The Big Give 2021

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Many of you have generously made donations in the past that have helped provide crucial care for patients. We’re very excited to let you know that Hospice Ethiopia UK has been selected again this year to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2021, the UK’s largest match funding campaign.

We will be raising money specifically to pay for the development of the palliative care service at one of the largest public hospitals in Ethiopia. The project will target St Paul’s Hospital Oncology and Emergency Departments where palliative care is desperately needed. 50 key personnel will be trained at this large teaching hospital. This follows on from the successful development of an Ethiopian standardised palliative care training course in 2020, developed jointly by HE with the Federal Ministry Of Health (Big Give 2020 project).

If successful it is hoped this project will be repeated in other public hospitals thereby improving palliative care across Ethiopia.

Donations to this project will be matched for 7 days, from 12pm on Tuesday 30th November.  So, every pound donated during that period means two pounds for Hospice Ethiopia.

How do I donate?

If you would like to support our work this year, we highly recommend doing so during the Christmas Challenge when your donation will make even more of a difference to Hospice Ethiopia.


After 12 noon on the 30th November, please visit our page at the biggive.org and follow the instructions. Please note that donations made via other means will not be matched, so it’s really important to go through the ‘big give’ website.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at info@hospiceethiopia.org.uk

Finally, please pass on this message to anyone who you think might be interested in supporting us and having their donation doubled.

Get ready for Christmas 2021!

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We have 2 beautiful designs for Christmas cards for 2021. First, a new design with mistletoe and second, some more of the hugely popular wren design from last year. Both designs are exclusive to Hospice Ethiopia by linocut printmaker Alice Roberts. Cards in packs of 10 remain priced at £4 per pack and are available from Marion (celia.bryce@btinternet.com), Sue (info@hospiceethiopia.org.uk) or the pop up Christmas card shop at St Peter Mancroft church, Norwich (from 19/10/21).

We also have 2022 calendars for sale. Each month has a stunning photograph of Ethiopian landscapes, animals or people. These are only available from Hospice Ethiopia UK, priced at £10 + P&P. Please contact Sue (info@hospiceethiopia.org.uk).

Successful charity day at Mannington

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On Sunday 5th September there was a magnificent turnout for the Mannington Hall Charity Day, near Aylsham. More than 1000 people came to enjoy the lovely house and grounds, at the invitation of Lady Walpole.

A programme of 12 attractions and entertainments included china smashing, displays of Morris dancing, dog agility, birds of prey, children’s activities and also over twenty five craft stalls. The grounds also played host to a number of Lady Walpole’s invited charities and the musical entertainment from a variety of groups provided a relaxed ambiance for all to enjoy. The café was run by volunteers from Lincolnshire who treated us to a delicious variety of tasty foods. They also provided delicious hampers, which were delivered to the picnic area by the VIP Picnic Butler, from Cornwall.

Judging by the number of comments proffered, the day was very well received by everyone. “Thank you and the team for a lovely day” commented one crafter. “What a special charity to support those with terminal illness in a developing country.  An oasis of humanity.” Commented a member of the ceilidh band.
 
Special thanks to the hardworking team of volunteers; we could not do this without you! The income for the day, a staggering £9,233, will go a long way to provide the end of life nursing care for the increasing number of the patients seen by Hospice Ethiopia in Addis Ababa.

Thank you so much to all who helped make this such a successful day!

update on the big give christmas challenge 2020

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Ephrem teaching palliative care in Ethiopia

Many of our supporters generously donated to our Big Give Project last December. £9,500 was raised to design a standardised palliative care training course that could be delivered across Ethiopia to a range of Health Care Professionals.

We started our project early in January 2021 but nonetheless have not been able to complete the project yet due to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing difficult political situation in Ethiopia.

Ephrem Abathun (Director of Hospice Ethiopia) has worked with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and other stake holders to design the palliative care course and accompanying course material. This has been formally approved by the FMOH.

The training manual and accompanying material has now been printed. A zoom meeting is planned between Hospice Ethiopia, Hospice Ethiopia UK, and Palliative Care Works to take the project further.

 A pilot course is scheduled to be run in December 2021. Staff from the Simien Mountain Mobile Medical service will attend a 6 day course in Debark. It is hoped 2 trustees from Hospice Ethiopia UK will assist nurses from Hospice Ethiopia in delivering this training.

Following the pilot course, both the trainers and delegates will evaluate the course and adaptions will be  made accordingly, with help from the English charity, Palliative Care Works.

Many thanks again for your generous donations.

aisha’s story

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Aisha* was a 40-year-old woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She was divorced and lived with her son and daughter. Her illness progressed rapidly and she developed a fungating breast wound. She refused all treatments for her cancer and preferred to use holy water. Aisha used to work as a prostitute but could no longer earn money this way. Her children worked as daily labourers but they did not earn enough to cover their daily living costs and their mother’s medical care costs.

 Aisha was distressed by her breast pain, fatigue, constipation, bed sore and her breast wound when the hospice team met her. She was also sad, anxious and ashamed of the odour from her breast wound

The Hospice Ethiopia team provided her with advice and medication for her pain and other symptoms. They cared for her wounds and provided wound care supplies such as gauze, cleaning solution and gloves along with a small monthly sum of money from the Comfort Fund. The nurse taught Aisha and her children how to care for her wounds at home. Furthermore, the nurse provided emotional support and reassured her that Hospice Ethiopia would keep providing the care to the end of her life. This care and support helped Aisha to have comfortable days, maintain her dignity and feel much better. Her symptoms were managed, the smell from the wound was controlled. Aisha died with dignity and relief a few weeks later.

*Not her real name

Patient Story: Seni

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Seni (not her real name) was a 30 year old married woman who lived with her husband and four children in Addis Ababa. Following the diagnosis of cancer on her left jaw she underwent surgery. Unfortunately, the mass was exceptionally large, and left her face disfigured and she had difficulty eating and drinking. In addition, the wound became infected resulting in an unpleasant odour.

She received chemotherapy at the Black Lion Hospital, but her condition worsened with severe pain around the wound and headaches, resulting in poor sleep for both her and her husband.  She felt sad, hopeless, and unworthy and blamed herself for putting her family in such a difficult situation. She became depressed due to the unmanaged pain and believed her disease was a curse and lost hope; she wished God to take her life.

The Black Lion Hospital referred her to Hospice Ethiopia (HE) for palliative care. HE nurses and care givers started to visit Seni at her home on a regular basis. Her physical pain was controlled with medications. Regular wound care was carried out and Seni and her family were relieved when the bad wound odour subsided and she was no longer in pain.

Even though she was not cured from her illness and the cancer progressed, her living conditions were greatly improved as a result of the overall support from HE. Seni and her husband started to sleep better which they had not done for a long time. They were both grateful for all the treatment and support that Seni received from Hospice Ethiopia. Seni recently died due to the cancer, but she did so with dignity, peacefully, and without suffering.

upcoming talk, saturday 24th April

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Do join us on Saturday 24th April at 4pm to meet Ephrem (Director of Hospice Ethiopia), Mahlet Bejiga (Ethiopian American) and Sue (Chair of HEUK). There will be a joint presentation and an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas. Please email info@hospicethiopia.org.uk for the link to join the session.