Dear Friends and Stakeholders,

Peace Corps Ethiopia continues on an upward trajectory: The

Volunteer population exceeded 200 for the first time in 2013

and will rise to over 240 in 2014.

The program’s expansion would not be possible without the

excellent support we receive from the Federal Ministries of

Education, Health and Agriculture, as well as their regional

counterparts. Likewise, we receive strong support from other

U.S. Government programs, principally PEPFAR and USAID.

Volunteers have continued their exciting work in primary

schools, health centers, HAPCO offices, agricultural offices

and other community-based organizations. Common to all of their work is the Volun-

teers’ efforts to build the capacity and skills of people in their communities. They are also

engaged in some great cross-sector initiatives: Grassroot Soccer, Stomping Out Malaria

in Africa, Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) and small space/high yield permagar-

dening.

We moved some ―big rocks‖ in 2013; the results should be even more productive Volun-

teers. We relocated Pre-Service Training to Butajira, yielding efficiencies that enabled us

to increase the amount of training we give to Volunteers before they report to their com-

munities. In Mekele, we opened a Regional Volunteer Support Office to complement the

one we have in Bahir Dar. We will open a third in Jimma early in 2014. We also held our

first All-Volunteer Conference, which gave Volunteers across sectors and regions an op-

portunity to meet, share ideas and collaborate.

In August, we took acting Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet and 24 members

of Congress to Ambo to observe firsthand the work of our Volunteers. They were so im-

pressed that they formed a Congressional Peace Corps Caucus, spearheaded by Con-

gressman John Garamendi (RPCV Metu). By year’s end, the Caucus had 76 members.

Late in 2013, the Ministry of Education agreed to our proposal to refocus our Education

program from primary school English teacher training to direct classroom English teach-

ing in Ethiopian high schools. This takes advantage of a traditional Peace Corps strength

and will better promote English language learning in Ethiopia.

We thank you for your collaboration and look forward to working with you in 2014.

Gregory W. Engle — Country Director

Over 3,000 Volunteers have served in Ethiopia since 1962 in the areas of education, com-

munity development, business development, agriculture and health. The first group of

Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Ethiopia (including present-day Eritrea) in September

1962, with 279 teachers working in both secondary schools and vocational/technical

schools. From 1962 to 1977, Peace Corps Ethiopia was one of the largest Peace Corps

programs in the world. More than 3,000 Volunteers served in the country before Peace

Corps terminated the program in 1977 due to the unstable political situation.

The post re-opened from 1995-1999, but conflict with its northern neighbor Eritrea

caused the post to close again. In 2006, the Government of Ethiopia and the U.S. Ambas-

sador signaled strong support for the placement of Volunteers to strengthen community-

based HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment activities as part of PEPFAR. Subse-

quently, a new country agreement was negotiated and the post re-entered the country in

2007 with 38 health sector Volunteers.

The Peace Corps has been involved in almost every facet of Ethiopia’s development over

the past decades, making contributions in the fields of education, health, rural develop-

ment, and small business development. Peace Corps’s cur-

rent program focuses on three core areas: strengthening

English-language teaching and learning, addressing HIV/

AIDS and other public health concerns, and promoting agri-

cultural development including food security.

Peace Corps Volunteers

live and work in communi-

ties in the Amhara,

Oromiya, Tigray, and Southern Nations regions of Ethiopia. Each Volunteer collaborates

with local counterparts to support the Ethiopia government’s strategy to create and

strengthen their communities’ capacity in the areas of public health, conservation and

resource management, and English language education. To best serve the needs of the

Ethiopian government, Volunteers are placed in community health centers, HIV/AIDS re-

source centers, community-based organizations (CBOs), nongovernmental organizations

(NGOs), district-level government offices, public schools, and teacher colleges.

Over the past two years, Peace Corps Ethiopia’s Volunteer population nearly doubled in

size, making our program the third largest post in Africa. In early 2014, a new intake

group of 36 Community Health Volunteers and 29 Agriculture-Environment Volunteers

will bring the population to 240 Volunteers. In addition to Volunteers serving their 2-

year commitment in communities throughout the country, Peace Corps Ethiopia has a

vibrant community of 3rd-year Volunteers who have extended their service to work with

Peace Corps’s three project sector teams as Peace Corps Volunteer Leaders, or with part-

ner organizations such as the Clinton Health Access Initiative, JSI and A Glimmer of

Hope, or as Peace Corps Response Volunteers with agencies such as the Horn of Africa—

Regional Environmental Center.

Education remains the largest sector in Peace Corps Ethiopia, with 114 Education Volunteers

currently serving as English language teacher trainers in Ethiopian primary schools and Colleges

of Teacher Education. They actively collaborate with local counterparts to promote effective

teaching methodologies and improve English proficiency for both teachers and students. English

clubs, reading programs, methodology trainings, improved libraries and computer rooms, and

gender programs are some of the main activities our Volunteers have carried out in host com-

munities large and small. Teacher

trainings focus on developing a re-

flective teaching practice and incor-

porate topics such as early literacy,

active learning methodologies, text-

book adaptation and supplementa-

tion, and classroom management.

Since 2011, Education Volunteers

have served as part of the USAID

prog ram known as ITELE

(Improving the Teaching of English

Language in Ethiopia). Based on the

results of USAID’s Rapid Appraisal

of the project this past spring, Vol-

unteers have shifted their focus to

emphasize co- and model teaching

as a means of demonstrating and

promoting the most modern English

language teaching techniques.

In response to the challenge of ac-

cess to English language resources

that fit the context and proficiency

levels of Ethiopian teachers and stu-

dents, our Education program be-

gan a materials development project in 2013. Volunteers identified four initial focal areas: TEFL

teacher training, student and teacher English cubs, supplementary listening tasks for the English

for Ethiopia Textbooks, and early grade reading. Small teams of Education Volunteers are com-

pleting manuals, audio recordings, and supplementary materials that will soon be distributed to

all, serving as resources for them and their host communities for years to come.

In September 2013, fifty-seven new Education Volunteers entered service. This group will be

fully engaged in the current ITELE program through the end of their service in 2015, which will

also mark the completion of the ITELE program. Our next class of recruits is due in July 2014

and will embody the evolution of the Peace Corps Ethiopia education program. Reflecting a re-

focusing of our efforts, this group will serve in high schools and CTEs and will engage in direct

classroom English teaching or co-teaching (TEFL), teacher support and development, and using

information and communication technology as an English language learning resource.

Gender Equality

3,415 young people participated in activities promoting gender

equality, empowerment, leadership development and healthy life-

styles through primary school gender clubs, sports events and

camps. Volunteer-led programs were designed to inspire and pro-

mote healthy self-esteem, decision-making skills, and to encourage

girls to further their education.

English Proficiency of Students

129 Volunteers worked with 14,871 students to promote improved proficiency in read-

ing and writing in English as well as informal English speaking skills through English

clubs, reading circles, creative writing competitions, sports activities, radio broadcasts

and debates.

English Proficiency of Teachers

By creating opportunities for teachers to practice their English language skills with a na-

tive speaker in a natural setting, 113 Volunteers established Teacher English Clubs to

deliver English skills trainings to 1,380 primary school

teachers.

The purpose of the health program is to improve individual and family health in Ethiopia

through the reduction of infectious diseases and development of healthy behaviors. Be-

cause of the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS problem in Ethiopia, this sector previously had a

stand-alone HIV/AIDS focus funded by PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Re-

lief). Our volunteers concentrated their work on HIV prevention efforts as well as care and

support for the people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS (PLHIV). A big challenge

that Community Health Volunteers faced, however, was the presence of other priority

health issues in their communities. Because of this, in 2013, we redesigned our project to

include the broader health issues that communities want to address and started to ade-

quately equip the PCVs with skills and knowledge to address pressing community health

issues such as nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, and malaria.

In 2013, 60 Community Health Volunteers worked to increase the capacity of people to

take charge of their own health. Volunteers were active in HIV/AIDS education and aware-

ness programs in their communities, local primary schools, high schools and universities,

creating linkage/referral systems and economic strengthening for PLHIV and OVCs, coordi-

nating community-wide malaria, hand-washing and Girl’s Day events, organizing and pro-

viding health-related trainings and education on malaria, improved nutrition for mothers

and children, and hygiene and sanitation, and community mobilization for health issues

with the aim of reducing disease and early mortality in every Volunteer community.

HIV—Awareness, Prevention, Care and Support

2,025 young Ethiopians participated in HIV prevention and healthy life-

styles trainings through Peace Corps-led interventions such as Grassroot

Soccer, Camp GLOW and World AIDS Day. 388 People Living with HIV

and Orphans and Vulnerable Children were reached with economic

strengthening interventions and business skills training.

Water Sanitation and Hygiene

Community Health Volunteers and their counterparts organized commu-

nity-wide events for Earth Week and National Hand-Washing Day, targeting 3,932 primary

school children with trainings on proper hand-washing techniques and basic sanitation. In

addition, Volunteers and their counterparts trained 202 Health Extension Workers, teachers,

and other community members on community disease prevention through improved sanita-

tion and hygiene. Three Community Health Volunteers and their counterparts constructed

composting toilets at local primary schools, ensuring that 7,322 primary school children bene-

fit from improved latrines.

Nutrition

In an effort to improve nutrition and food security among re-

source-poor people living with HIV, Community Health Vol-

unteers and their counterparts facilitated nutrition workshops

in conjunction with Urban Gardening techniques. More than

660 PLHIV learned permagardening techniques for improved

nutrition.

The Resilient Environment, Agriculture and Livelihoods (REAL), formerly Conservation and

Natural Resource Management (CNRM), was launched in 2012 following Peace Corps Ethio-

pia’s entrance into the global Peace Corps partnership agreement with USAID and the Feed

the Future initiative. The original CNRM project’s direction has therefore evolved from its

previous focus on protected area management and ecotourism to enhancing agricultural

systems in order to improve food security at the grassroots level. REAL Volunteers provide

core support at the village level to improve the food security status of the communities

they serve. Volunteers, in collaboration with their counterparts, work in predominantly ru-

ral communities to strengthen the current technical capacities of local NGOs, CBOs, gov-

ernment agencies, and other underserved institutions. The REAL project maintains much

of its former environmental focus by striving to effectively improve agricultural systems

and food security through sustainable agricultural practices, agroforestry, environmental

education, and sustainable management of natural resources. Volunteers work with lead-

ers in agriculture, health, nutrition, education, and business to mobilize their communities,

helping those communities develop a local response to global food insecurity.

In 2013, 30 REAL Volunteers worked directly with agricultural offices, women’s and farm-

ers’ associations, and youth organizations to strengthen systems and partners’ operations

in order to ensure community access to and utilization of nutritious food. All Volunteers in

this project are trained on specific technical skills such as permagardening, tree-planting,

water-harvesting, environmental education, and fuel-efficient cookstoves, providing them

with a toolkit of focused activities that will help address agricultural and environmental

challenges in Ethiopia.

Permagardening

Permagarden trainings and installations are one of the primary Peace Corps contributions to the

Feed the Future initiative and are becoming increasingly well-known in Peace Corps communities

and amongst our Feed the Future partners. Peace Corps offers this training to all of its Volun-

teers to equip them with the basic knowledge needed to promote and train the concepts and

techniques with some of the most vulnerable and marginalized households in the areas where

we work. In 2013, Volunteers provided full package permagarden trainings to over 300 partici-

pants in different parts of the country. During the course of the trainings permagardens were

constructed as demonstration and teaching instruments. The training encompasses water man-

agement, compost preparation and double digging. Volunteer efforts also include training of

trainer sessions for health and agricultural extension workers, preparing demonstrations at

farmers’ training centers and model farms, and presentations for large groups.

Tree Nurseries

As a way of conserving and rehabilitating the en-

vironment, Volunteers across the country provide

training on how to raise plants and nurture tree

seedlings to school environmental clubs, youth

associations and women’s associations. In 2013,

24 Volunteers with their counterparts worked

with primary school environment clubs, students

and teachers to prepare school tree nurseries,

benefitting more than 1,300 participants.

Tigray Trek 282!

Over an 8-day period in November 2013, a

team of 7 Peace Corps Volunteers ran 282

kilometers (175 miles) from Hawzien to

Alamata in the Tigray Region, stopping in 8

towns along the way to facilitate discus-

sions and activities to raise awareness

about HIV and to empower youth to take

action against the spread of HIV in their

communities.

Camp GROW

Camp GROW (Growing and Renewing Our World) is the first of its

kind to be held by Peace Corps Ethiopia Volunteers. The week-long

camp was developed to help campers discover the “Circle of Life” by

talking about ecological

concepts, microorgan-

ism form and function,

tree planting, perma-

gardening, nature ap-

preciation, wildlife biol-

ogy and human impacts

on the environment.

Twelve Volunteers, 9

Ethiopian counterparts,

29 campers and guest

lecturers were involved

in this camp.

Kombolcha Earth Week

Four Volunteers in Kombolcha,

East Amhara, delivered a week-

long environment and health

program at primary schools and

the health center in their com-

munity. They kicked off the

week with a panel discussion on

Water & Sanitation, Trees &

Conservation, Home & Commer-

cial Waste Management, Indus-

trial Waste & Pollution and Malaria Preven-

tion. In the days that followed, the Volun-

teers, their counterparts and students

painted seven murals at five primary

schools, planted 110 trees, collected 35

sacks of garbage and planted a permagar-

den at the health center, reaching more

than 700 participants with environmental

education.

Congress Pays a Visit! In August

2013, Peace Corps Ethiopia was honored to host the largest Congressional group ever to

visit a Peace Corps country – among the delegation were 22 Congressional representa-

tives, a senator, former Ambassadors and prominent academicians. Accompanied by Act-

ing Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet and 9 Volunteers, we took the group to

Ambo, Oromiya re-

gion, where Educa-

tion Volunteer Alicia

Smith, and Commu-

nity Health Volun-

teers Jennifer Klein

and Josh Cook

wowed them with

presentations at

Alicia’s primary

school and Jen and

Josh’s health office.

The group was

highly engaged and

impressed!

Grassroot Soccer is an

innovative HIV-prevention

intervention which uses the

popularity of soccer to teach

young p eop l e H IV -

prevention and life skills.

After signing on as a

national implementing

partner in 2012, the first

Peace Corps-led Grassroot

Soccer implementation took

place in Alamata in the

Tigray region. This trial implementation was incredibly successful and helped lay the

groundwork for what has become one of the flagship cross-sector programs for Peace

Corps Ethiopia. In 2013, GRS staff from South Africa conducted Training of Trainers

workshops for 54 Volunteers and 55 Ethiopian counterparts. By the end of 2013, more

than 500 Ethiopian youth had participated in GRS interventions in all four regions where

Volunteers serve.

2014 promises to be an incredible year for Peace Corps’s Grassroot Soccer program in

Ethiopia, with plans to double the number of trained Volunteers and counterparts. The

hope is that with

more than 200

Vo l un t ee r s and

counterparts trained

in the Grassroot

Soccer curriculum,

we will reach more

than 1,000 youth

with HIV-prevention

and l i fe sk i l ls

strategies. We are

confident that with

continued training

and support from

GRS South Africa,

this program has a

very promising future

in Ethiopia!

Daring to Change Perspective! For Peace Corps Ethiopia,

GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World. Universally one of

the most significant events during a Peace Corps Ethiopia

Volunteer’s service, Camp GLOW is a youth development

workshop modeled after an American summer camp, where

young people ages 12-16 come together from all over the

country with Volunteers and Ethiopian counterparts to learn

about leadership, gender equality, health, environment,

English language, life skills, and much more. Camp GLOW is

not just for girls; by involving boys in Camp GLOW, we are

helping to empower Ethiopia’s future leaders to change their

perspective, and to expand the way they look at themselves,

their country and the world. Camp GLOW creates an

opportunity for the youth of Ethiopia to interact with other young people from diverse

backgrounds in a safe, fun environment; while learning to develop leadership and healthy

life skills, the campers also develop friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

In 2013, Volunteers and their Ethiopian counterparts designed and facilitated 12 week-long

summer camps, hosting nearly 600 Ethiopian campers in communities across Ethiopia. As

Peace Corps Ethiopia grows, we expect the Camp GLOW program to grow as well. In

Summer 2014, Peace Corps Ethiopia will support 15 Volunteer-led camps reaching more

than 700 Ethiopian youth.

Stomping out Malaria in Africa is a Peace

Corps initiative aimed at significantly

supporting the international effort to

eliminate malaria from Africa by mobilizing

Volunteers in malaria-impacted communities

all across the continent. To date, 24 Peace

Corps posts in Sub-Saharan Africa have

joined the initiative, creating a network of

more than 3,000 trained Volunteers. In

2013 our Stomp Ethiopia program got a significant boost by creating a team of regional

coordinators, defining our mission and developing our scope of work. The Stomp Ethiopia

program mission is: Through targeted training and mobilization of Volunteers, and

by building strategic partnerships, Peace Corps Ethiopia will make an immediate

and measurable

impact on malaria

awa re ne ss a nd

prevention in all

malarial areas where

Volunteers serve.

As a new team, the

S t o m p E t h i o p i a

coordinators focused on

e q u i p p i n g a n d

empowering every

volunteer to complete

at least one malaria

project in his or her

community; targeted

trainings were given to

every intake group,

focusing on imparting practical knowledge about malaria and disseminating feasible sector-

specific activities that Volunteers can complete within their communities. We are building a

new foundation for what we hope the Stomp Out Malaria Ethiopia initiative and team will

look like in the future.

In 2013, 43 Volunteers worked on 51

malaria projects, such as community-

wide World Malaria Day parades,

aw a r e n e s s - r a i s i n g a t s c h o o l

assemblies, malaria awareness and

prevention murals, leadership and

healthy lifestyles camps for youth, and

behavior change projects at primary

schools and Colleges of Teacher

Education, reaching 9,400 participants.

Butajira Welcomes Our Trainees! With traditional Ethiopian hospitality, Butajira wel-

comed its first group of 57 Peace Corps Education Trainees in July 2013. For nearly

three months, these Trainees lived with local families who helped them integrate into

the community and learn valuable cultural norms and values. During their Pre-Service

Training (PST), Trainees received over 350 hours of intensive technical, cultural, lan-

guage and basic development training through classroom sessions, practicums and even

―on the street‖ immersion exercises.

During PST, groups

of Trainees created

approximately 12 –

15 local elemen-

tary school clubs

providing the stu-

dents an opportu-

nity to improve

their English while

encouraging their

creativity and in-

creasing their

overall confidence

and empowerment.

Three months after

the Trainees fin-

ished PST and

were off ic ial ly

sworn in as Peace

Corps Volunteers, they had the pleasure of returning to Butajira with their local commu-

nity Counterparts to receive additional training on Project Design and Management. This

training taught Volunteers and their 55 local Counterparts from across Ethiopia how to

design, implement, and manage a community driven project in order to achieve the

most sustainable results.

Peace Corps Ethiopia looks forward to returning to Butajira once again in Spring 2014,

when 65 Health and Environment Trainees will enjoy the city’s warm hospitality, a qual-

ity training experience, and of course more delicious chi-

maki (juice) in Ethiopia!

Peace Corps Ethiopia

P.O. Box 7788

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel: +251-11-320-0316

Fax: +251-11-320-0315

peacecorps.gov

facebook.com/peacecorps

pcethiopia.org