Praxis Ethiopia is an international organisation whose goal is to apply professional expertise to the problems of extreme

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. The word "Praxis" comes from the

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

, and meaning the application of knowledge to solve problems. The organization is composed of educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and technical advisors.

Structure

The organization has a Foundation that works to inform the world about Ethiopia, raises funds to support poverty reduction in Ethiopia and sub-Sahara Africa, and serves as the world headquarters for the Praxis Ethiopia Award for Distinguished Contributions to Development. The Foundation's Board of Directors is chaired by His Excellency Dr. Aseffa Abreha (Ethiopia's representative to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

) and is composed of internationally recognized pioneers in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Ethiopia's former Prime Minister,

Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Asres (Tigrinya and ; , born Legesse Zenawi Asres; 9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012) was an Ethiopian soldier and politician who served as President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and then Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his ...

was the Honorary Chairperson of the Board of Directors.

Founding

In January 2002, the United Nations Conference Center in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

hosted Ethio-Forum 2002, a conference examining the progress and needs of poverty reduction in Ethiopia. Conference attendees presented overviews of their work in strengthening

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

, improving

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

, promoting

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, and the role of simple

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

in helping people rise above the devastating effects of

extreme poverty Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...

. Throughout the conference, an overarching theme emerged: Ethiopia's greatest single need is to have access to professional guidance in identifying good solutions to the problems of extreme poverty. This "technical backstopping" is vital for Ethiopia's recovery from decades of drought,

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

, disease, and

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Dr. David A. Blankinship, Dr. Getachew Tikubet, and Dr. Donald C. Johnson developed an overall model for an organization that would mobilize international expertise to assist Ethiopians in their struggle to overcome extreme poverty. "Praxis Ethiopia" became the guiding principle for this organization. On 25 January 2002, they met with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and outlined the concept of creating an international resource in service to poverty reduction in Ethiopia. During that meeting, Dr. Blankinship asked the Prime Minister to serve as the Patron to Praxis Ethiopia.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.PraxisEthiopia.org Charities based in New York (state) Foreign charities operating in Ethiopia