Donation Programs
Identified areas of need within community and structured 5 donation initiatives for transparent allocation of funds
Leprosy Women’s Baskets
Description: Just as in biblical times, people affected by leprosy are often abandoned by family members to fend for themselves. They have little chance to work any “normal” jobs as many are left with damaged hands or feet. The income they can earn from selling baskets is likely their only income.
Advantage: Your purchases are their livelihood.
Microcredit Loans for Women
Description: The microcredit program seeks to provide women with small loans to start businesses. It might be to get supplies to make baskets, which she can then sell at the market. Or for an oven so she can cook bread to sell in her neighborhood. A popular choice is to buy some sheep or a cow, and to breed them. Once the offspring are grown enough, they can be sold to repay the loan, and the woman has a flock of animals to continue to generate income for the future. Other businesses: buying seeds and fertilizer for planting; buying salt or coffee to sell at market; buying supplies to make popular food products (red peppers for berbere, barley for kolo and kineto, etc).
When women receive their loan, the repayment schedule is planned based on the women’s business. Once the business turns a profit, the women pay back the loan and the funds are used again to support the next woman in need.
Advantage: This microcredit project is linked up with the Women’s Education & Training program, so the women get training or education about running a business, support when facing obstacles, and they become part of a community of women who strengthen each other in the long term as well. All these elements ensure the success of the loan from all sides.
Sponsor a Hospital Bed
Description: This program puts a donor’s money to the best use: paying for the treatment of patients in a particular bed in the hospital. Donors can choose to support any bed number in any of the wards: Pediatric, Medical, TB, Surgical, Maternity, or Leprosy.
You can give a week, a month, or even a year of treatment for any bed, and your money will be used for medications, food, clean water, nurse support, doctor support, and more.
Advantage: As a charitable organization, Gambo Hospital charges only modest fees to patients, which have little to do with the true costs of treatment. They receive about 80,000 ETB in patient fees each month...and spend more than 600,000 ETB. Without donors for the hospital, they simply could not stay open. Sponsors of this program are able to support the most crucial & noble cause of the mission: saving patient lives.
Financing: The Consolata Missionary Institute supports the missionaries of Gambo, and some projects operated at Gambo. However, Gambo Mission is responsible for finding sources of funding and essentially covering all costs. Donors who give either a single sum or who commit to a regular donation over a period of time are guaranteed to change and even save people’s lives.
Gambo Schools
Description: Though the schools employ 55 teachers and they administrate classes for more than 3,000 students, the entire school system has only two computers and one printer. To make copies, they have to visit the hospital to use the single copier of the entire mission compound. However, not all the teachers have computer experience or training for using or maintaining such equipment.
A goal of the future is to train essential staff on computers and general office equipment, and purchase such equipment for the use of the school system. This would help to bring the school system into the 21st century, and start getting the staff and teachers accustomed to computers. Eventually, there could be some computer training for the older students, which will help to prepare them for the future.
Advantage: Education is the foundation of all change. Children in rural areas are rarely taught anything at home (parents are too busy with food/work/keeping house), and in many households, they may be ignored until they reach puberty. Therefore, their time at school can be the only chance for them to learn, to be challenged, even simply to be paid attention to. Anything we can do to improve their education is invaluable.
Financing: While they receive a modest budget from the Consolata Missionaries, the schools remain chronically underfunded. Donors can support a specific project, like the ones described above, or they can make a general donation to the development of the schools. Every year, they need new textbooks, educational materials, paper, pencils, chalk, and more. Expenses increase (salaries, taxes, pensions, electricity, and more). Every birr donated to the Gambo Schools will be put to immediate use!
NAFTA (Fuel for the Generators)
Description: In Ethiopia, electricity is a privilege. The mission receives government-supplied electricity somewhat regularly, but outages and shortages are frequent and can be long-lasting. Therefore, the hospital and mission rely on huge generators to keep the work going. Imagine you are a surgeon performing an emergency appendectomy on a 10 year old child, and suddenly - the electric supply goes out. Without fuel, the generator won’t be turned on. You’ll have to stop the operation, or try to continue without any machines or lights, risking everything. ‘Nafta’ for the hospital is as critical as clean water.
Advantage: Donations are literally keeping the hospital running!
Financing: The hospital needs about 10,000 ETB per week to pay fuel costs, or €440. That is €1760 each month.
Make a donation
Contact: Dr. Francisco Reyes Rabell Telephone: +251916829998 (Eth) Email: francireyes80@gmail.com