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On the Road with the North Tour
The formula was simple. Arrive in town, find a suitable place (usually the main street or town center, always asphalt), obtain permission from appropriate officials and make the announcement. One Love was in town.
The “North Tour” show was a 3 act, 45 minute performance. The first and last acts consisted of the fun stuff- circus, dance, unicycle, and comedy- and the middle act was a 20-minute drama sequence that delivered some of the most progressive and honest HIV/AIDS awareness education One Love has done to date. It was truly amazing. Street audiences of over 500 were captivated and silent, with the exception of the occasional jaw-dropping and laughter, for the entire drama.
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Awassa Children's Center 3 Year Growth Plan Inked
I am pleased to announce that the new Awassa Children’s Center (ACC) project agreement for the coming three years (2006-2008) was approved and signed by the south regional state (SNNPR) Finance and Economic Development of Office and the Awassa City administration. As part of its ongoing development, the ACC acquired additional construction land adjacent to the center from the Awassa City municipality to build a children’s home, making the total area 7700 square meters, all enclosed by a security fence. New bylaws for the ACC were approved by and registered with the SNNPR
Justice Bureau, as was the name “Awassa Children’s Center.” MORE
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Aiding Children Fighting AIDS
Children orphaned by AIDS in Africa continue to desperately need support in the fight against AIDS, and in parts of Ethiopia the need is particularly urgent. According to the 2006 United Nations Report on the global AIDS epidemic, it is estimated that less than 4% of the Ethiopian households caring for AIDS orphans receive free basic external support in caring for the child.
In the immediate sense, these unsupported orphaned children are not getting the basics they need to work through the challenges of day-to-day life. Also, this paucity of aid carries with it the greater threat of exacerbating the AIDS epidemic. Instituting the types of changes required to support a societal-wide fight against HIV/AIDS will continue to be a struggle without first ensuring that these affected children start receiving a proper foundation of aid which includes medical care and education.
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I Left My Heart in Awassa
I arrived in Ethiopia with mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety. However much I had travelled in the past and however confident I was of my abilities in drama - the skill I’d come to offer as a volunteer – Ethiopia was completely unknown to me, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. A month later, as I travelled home, I was able to reflect on my experience at the Awassa Children’s Project as one which had been by turns challenging and moving, exhilarating and exhausting – but one I will never forget.
My interest in volunteering at the ACP had been sparked by reading about the work of the Education Circus. As I was about to embark upon a Master’s course in Theater and Development, I was keen to see first-hand the work of such an organisation.
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