A traditional Ethiopian dinner is being served in an effort to raise the roof on a maternal care centre in Agarfa.
Partners in Ethiopia (PIE) founder Woinset Bayssie was born and raised in Agarfa, Ethiopia and will be preparing the Nov. 18 dinner in Enderby.
鈥淲oinshet is known by many for her unique, flavourful and satisfying dishes made in the traditions of the Oromia region,鈥� said Dave Crozier, on behalf of the PIE team.
She will be leading a team of volunteer chefs in creating authentic (gluten-free) beef and chicken Wot dishes and several vegan friendly, with both spicier and non-spicy offerings using flavours unique to Ethiopia.
The dishes are served with Injera, a unique sourdough pancake-like flatbread made out of fermented teff flour (teff being a grain also unique to Ethiopia), and rice.
Dinner is followed by an Ethiopian coffee ceremony with coffee, tea and deserts, a brief project intro, a short auction/gift basket raffle and entertainment.
The Traditional Ethiopian Dinner takes place at Riverside Community Hall in Ashton Creek (3784 Trinity Valley Rd.), Saturday at 5 p.m. Tickets are $75 per person, which includes a $50 charitable tax receipt, available at Eventbrite, or at Soapolallie Soapworks (soapw.com) in Enderby and the Shuswap Community Foundation (shuswapfoundation.ca) in Salmon Arm (cash only).
Full menu, event and ticket details are available at .
Funds raised will provide lifesaving care for both mothers and babies with a desperately needed Maternal Care Centre building in Agarfa.
鈥淚t will provide a much safer, nurturing environment for expectant mothers to help greatly reduce maternal and infant mortality rates. The existing maternal health facility in Agarfa is a two-room cinder block, concrete floor building with no running water, privacy, or space for post-natal care,鈥� said Crozier.
As a country, Ethiopia has an infant death rate eight times higher and a maternal death rate 40 times higher than Canada鈥檚 rates (worldbank.org).
鈥淥ur goal is to to build a well-constructed, sanitary and well-equipped Maternal Care Centre adjacent to the existing Agarfa Health Centre that has been identified as the top priority by the community. We have already raised over $100,000 of the $139,000 of our commitment to the Agarfa community, and our Raise The Roof campaign is working to raise the final quarter of our project cost to make this much needed facility a reality by mid-2024.鈥�
The total project cost is $160,000, the remaining amount being donated by the Agarfa community in a combination of labour, supplies and donations.
Once equipped, the government pays for operating costs.
PIE is 鈥淏uilding Hope by Connecting Community to Community,鈥� with a team of Canadian volunteers working to improve education, community health and maternal health services in Ethiopia with our registered non-profit Ethiopian NGO partner Vision for Bright Future (VBF) since early 2020.
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