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Published
by
International Orthodox Christian Charities,
September 23, 2005
IOCC Delivers
Shipment of School Supplies to Ethiopia |
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September 23, 2005
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (IOCC) – IOCC staff in
Ethiopia presented a shipment of 30,000 books
and instructional materials valued at more than
$1.3 million to His Holiness Abune Paulos,
Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, in a
ceremony held at Holy Trinity Elementary school
which is run by the Church, on Sept. 22, 2005.
At the ceremony IOCC Country Representative in
Ethiopia, Ken Baker, thanked Patriarch Paulos
and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for the
growing partnership between the two agencies
that includes the implementation of a $6 million
project, supported by funds from the U.S.
government through the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), to prevent
the further spread of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia.
“At all of the schools I have visited during my
travels in Ethiopia, I have seen the lack of
teaching and reference materials for students to
use,” observed Ken Baker, IOCC Country
Representative in Ethiopia. “This donation will
obviously have a positive effect on the
students.”
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church will work with
IOCC to distribute the materials to a network of
schools it operates throughout the country.
Students from primary school through high school
will benefit from the shipment.
The project was also made possible through the
support of the Ambassador for Serbia-Montenegro
to Ethiopia, Ivan Zivkovic, and a contribution
by Serbian basketball star Vlade Divac.
The school materials were provided by IOCC in
cooperation with the Brother’s Brother
Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pa.
IOCC has been active in Ethiopia since 2001,
when it began supporting small-scale
agricultural projects in partnership with the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s relief office, the
Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission.
Baker also acknowledged the efforts of the
Ethiopian Ministry of Education and Ministry of
Revenue for their quick action in agreeing to
this project and effecting customs clearance.
The shipment is part of IOCC’s growing
gifts-in-kind program that allows IOCC to
deliver donated shipments of high quality relief
and development items it receives from
corporations and partners in the United States.
Founded in 1992, IOCC is the official
humanitarian aid agency of the Standing
Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the
Americas (SCOBA). To learn more about IOCC’s
work in Ethiopia, please visit www.iocc.org.
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