Emmanuel Development Association (EDA) is an indigenous development NGO, established in 1996 by its founder and Executive Director, Dr. Tessema Bekele. EDA envisions a bright future and protection for Ethiopian children. This vision was instilled during Mr. Bekele’s childhood by his single mother, who encouraged him to focus on his education and become someone who would give care and support to orphans and vulnerable children. Aspiring to help children and families below the poverty line, Mr. Bekele resigned from his job and accepted his severance pay of Ethiopian Birr 10,000, which he used as seed money to establish EDA.

The overall mission of EDA is to improve the lives of vulnerable children, youth, and women through integrated and community-based development programs. With this vision, EDA’s activities are conducted in consultation and participation with beneficiaries and partners, fostering transparency and accountability with all of its partners. This has gained us the confidence and respect of our beneficiaries, government partners, and the donor community.

EDA’s program objectives focus on four interlinked areas so that achieving one objective reinforces the achievement of other objectives. Ultimately, the four objectives contribute towards the achievement of one central goal—improving the well-being of children.

Here are EDA’s objectives over its current strategic period (2023-2027):

Objective 1. Improve child education and protection for 350,270 vulnerable children

Objective 2. Increase access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) and community health services for 145,000 children and 250,000 community members

Objective 3. Enhance the livelihoods of 341,000 households through improved environmental development

Objective 4. Strengthen the capacity of 48 local NGOs and 90 community-based organizations (CBOs)

Note: Due to the dynamic nature of our development work, these objectives may be subject to change.