CBISDO is one of CRED’s earlier partners in Ethiopia. I can never remember what the acronym CBISDO stands for (I know, shame on me!), but I do know that it is a very wonderful little community based organization that is working in one of the poorest ‘woreda’ of Addis, and making a huge difference in the lives of many through its various programmes.
The programmes that it runs support school-children, elderly, and those living with disabilities. The school-children and elderly have all been identified by the community leaders as being at the bottom of the income ladder. They then get accepted onto the sponsorship programme which entitles them to a range of supports. For the elderly, it includes coming together at the day centre for a hot meal of injera and accompaniments each day, and then being provided with sanitary products, additional clothes etc as needed. For the elderly who are too immobile to attend the day centre, volunteers take the ‘food on foot’ to the individuals, and in so doing are able to carry out a daily check-in with the individuals.
For the children, they are entitled to an injera-based meal after school (Ethiopian government has been providing all school children with a meal at school since covid), plus additional supports as needed in the way of educational materials and uniform.
There are 14 young people that CBISDO support who are living with disabilities. Some of them aren’t so young any more in age, but all are young at heart, and the fact that there is no alternative provision for people with disabilities post 25 is one of the reasons that they continue to attend the CBISDO programme. The sessions run daily, and include simple numeracy and literacy lessons, as well as life skills, arts, crafts, music and movement. The sense of simple community and friendship between the attendees is palpable, and it was a real joy to visit, and interact with them.
CBISDO – making a big difference in a community that really needs it.
