No matter how dark the night is, the morning is sure to come!

By Esubalew Dires

The Organization for Rehabilitation & Development in Amhara (ORDA) strengthens its developmental support in areas of food insecurity and extreme poverty. As a result, beneficiaries started to earn a better living. In this case, the involvement of USAID, the strongest strategic partner of ORDA, in many developmental projects is to be mentioned forefront in the region. ORDAs Graduation with Resilience to Achieve Sustainable Development (GRAD) is also funded by USAID through Care Ethiopia.

Gobgob, a small town which is 12 kilometers far from the capital of the district Nefas Mewucha, is one of the 39 intervention kebeles of GRAD. W/ro Etayehu Golla, aged 40, is a resident of this kebele since she was born. She has got three children. However, she was living under poverty as her small income was generated by the time she worked as house maid. Though the farmer has 3/4th hectare of land, she had neither farming tools nor knowledge & labor.

Farmer Etayehu exclaimed “I never forget the adversity I passed. It was in 2008 while I was aided by the Safety net in 2008. I was supposed to be at Nefas Mewuch to take my own share/wheat/, but I didn’t have even a penny for transportation. In that time, I heard seeds of eucalyptus tree could be sold at market. It was very disgusting that I couldn’t sell sacks of the collected seeds. My son and I obliged to go back to our residence on foot carrying the wheat. We were really tired and had nothing to eat. That was actually a nerve shattering experience which made me hopeless.”

In 2013, farmer Etayehu became participant of GRAD after graduating in Safety net. The project trained this poor widowed woman in relation to saving, improved variety productions and technology uses and shoat rearing & fattening. Immediately, she obtained a 5 thousand birr loan and engaged in sheep rearing & fattening. Surprisingly, the farmer paid back her loan & earned 540 birr in short time. In the second round, she earned and used 3 thousand birr for home expenditures. Currently, she owns around 11 sheep which cost over 10 thousand birr.
W/ro Etayehu is also brave in poultry. She earned 600 birr for egg sale. Her first son who has completed his 10th grade is also involved in sheep rearing, poultry and crop production.

A 25 kg of malt barley was assisted by the project in 2013/2014 and earned 4 quintals which was sold with 4 thousand and 60 birr. In 2014/2015, by producing 15 quintals of malt barley, the farmer earned over 15 thousand birr. In the same year, she gained 4 thousand birr from potato excluding what the family has used for food. 

In 2015/2016, she has bought an ox with 8 thousand & 6 hundred birr and produced wheat and barley expecting over 30 thousand birr income. She has also bought a donkey to transport crop productions.

The farmer is wonderfully changing out from a hand to mouth living. Her livelihood is progressively changing due to saving and IGA mechanisms. She is member of “Abat Alem” village-based economic and social associations that has saved over 6 thousand birr.

Eventually, farmer Etayehu used to rent her farmlands. Now, she has started to fully utilize and made a better living. Basically, securing food, fulfilling clothes & educational materials, saving 40 birr monthly at ACSI and VESA are to be mentioned.