AWWA
AWWA (Aba Woldetensae Gizaw's Mothers and Children Welfare Association) bears the name of the Archbishop Dioskorios, a mythic figure in Ethiopia whose life was devoted to carrying for the poor and the sick.. AWWA itself is a non-denominational Ethiopian charity committed to working primarily with women and children.

AWWA's current head is Zenebe Mamo who is a graduate in Social Work from Addis Abba University. For the past 25 years, he has worked on various social welfare programs in Ethiopia. Zenebe's training in education, community development and cooperatives make him well suited to the kinds of projects AWWA undertakes. AWWA is involved numerous projects including micro-financing and income generating enterprises for marginalized women, skills training of destitute youth and HIV Orphans., AIDS education, constructing classrooms, libraries and latrines in rural schools, protecting fresh water springs and digging shallow wells.

Like Partners in the Horn of Africa Zenebe is very conscious that the money for aid goes directly to the people in need. The offices of AWWA are 4 modified shipping containers on the fringes of Addis Abba and Zenebe takes public transportation to visit the projects throughout Ethiopia. Many of those trips are over 14 hours long and he stays with friends wherever possible to ensure he is conserving funds.

Partners in the Horn is proud to have visionary partners like Zenebe and AWWA on the ground in Ethiopia.

HOPE FOR CHILDREN (HFC) ETHIOPIA
Yewoinshet Masresha and the organization she heads up, Hope for Children, takes a community-based approach to caring for HIV+ children and for children whose parents have died of AIDS. Hope for Children (HFC) was Ethiopia’s first NGO (non-government organization) dedicated to this work and was founded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2001.

Currently, HFC provides care and support services to 900 children and their caregivers in Addis Ababa and Babile.

Yewoinshet Masresha, the founder and Executive Director, has been noted as one of leading African AIDS political activists and was recently nominated for the African Union Nelson Mandela Award.

Founded in 2001, HFC's success has been praised by local, national and global leaders in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. In 2005, Hope for Children was named one of the 5 best local NGOs in Ethiopia by UNICEF. Several dignitaries such as the former UNICEF Executive Director, Carol Bellamy and UN Special Envoy Stephen Lewis have acknowledged Yewoinshet's holistic approach to improving the quality of life for orphans and vulnerable children.

Yewoinshet's work has been featured on CNN, ABC, Voice of America, the Washington Post and several other major newspapers as an example of what one grassroots organization can accomplish in the fight against AIDS. Partners is proud to be both a partner with HFC, and to be the Canadian funding arm for HFC donations.