CASE FOUNDATION:  After being forced to flee Ethiopia in 1975, why did you decide to return to your homeland?

MARTA AND DEME:  We were involved in the idea of a better Ethiopia even before we were forced to become refugees ourselves. When the communists took over our homeland and during the point of our escape, we decided that we would not both work to earn a living. It was at that time that our hearts united in doing all we could to help other Ethiopian refugees get some sort of solace for their lives and to also one day return to our homeland to do everything we could to educate its future leaders in restoring its rich heritage.

CF:  What is the mission of Project Mercy?

M+D:  Project Mercy, Inc., is a U.S.-based 501(c)3 not-for-profit Christian relief and development agency that promotes education, health care, and other holistic community development projects to create economically independent communities with high ethical and social values.

CF:  Why did the initial Project Mercy program begin in Yetebon, and how has it expanded?

M+D:  Immediately after the change -- that is, when the communist leader fled the country, Marta had the opportunity to return to Ethiopia. There was some risk in traveling around the country, but she still went to see the eastern and southwestern border area where we had sent some help previously. It was at that time that she received word that some of the elders of the Yetebon community wished to meet with her. The elders said they feared for their children's future because there was no hope. People were dying from preventable illnesses, the community was illiterate, and there was no clean water source and no passable roads.  Without assistance, their future was hopeless.  Our board unanimously agreed to help as long as the community also participated. As the problems of the community were assessed and the needs identified, we were able to implement the solutions one at a time but always based on their identified needs.

CF:  What have been the keys to Project Mercy's success?

M+D:  There is really no explanation other than commitment, dedication, persistence, and perseverance.

CF:  What are some of the major problems facing the people of Ethiopia, and what has Project Mercy done to tackle them?

M+D:  The major problems facing Ethiopia are illiteracy, the lack of health care, nutritional deficiency, and poverty.  To address these problems, Project Mercy provides education through formal and nonformal schooling and literacy outreach programs; health care and preventive education through the hospital program; introduction of simple methods for food production; and support for entrepreneurial ideas to address self-sufficiency.

CF:  What is the biggest obstacle facing Project Mercy?

M+D:  The biggest obstacle facing Project Mercy is funding and manpower. We need to find ways to build better and more effective capacity as well as finding people who are interested in making lasting and historical changes.

CF:  What plans do you have for Project Mercy in the next five years?

M+D:  We plan to continue our current development programs and restructure the organization through better capacity in management and fund development.  We also plan to expand simple food production skills among drought-affected farming communities.  And we're going to start two new programs -- an Orphan Care Institute to care for children of HIV/AIDS victims in the Oromia region and a dairy cattle breeding program in the Amhara region to create higher milk-yielding cows from indigenous stock, thereby enabling the peasant farmer to maintain the animals with the same fodder the existing cows consume.

 

CF:  Could your strategy for Yetebon be implemented to benefit other regions, or is it community-specific?

M+D:  We believe what has been accomplished in Yetebon could very well be accomplished in other places as well, as long as the activities are adapted to address specific community needs.

CF:  Project Mercy is a faith-based Christian organization, but adults and young people from all faiths come to Yetebon to serve as volunteers. What do you attribute this to?

 

M+D:  We believe that all the people who come to volunteer with us do so because of their desire to reach out and help the impoverished children and their families have hope for a better life.  Compassion and desire to make a difference are among the motivators that bring our volunteers. Project Mercy operates on the simple Gospel message mandated to Christ's disciples. No denominational dogma is mixed in its work.

CF:  Have there been any defining moments in your path to improve the lives of the members of the community you serve?

M+D:  There are at least four defining moments that stand out for us. First, when a young farmer who used to earn 72 cents per day was trained in masonry work and started to earn $4.00 a day.  Second, the first day the hospital was opened a child that would have died was operated on and healed.  Third, when a man that was trained through Project Mercy learned to be an entrepreneur and opened up a bakery.  And fourth, when the farmers of the area became transportation providers to the 12,000 annual patients at the hospital.  That's an entrepreneurial achievement!

CF:  Where do you find your conviction to work so tirelessly?

M+D:  First, the greatest encouragement comes from walking and talking with the community about their needs and envisioning what a change could bring.  Second, our faith.  And third, the life of the rural children of Ethiopia. Positive change is a must.

CF:  What advice would you have for people interested in participating in development work in Ethiopia or Africa?

M+D:  Enable those who are engaged in implementing development works. Focus especially on children, young people, and their poor parents.

CF:  What's the single most important thing you have learned?

M+D:  Perseverance.

 

CF:  You are both extraordinary leaders. What do you think defines a great leader?

M+D:  One who loves others as himself.

 

CF:  What leaders do you admire?

M+D:  Emperor Haile Selassie and Rev. Dr. Billy Graham.

CF:  Are you hopeful about the future of Ethiopia? Why?

 

M+D:  Yes we are hopeful for the future of Ethiopia.  We have a vision that the youth of Ethiopia, through education, will become nation builders.