Summary

Hdrina has three essential projects that Omna Tigray can provide financial support for to sustain their efforts:

1. A feeding program for chronically ill children and elderly;
2. A kitchen gardening project in sebacare4 IDP site (already providing seedings and assistance to 240 households);
3. A women empowerment project for commercial sex workers in the host community (more and more women are turning into poverty-driven commercial sex work during these challenging times).

The funds raised will assist Hdrina in sustaining these programs and allow Hdrina to reach more people.

Challenge

Currently, Tigray is under a complete telecommunications blockade with no access to internet or phone services. There is also a siege, and access to aid in the region is heavily restricted. Bank accounts are frozen, and NGOs on the ground have limited access to funds. Due to these harsh constraints, the people in Tigray face famine, extreme poverty, severe illnesses, and a lack of resources or economic means. Organizations like Hdrina and its work are essential to assist at-risk families.

Solution

The solution to resolving the harsh conditions Tigrayan people face is to provide them access to food, sustainable farming/gardening that can allow them to continue feeding their families in the long term, and assistance. This will ensure that they don’t have to take severe measures to provide food, shelter, or medicine for their families, especially single women or single mothers. This can be achieved by helping hdrina have adequate funding to continue the work they have already started.

Long-Term Impact

In the long-term, ill children and the elderly will be able to regain their health and be functioning members of society. Tigrayans will be able to garden and feed themselves and their families, allowing IDPs to have means of survival during famine conditions. The women empowerment program will provide women with a safe space that can change their means of survival. Looking forward, Hdrina will have a lasting impact on the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people – and the funding will be able to help achieve that.

Hdrina x Omna Tigray Impact Report

So far, your contributions have supported the following core activities:

• In collaboration with the Women’s Affairs Office of Tigray and the Women’s Association of Tigray, 225 survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and other host communities are receiving psychological treatment, financial assistance, and in-kind or material support.
• Twenty-five GBV survivors in northwest Tigray have undergone entrepreneurship training, received support in the form of 25 electric hot plates, and have started selling injera.
• Three highly traumatized and economically disadvantaged GBV survivors have been selected by the Women’s Affairs Office of Tigray and the Women’s Association of Tigray to receive support from this project, covering expenses for food, housing rent, and dignity costs.
• Sixty chronically ill internally displaced persons (IDPs) are receiving medical support, daily meals, and monthly medication.
• A large feeding center, including a kitchen, feeding area, and storage facility, is under construction in the Sebacare4 IDP camp.
• Due to the high cost of Teff, we have shifted our focus to providing cash support for the past three months, while continuing medication and medicine assistance. 
• Eight hundred households in the Sebacare4 IDP camp are involved in urban gardening and other livelihood activities.
• Fifty commercial sex workers are receiving entrepreneurship and skills training as part of a pilot project. The next phase involves providing startup capital. Discussions with the Women’s Affairs Office of Tigray are ongoing regarding the timing and location to initiate their businesses. Delays are attributed to government procedures for land allocation, as renting is currently expensive and challenging for these women.

The funding provided thus far has been allocated as follows, totaling 1,441,407.00 birr:

• Food expenses: 624,708.00
• Medication: 49,540.00
• Transport expenses: 25,609.90
• Cash donation: 389,045.00
• Material donation: 179,570.00
• Kitchen and related expenses: 161,520.00
• Printing and stationery costs: 10,440.00
• Other costs: 975.00

Note: Due to budget shortages, the feeding center is nearly suspended. The current balance and future funding allocations will primarily support the women empowerment project (for the prostitution/commercial sex worker women).