Tesfa's General Fund is used for short-term projects like providing school supplies, uniforms, and water tanks to schools.
We've also used the General Fund for important projects that need quick action like our COVID-19 Distribution Project, which provided 27 families (over 100 individuals) with a 2 month supply of sanitary supplies to fight against COVID-19 and a 2 month supply of food.
The General Fund is just as important as our project-specific funds! Read below on how we've used the Fund to change the lives of students!
PROVIDING SCHOOL UNIFORMS FOR YE KELEM AMBA PRIMARY SCHOOL

As most public schools require students to wear uniforms, families of many have a hard time being able to afford new uniforms for their children each year.
Many families across the country have limited access and are unable to afford necessary school supplies and uniforms. Schools also lack the resources to equip their students with uniforms.
In order to alleviate this burden, we were able to supply 400 students at Yekelem Amba Primary School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with full uniforms (this includes dress shirt, pants/skirt, and sweater) in October of 2019.
FILLING SELAMTA'S LIBRARY WITH NEW BOOKS!

Selamta creates forever families for orphaned and abandoned children in Ethiopia. Selamta's Community Center, located in Addis Ababa, is a place for forever families to gather and serves as a resource for the local community. The Center also hosts Selamta's English Camp during the summer.
The library books at the Center were outdated. In July 2019, we purchased 238 educational and leisure books for students of all ages. This meant the families at the center had access to updated resources.
PROVIDING A WATER TANK FOR YE KELEM AMBA PRIMARY SCHOOL

In February of 2020, we provided Ye Kelem Amba with a 10,000 liter water tank to store water in case there is a lack of running water.
Lack of access to water affects the health of school-aged children, who spend a majority of their day in schools. About 37 out of 39 million students in Ethiopia lack basic hygiene services at school. 57% of children in Ethiopia have no access to safe drinking water. Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) impacts health and education outcomes as well as gender disparities.
SUPPLYING 27 FAMILIES WITH ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES TO FIGHT COVID-19

Water, sanitation and hygiene can help reduce the spread of coronavirus.
In collaboration with Lenesum, an organization based in Ethiopia that provides cleaning supplies, food, masks and more to communities in need, we filled water buckets with rolls of toilet paper, soap, masks, menstrual pads, hand sanitizers, water buckets, and more for 27 families. These buckets provide a two month supply of necessary hygiene items to keep them safe.
We’re also partnered with a group of doctors from Lifeline Medical Services to teach a hand hygiene session for the families.