Children are at the heart of what we do at Pura Vida Partners. Our Ethiopian Initiative is composed of a series of pilot projects focusing on children’s education, health and literacy. This Initiative will emphasize the education of girls, since this has been a proven strategy to reduce poverty. Our efforts are not limited only to girls, however, and we look forward to reaching our 2005-2006 fundraising goal of $100,000 in order to reach entire Ethiopian communities.

We believe that success requires outstanding partners. Pura Vida is excited as we expand our work into Ethiopia. However, we realize that we do not have the infrastructure to begin operating our own programs in this new country yet so we have chosen pilot programs with the following coffee cooperatives and non-profit oganizations.

• Project Mercy

Ethiopia is a country rich in history and beauty, yet is also one of the poorest nations in the world. Nestled in the horn of Africa, Ethiopia has an ancient culture and is one of only two African nations that were never colonized by Europe. Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia and is truly the center of life – both economy and culture revolve around it. The national language is Amharic and is unique to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's economy is based on agriculture, accounting for 60% of exports and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee production has suffered greatly over the past few years due to extremely low market prices. Many producers have abandoned their farms for the city; others are turning to non-coffee crops, highlighting the importance of Fair Trade. Ethiopia’s recent war with neighboring Eritrea (1998-2000) did not help its economy and border disputes continue to plague the northern region.

Electricity, running water and indoor plumbing are rare in rural areas. Fifty percent of Ethiopia’s 73 million people live in poverty and can expect to live only 48 years. Literacy is low - only 50% of adult men can read and write, and only 35% percent of women. The average Ethiopian woman will have five children, but 95 out of every 1000 babies born will die before they reach their first birthday due to disease and malnutrition.

Pura Vida is partnering with Project Mercy to offer life-changing scholarships for girls in the village of Yetebon, fours hours south of Addis Ababa. Founded by two Ethiopians in 1977, Project Mercy is a deeply respected organization that operates a hospital and school and offers literacy and skill training programs.

Approximately 70,000 people live in mountainside village clusters near Yetebon. Many students walk more than an hour each way to attend classes each day. Project Mercy's 1st-10th grade school maintains overwhelmng supoprt in the community which views education as an unbelievable privilege and opportunity.

Pura Vida will provide scholarships for girls to attend the school, receive basic health care, eat nutritious meals and develop a means of self-sufficiency. These scholarships will cover the costs of healthcare, tution, books, and supplies, along with daily breakfast and lunch for each student.