alumni Award,” from Whitworth University (‘64). Judy was honored for the work she and her late husband Dennis Wilkins have accomplished with Project Ethiopia over the last 20 years. Read our interview with Judy about the history and development of this amazing project.

First off, I must confess that I’ve never been to Ethiopia. Up until recently, I never really knew or even thought about the country very much. All that changed, however, when I happened to stop at a Project Ethiopia exhibit at volunteer open house I attended two years ago.

Normally, we would gather to celebrate in person; sharing stories of hope and inspiration from Dangla, Ethiopia. Since we started planning the celebration over a year ago, much has changed in our world. Meeting in person to share a dinner together and raise funds to support community-led development work will not be possible this fall so . . . we are going virtual!

So much has changed in our communities and in our world in a very short time. No matter where we live on the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives and our communities in some way. This is now a worldwide shared experience across geography, culture, and economic condition.

As we wrap up the remaining work for 2019, we also take the time to identify our next projects and make plans for 2020. Next year we are excited to continue our community-led projects in all three impact areas – Access to Education, Healthy Homes, and Economic Opportunities. This will include...

Bags packed? Check! Passport in hand? Check! It was finally time to leave for the airport.I’ll admit, I was feeling anxious as I boarded the plane for my first trip to Ethiopia. I knew that two weeks was not going to be enough and in my head I was already planning my second trip. But wait -- I had not even left Seattle yet! “Stay present,” I had to tell myself. “Enjoy every single moment on this trip.”

Are you familiar with the tiny, gluten-free and super nutritious grain called Teff?  A relatively new introduction to U.S. grocery stores, teff is believed to have been cultivated in Ethiopia and Eritrea before 1000 BC! The word teff originates from the Amharic word “teffa” which translates as “lost”, due to its very tiny size. Three thousand grains weigh just one gram (1/28 of 1 ounce!), or 150 teff grains equal 1 kernel of wheat!

Thank you to our guests, donors, and sponsors for another successful Empowering Villagers, Transforming Lives fundraising dinner in April! We are excited to report that we raised $51,000 for community-led projects which will include...