Who are ActionAid?
We work in Ethiopia as an organisation aimed at eradicating poverty.
Our focus in Ethiopia ranges across many of the regional states of rural, urban and pastoralist areas.
We concentrate on strengthening the ability of poor people to help and develop themselves.
Partnership:
We place people at the centre of all our work and make them the focus of our organisational resources.
It is a fact that poverty is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon in today’s globalised world where people’s livelihoods are affected by decisions and choices others make.
We therefore believe it is imperative to create greater solidarity, coalition and collaboration with other development activists who are working to empower poor people.
We work in partnership with many groups, including a wide range of civil society organisations, academic and research institutions, community-based organisations, the media and other players in the fight against poverty.
Additionally, we work with the Ethiopian government bodies at all levels.
Country Strategy:
We recognise that poverty is caused by circumstances within the locality and also by decisions often made far away from where poverty is found. Our strategy seeks to address the immediate needs as well as the structural causes of poverty.
Our 2010/11 interim strategy is a two-year guide to our work. It’s the fourth strategy since we started working in Ethiopia in 1989. The interim strategy is an adaptation of the one we had from 2005 to 2009 which incorporates the new societies and charities law of the land, issued in 2009.
The strategy is founded on the principle that people affected by poverty have the power to change situations that affect them.
It positions us as a catalyst and facilitator of change processes with poor people driving their own change. We recognise that people are at the centre of the change processes.
It is primarily informed by the needs and priorities of poor people in Ethiopia. It is also based on lessons from decades of work with poor people at the grassroots and other levels across the world.
The strategy sets out the mission, vision, values and methodologies that we employ.
It also defines the key priority areas of food security, female development, HIV and AIDS and education, and examines the implications these have, including risks and assumptions.
Key among the focus of the strategy is female development. This is because we recognise that the majority of the people affected by poverty are women and girls.
For this problem to be addressed, we believe there must be a deliberate focus on empowering women to challenge the things that have previously disempowered them.
Vision, Mission and Values of ActionAid Ethiopia:
VISION: ActionAid Ethiopia envisions a poverty free Ethiopia where women and men realise their potential and live in dignity and prosperity.
MISSION: We are committed to work in genuine partnership with poor women and men to eradicate poverty.
VALUES: We strive to have courage of conviction, equity and justice, integrity, solidarity with poor people, mutual respect and trust, quality, humility and independence.
Mission Objectives ActionAid specifically works to acheive:
To develop the capabilities of poor women and men to secure sustainable livelihoods.
To enhance the collective capacity to respond to the needs of poor people through working with development partners and stakeholders.