Our Philosophy
Instead of focusing on one challenge at a time, we identify what it takes for a whole person to thrive.
When a child receives an education, there must be economic opportunities awaiting them.
If we treat symptoms of malnutrition in the clinic, then we must also prevent them by improving nutrition and agricultural production.
And, when we teach good hygiene practices, the water that people bathe in and drink from should be clean and accessible.
At Project Mercy, we base our programmatic work around this ideology and in doing so, we address the realities that shape people’s lives and create deep and long-lasting impact.
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The Medhane-Alem School
The Medhane-Alem School was founded in 1996 in partnership with the Yetebon elders, who invested their land and labor to build the school. Today, it educates over 2,000 children from Pre-K through 12th grade. The school benefits from local leadership and community ownership, as well as a high majority of teachers who graduate as Medhane-Alem students to become educators for the next generation.
In addition to our curriculum, and with support from our nutrition and health programs, children who attend the school also receive:
- Two Meals a day (Pre-K through 8th grade)
- Routine medical and dental screenings (Pre-K through 8th grade)
- Access to a school nurse and clinic
From a sampling of 161 students from Project Mercy’s school in the rural community of Yetebon that have graduated from universities in Ethiopia, their fields of study include: 19 in agriculture; 46 in business, accounting, and management; 15 in computer engineering, computer science, and IT; 30 in architecture, civil, electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineering; 48 in medicine, anesthesia, health officer, nurse, midwife, pharmacy, radiology, laboratory, public health, and other health-related fields (including one neurosurgeon); 3 in veterinary medicine; and more that include education, law, language, mathematics, psychology, sociology, and statistics.
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Adult Literacy Program
Nearly six out of ten women in Ethiopia ages 15 to 49 are unable to read and write, and in communities such as Yetebon, 57 percent of women have no formal schooling. For this reason, we provide literacy and math classes to parents and other community members who have never attended school. The program lasts 45 days and is taught by the students from our high school, utilizing the train-the-trainer model.
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Glenn C. Olsen Memorial Hospital
The Glenn C. Olsen Memorial Primary General Hospital is a state-of-the-art, medical facility that treats an average of 11,200 patients a year in Yetebon. The hospital has fifty-two beds and provides the following specialty services: Pediatrics, Internal Medical, Surgical and OB GYN, Radiology, and Pharmacy.
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The Health Science College
The Health Science College is a joint venture with the local Ethiopian government to address the lack of trained and certified medical professionals in rural communities.
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Community Health Development (CHD)
The Community Health Development (CHD) program is formed by several components to address last-mile health in rural Ethiopia. Key components include Community Health Education and the management of four health posts and one community health center which is overseen in partnership with the Health Bureau. Through a combination of preventative and curative services, we take an end-to-end approach to delivering healthcare services for a community of 25,000 people in Yetebon and the adjacent three kebeles.
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Demonstration gardens program
At the demonstration gardens, local farmers are taught how to grow cash crops which will provide a higher profit than some of the more traditionally grown crops in the region. This initiative integrates with the economic empowerment pillar, as well as our focus on nutrition, due to the commercial viability and the nourishment that many of the cash crops provide families. For example, when farmers are taught to grow avocados, they not only benefit their families health by introducing nutritious and green foods but also reap a higher income.
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Poultry farm program
Our poultry farm initiative was launched in 2018 as a way to introduce new and sustainable farming techniques to the region. We identified 336 families who were caring for elderly and less mobile parents and grandparents and introduced the nutritional and income benefit of poultry farming to them by supplying them with chickens ready to lay eggs. The Yetebon community has adopted poultry farming and is passing on the techniques to the next generation who are using this form of farming to generate income to support themselves. This initiative integrates directly with our health and education programs, by supplying eggs for our School Meal Program and ensuring children in the community are well nourished, which in turn reduces the reliance on medical care.
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Clean water program
Our boreholes increase the amount of water available to the people in the regions we serve. In addition, they have installed water reservoirs at four schools within Yetebon, with additional reservoirs at four health outposts and a medical center. Due to a gracious donation from Catholic Relief Services, a borehole was dug to increase the amount of water available to the people in the region.
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Coffee seedling program
Our coffee seedling program has been designed to create more diverse economic opportunities for the smallholder farmers in the region of Yetebon, where much of our work is focused.Our coffee farmers association involves 800 farming families across ten kebles, who have the opportunity to learn about cooperatives, fair-trade practices and the coffee export business. This training program takes place at our demonstration gardens, which provide the skills and knowledge for smallholder farmers to take home to their own plots of land.
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Dairy Cattle Breeding Program
Project Mercy's Dairy Cattle Breeding Program in ChaCha, Ethiopia, is transforming lives by improving milk production and generating income for smallholder farmers and their families. This innovative program draws on research from ILRI (previously ELCA), expertise from Purdue University, and support from various partners.
In partnership with the Royal Jersey Agriculture and Horticulture Society from Jersey Island, the program uses crossbreeding with high-yielding Jersey cows to significantly increase milk production. Local cows average only 1.6 liters per day, while improved breeds can produce up to 15 liters, nearly nine times more. This increased production allows families to not only have enough milk for their children, but also generate additional income from selling surplus milk. This income helps families afford necessities like education, healthcare, and better housing.
The program's impact extends beyond individual families. Project Mercy's model is being replicated by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, and the program has created employment opportunities for young people trained as breeding technicians.
Through expansion efforts, the program has grown significantly. What started with families in seven Kebeles (local administrative units) receiving improved breeds from Project Mercy's farm has now expanded to 14 Kebeles. This expansion is achieved by empowering local farmers and training Artificial Insemination Technicians in the community to ensure the program's sustainability and wider reach.
To date, the program has reached almost 200 families, with a total of 615 heifers distributed and calves born through the program's services. This brings the total number of improved breeding animals to 1,229.
Basket weaving program
Our basket weaving program provides economic opportunities to elderly women in Yetebon and surrounding Kebeles with new skills in artisanal crafts. Many women in the region used to make their living by carrying heavy firewood to the market for sale. This back-breaking work not only resulted in little income but also contributed to health complications for these women. Basket weaving is taught utilizing the local kauna grass, which is often dyed to add bright colors to these artisanal pieces. Through basket weaving, women can make up to 800 Birr per basket, which is often used to place children in school and improve their living conditions, including building brick houses to replace mud houses. It also supplies a sense of community as many of the women involved in this craft choose to weave baskets together.
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