Group Updates
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Colleen (Kendrick) Kraft came with the first group of Taylor University students to teach farmers composting and to start the Yetebon garden. What she saw in Yetebon, Ethiopia, would have a lasting impact on her. It was at Project Mercy’s compound that her calling started to shift from being a missionary in Africa to pursuing medicine for marginalized populations. Colleen went on to medical school at Indiana University and received her medical degree followed by a residency in internal medicine at Emory University, where she is currently employed. In 2014, when the cameras captured the first Ebola patient coming into the hospital, Dr. Colleen Kraft was on the team of doctors to treat the patient. Dr. Kraft would return with her husband and three sons to Yetebon in 2015. Her favorite thing to see was projects she had worked on 20 years ago, including the garden. The food security in the region had totally changed. “God used the experience in Yetebon to influence my future,” she said. Dr. Kraft currently serves on the Board of Directors for Project Mercy. She celebrates what Project Mercy is doing for women in science in Ethiopia. She said, “Yetebon is shaping women and girls through education which is important for science and Ethiopia.” Project Mercy continues to plant seeds in those who we educate and the ones who come to serve in Yetebon. To those who have stood beside us, thank you! You are the one planting seeds far beyond Ethiopia.