donate using google checkoutThe Praxis Ethiopia Foundation

Community-driven, Sustainable Development to End Extreme Poverty

What is Praxis Ethiopia?

Located in eastern Africa, Ethiopia is the most populous, poorest country in the world. The average income in Ethiopia is US $103 per year or about 28 cents per day. Most Ethiopians do not get enough food to eat; malnutrition is wide-spread and frequently fatal.

A baby born in Ethiopia is ten times more likely to die in infancy than a baby born in the United States; life expectancy is 41 years.

In January 2002, a group of more than 900 professionals gathered at the United Nations Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The group represented farmers, healthcare workers, international aid experts, university faculty, representatives from the World Bank and the United Nations, and senior ministers of Ethiopia's government. They met for a week to discuss the successes and challenges of country-wide poverty reduction.

At the conclusion of this meeting, they learned Ethiopia's biggest challenge is identifying scientifically-sound, sustainable solutions to problems. David A. Blankinship, Getachew Tikubet, and Donald C. Johnson created Praxis Ethiopia to meet Ethiopia's most pressing need.

addis biofarmPraxis Ethiopia is different from other organizations. We do not ship food; we do not distribute medicine; and we do not truck in mosquito nets.

We help Ethiopia's communities to define and solve their own problems--we are community-driven. Praxis Ethiopia helps farmers grow more food, supports healthcare services that will help people be productive, and helps children to stay in school.

No country will ever rise above extreme poverty until it is a self-sufficient nation. No country can be self-sufficient until its land produces food and safe water for its people, it has healthcare for those in need, its public education system meets the needs of the people, and it is using practical technologies that can be sustained and maintained by its communities to improve their quality of life. This is Praxis Ethiopia's mission: strengthen food security, improve healthcare, promote education, and facilitate simple technology adaptation and adoption.

This is the only practical way forward for Ethiopia and all the other poor counties in the world. His Excellency President Girma Wolde Giorgis and His Excellency Prime Minister Meles Zenawi have both endorsed Praxis Ethiopia and they both appeared as featured speakers at the inauguration of The Praxis Ethiopia Foundation in Addis Ababa, in October 2005.