A team from IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation which departed from İstanbul on April 25 for Ethiopia carried out various projects for orphans in different parts of the country for five days.

The team including rally driver and TV presenter Burcu Çetinkaya, attorney Özlem Akgüç, IHH’s member of executive board and attorney Gülden Sönmez, IHH Communication Advisor Ümit Sönmez and Emine Cihangir, one of the members of the orphan care unit, first of all visited IHH’s partner in the region, Charity Development Association (CDA) and received information about their work.
On their second day in the country, the team visited the Awash National Park with orphans who came from different parts of the country. The children had the chance to see the natural habitats in the park in addition to a museum and waterfall. IHH team and the orphans later visited the country’s oldest sugar factory where they had the opportunity to observe how sugar is produced.
The next day, Ethiopian orphans had the opportunity to display their skills in various sports events, knowledge contests in Abomsa region and they had an unforgettable day.

The events were joined by local officials and officials from organizations working on children’s rights and women’s rights. These officials showed the utmost hospitality to IHH team to make them feel at home. Coming together for a dinner with these officials, IHH team members exchanged views with them about future projects in the country.

Finally, IHH team visited the orphans in their houses and had the chance to observe the living circumstances of families in different parts of Ethiopia. Various gifts were presented to the children as part of the program.

Thanks to donations from charity givers and Orphan Sponsorship Support System, IHH has been regularly supporting 1,292 orphans in the country.