Annual Report 2019 international Operation Rescue

t r o p p e R l a u Ann 2019

– T I A W T O N S E O D R G E N G I D N U N O H P S E R N E E B E V A H E W S R A E Y FOR 20 A recent report from an international humanitarian group of charities named Oxfam tells us some heart-breaking news: economic inequality is out of control. Last year alone, the 2,153 world’s billionaires had more wealth than 4,6 billion people. The rich continue to get richer, and the poor become poorer. Money makes money, and poverty entraps people in the seemingly neverending cycle of poverty.

What we cannot forget is that people can be empowered through information, education, nutrition, health care, financial resources, healthier ways of thinking and interacting with one another, new ways of viewing the world and themselves, amongst other things. There are enough resources in the world. Those resources show up when natural disasters happen in wealthy countries, or a new war starts in a far-away country, or an outer-space program is developed.

The truth is that there are enough resources if the people in power, both in the corporate world and in government, made it a priority to care for, feed, provide education and improve the lives of the vulnerable ones. When the leaders of the world seem to be looking away from those in need, we, at Operation Rescue, look towards them.

We go in their direction with arms wide open.

Marciano

Teixeira

Operation Rescue has been a sign of God’s intervention towards the poor and vulnerable for years. In a world marked by so much inequality and suffering, it is not uncommon to hear people asking: where is God? Why doesn’t he intervene? I see God intervening every day in many ways. One of these ways is through the Operation Rescue staff that is there, where the poor children and vulnerable families are, offering food, clothing, education, a new perspective and, above all, love.

But you and I know that hunger does not wait. The hardships of a child living on the streets do not wait.

I wish one day Operation Rescue will no longer be needed. I long for the day when governments and people in power will do their jobs properly. But you and I know that hunger does not wait. The hardships of a child living on the streets do not wait.

This is why we will not wait. We will be the difference that we want to see in the world. In fact, we already are. We have been the difference for almost 20 years now.

In Ethiopia, we are now starting the construction of our education centre number four in the city of Maichew. As we stood there and I saw the machines working the land, I had a sense that that building was a sign from God for that city. A sign of hope and of a new future for the children who were playing nearby, and for all the other ones I didn’t see.

God empowers Operation Rescue through his people, those who contribute generously, enabling us to empower others who will also empower their next generation. God bless you all, partners and friends of Operation Rescue who helped to make this work possible in 2019.

With gratitude, Marciano Teixeira Founder and CEO of Operation Rescue

THE TRUE OPERATION RESCUE – A PRESIDENT’S REPORT ON MEKELLE For many years I’ve been telling anyone who will listen how happy children are in our projects and how well they are looked after.

I was elected President of ORE-Switzerland in 2019 and found myself at the head of an organisation whose projects I had never seen in the flesh. To change this I travelled with my wife and our three sons to Mekelle in Ethiopia.

After a sleepless night aboard the Ethiopian Airlines flight we were given our first look at the unfamiliar (to us) lives of the Ethiopian people at Bole airport in Addis Ababa. Despite Marciano’s exact instructions we failed to find the domestic flight to Mekelle.

Everything is written in unfamiliar symbols. Our flight departure time was getting dangerously close by the time we found customs. Hope was disappearing fast when we saw the long queue. An Ethiopian characteristic saved us: if you have children with you the Ethiopians treat you even friendlier than usual. We were allowed to bypass the queue and got to our flight in time.

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One day remains particularly clear in my memory: an old fence was to be straightened out for the new chicken enclosure.

The chaos of Ethiopian life ends at the gates of ORE. Although the general manager, Getachew, is absent abroad during our stay, everyone knows what to do, what their tasks and responsibilities are. We are immediately struck by the warm and caring way the adults interact with each other. They are exactly the same with the children and us. Although the children demand a lot from the leaders, they (the leaders) are always ready with a sympathetic ear, a hug, and clear structure all of which keep the children off the streets. Getachew and Abadi demonstrate their leadership qualities time and again: they know what they want, work hard to achieve their goals, manage staff affectionately, but with clear instructions, and despite all their work always have time to listen and help. Taame, an ORE social worker, takes us with him on a monthly house visit. The term ‘house’ is barely appropriate in our terms. A two- roomed hut of around 5metres square serves as accommodation for the mother and her four children. Her oldest daughter already has a child of her own. Taame listens patiently while the sick mother explains what her current main concerns

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are. In this way ORE makes sure that not only the child but also the family is helped.

These house visits give me pause for thought, but also fill me with certainty that ‘my’ Operation Rescue is really bringing help where it is most needed.

One day remains particularly clear in my memory: an old fence was to be straightened out for the new chicken enclosure. All the children, the social workers, the gardener, the carpenter and the boss himself jumped around on the wire mesh fence which was spread out on the ground and had great fun. A boring job became a huge free party for everyone.

Back in Switzerland I continue to speak of the wonderful place that is ORE, but with the difference that now I can speak from experience.

Martin Schild President of the Board of Operation Rescue - Switzerland

a i p o i Eth REPORT FROM OPERATION RESCUE UK & IRELAND 2019 has been a very exciting year for us. The year began with a small team from Ballinderry and Enniskillen, led by Merville Boyd, which included three of our trustees, heading off to Mekelle. For all it was a memorable experience as they engaged with the children and had the opportunity to visit Maichew where the fourth centre will soon be built. On the hearts of the team was a desire to recognise the work of the staff in the three centres and this led to the preparation of gifts, including a gift of money for each staff member. On what was an unforgettable evening in Mekelle a meal was prepared by the team and served by them to the staff, hilarious games were played with a drama presentation as well, culminating in Shannon Boyd, one of our youngest trustees, making a moving speech thanking the staff as they received the gifts.

In Adwa and Adigrat there were also events to thank the staff and there was no doubt about how much this ministry to the staff was appreciated.

and guesthouse in Mekelle. The mountain bikes used by the social workers, the cooking pots and utensils used in the kitchen, the toys and bicycles/scooters being enjoyed by the children, the items in the guesthouse making it so much more comfortable are just a few of the ways the container has added value to the project.

The visits of trustees are reported upon at trustee meetings and this helps to inform our ongoing prayers for staff and children. Below are two extracts from the report Kate wrote after her visit in November: ‘Each day I took Devotions with the children with Anteneh translating in a wonderful way – up to 120 children at a time which was challenging but I can only pray that the stories from the life of Daniel and the memory verse from Deuteronomy 31 v 6 –‘The Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you’ will find a home in their hearts. On my last day, I used a story called ‘You are Special ‘by Max Lucado and they listened with rapt attention. These are children who often, because of their family circumstances, feel anything but special and I felt it was a very powerful message to leave with them that God loves them and to Him each one is unique.

The trustees of Operation Rescue

[UK & Ireland] have made a commitment to build this centre

As has been reported already, the container which left Northern Ireland in December was eventually released from the dry port in Mekelle after much prayer and negotiation, and the joy of staff and children as it was opened up in May was captured in photographs sent to us. When Shannon returned in September and I visited in November, over and over again it was realised how valuable the contents of the container had been to so many families and in the daily operation of the centre Marciano tachew, Kate, Ge

I was very happy to go on visits with three of the social workers as

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we went to almost a dozen homes. What struck me on this visit was the tremendous increase in the cost of renting homes – a few years ago you could rent a little house for perhaps 500 birr a month [£14] but now that is impossible, and even the most basic one- roomed house is commanding a rent of 1000 birr or more. Partly this is due to the pressure on accommodation because many from Eritrea did not return to their own country when the border with Ethiopia was opened for a time last year and also due to the fact that many native Tigrayans are returning home from other parts of Ethiopia due to the political unrest. Once more I was moved to tears to see the state of the homes of these children.

‘Marciano, founder of ORE, came on a visit while I was in Mekelle and it was a great joy to reconnect with him after some years .It was a real thrill for both of us to go with Getachew to Maichew, the site of the new fourth centre and be there to see the first day of work on the site. The first stage involves a certain amount of excavation and soil moving and then the building of a perimeter wall. After that the building of the ground floor of the new centre will begin ‘.

There is not only pressure on accommodation – infrastructure is being stretched, and during my time at the project there were a number of electricity cuts and four days without water [despite a totally unseasonable thunderstorm one evening that plunged the whole city into darkness.]

We are looking forward so much to 2020 when we hope to welcome ORE staff to Northern Ireland and to the celebrations of twenty years of the project in July.

I spent a lot of time with Hiwot, Senior Housemother, whom many of you have met and am very aware of the pressure it causes when she has to supply food for up to 400 children on days when there is no electricity and they have to resort to cooking macaroni or rice over charcoal instead of their much loved injera. I was also aware of how much more costly foodstuffs have become – to provide meat as part of the lunch for the children for one day costs £150. Almost £100 is needed to provide teff to make enough injera for two days.’

The trustees of Operation Rescue [UK & Ireland] have made a commitment to build this centre and the first tranche of money has gone out to pay for the excavation work and the building of the wall.

We praise and thank God for the support of so many donors and for answering so many prayers over the past year.

Kate Doherty Merville Boyd Trustees of Operation Rescue UK & Ireland

Since that visit it has become a desire on our part to purchase a generator which would provide backup power for the entire compound, including the guesthouse, on the many occasions when the electricity supply fails. We understand from Getachew that this would cost £8000 to buy and install.

REPORT OF OPERATION RESCUE ETHIOPIA This year has been a great year for all of us. We all had our ups and downs, challenges and success stories. We struggled to reach out those who are in need, share their feelings and comfort them at their worst. It was all worth it. We are so glad to finally look back and see how far we have already come. Operation Rescue is putting a smile on those little sad faces of the children; we are being a home for the homeless, a shoulder to cry on, and a path for the vulnerable children. It was all rewarding.

Mother of the year Kindeyhaftey has two sons. She is such a strong mother, raising her two children alone since her husband left her. Her sons Noah and Natnael are getting support from Operation Rescue. In the meantime, she studied for her Masters in the accounting and finance department at Sheba University. She can be a role model for all the mothers out there who gave up on studying. She learnt while raising her children and she said “if it wasn’t for Operation Rescue, I wouldn’t have been able to survive left alone, or graduate with my Masters.” She thanked Operation Rescue for all the support and encouragement it gave her throughout the years. She is so glad that her hard work finally paid off. We think she can be an example to everyone and we are so proud to call her “mother of the year” for 2019. We should also encourage mothers not to give up on their dreams. It’s never too late.

Students of the year All ORE students attended class regularly this year, something which cannot be taken for granted in Ethiopia. There are three top students who did very well this year and who scored more than 90 as an average mark and we can proudly call them students of the year in Operation Rescue. But for those who did not do so well, Mr. Getachew had advice for all of the staff to contribute as best they could to helping the children to do better. We will do our best to have more top students and to bring the best out of every child in Operation Rescue in the coming year Bereket Getachew Public Relations Coordinator, Operation Rescue Ethiopia

Brazil PATOS: HELP REQUIRED BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OUR WALLS Looking back at our activities in 2019 I’m satisfied that we achieved our project’s objectives. The work carried out by Operation Rescue was very valuable in the development of our children and young people. To make learning possible for them we take into account the background and circumstances of each child and create an environment where they can broaden their knowledge, behave, play and get to know a quite different world. Operation Rescue is important for the children in terms of progress in their education, but also in their lives together. They should become independent individuals and at the same time have experience of social interaction which, without Operation Rescue, they would not have had. Apart from all our normal activities we’ve started campaigns and discussions aimed at the prevention of and education about areas such as sexuality, violence and suicide.

Because of the need in our area, social work has been important outside our walls as well. In the past year we have supported about 30 families for whom various areas of bureaucracy have been too difficult and who would not have coped without help. We’ve helped some families with lost ID documents which they needed in order to apply for help with rent and living costs from social services, or

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to obtain state finance for examinations and operations.

Patos the town is growing, and, as happens in such regions, the poorest inhabitants get pushed out to new areas on the edge of town. We’ve expanded our work to a new, extremely poor part of town outside our district. There, every morning, just 5 kilometres away, we fetch 20 children in our minibus so that they can spend the morning in our centre. We would gladly take more children if we had the transport.

Maria Edinete Martins Fernandes Manager of Operation Rescue Patos, Brazil

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SÃO PAULO: SINGLE CASES SHOW THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR WORK At a meeting I heard one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard during my working life.

Two sisters who had been with Operation Rescue, Sao Paolo, since the beginning changed their behaviour gradually and we realised that they were upset. One of them finally opened up to us and told us of frequent family fights which they were subject to at home and also of a possible house move. The older brother and the mother rowed almost daily and then involved the grandmother who was very important to the girls. One of our team followed this up till she saw an improvement. Some time later I spoke with the grandmother about these fights which took place in an environment of violence, drugs and irresponsibility. The grandmother was very upset by the fact that her daughter was not taking care of her grandchildren as she would have wished and regretted that her daughter got no support from either of the fathers of the children as both have been sentenced to decades

in prison. The girls’ mother moved to a different house and left the children with the grandmother - not the first time she’s left them.

Luckily the grandmother can rely on some help from one of her other daughters. We hear these and so many other stories almost daily from the children or their families and we do everything we can to help them, to offer protection and to pray. We want these stories to have a happy ending and to appear less frequently in our area.

We don’t like telling these stories, but we’re proud to see how our vulnerable children gain wisdom, knowledge and love. Operation Rescue changes their futures in the hope that their world becomes better. We strive for the courage to meet the challenges, and rejoice over every single victory – whether it’s an individual or a group.

We want these stories to have a happy ending and to appear less frequently in our area.

Carol

Carol Social Worker of Operation Rescue in Aricanduva, São Paulo, Brazil

India For almost three years now we in Kolkata have been helping the poorest children and their families. They come from families who live on the streets without any protection from cold and wet. Poverty, malnourishment and hygiene problems are a bad starting point for the development and health of the children.

keeping the children occupied and away from the streets. We thank the group for their work which has added great value to the project.

Alem Kichu Manager of Operation Rescue India

Our ORE centre is near an important underground station, between the two main stations of Kolkata, and near a main shopping area. Of the 76 children registered with us, around 40 - 50 come to the centre daily. For the coming year our goal is to get all our children registered in school. We’re looking for suitable schools and have taken up contact with several in the hope that many of our children will be accepted. We are pleased that four of them were accepted by St Georges School into their kindergarten section. Two more, Bittu and Anita, got the opportunity to go to a boarding school. They come from a very poor family and their father has been looking after them since their mother left. He worked very hard to get them a place at the boarding school. The rest of the children said goodbye to them and gave them gifts to take with them in this new chapter of their lives.

It’s not just children but their whole families who are registered with Operation Rescue. Our social workers visit the families regularly and build strong relationships with them and the people in the area. Four times a year we have a parents’ gathering and we also celebrate Mothers’ day, Fathers’ day and Sibling day with them. The families are invited to the centre where we show them how we care for, teach and feed the children. We explain how they can support the children’s development and how important education is. We emphasise how important it is to send the children to school and to our centre regularly. Last but not least we strengthen their role as parents.

hu Alem Kic

One high point of the year was the intervention of the team from the German group of “Church In Action”, accompanied by a Swiss lady. Apart from occupying the children in a creative way, they were able through play to encourage the children to closer peaceful cooperation but also to go to school and to learn so that their dreams of a better future come true. The team provided the teachers with interactive input for lessons and valuable ideas for

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SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY

ETHIOPIA Getachew Tesfay Gebru (MA in Dvs) General Manager

Marciano Teixeira CEO and Founder Operation Rescue Schweiz Buechwaldstr 14 CH-3627 Heimberg Mail: marciano@operationrescue.ch Phone: +41 33 437 3470

Bank account AEK Bank Thun, 3602 Thun SWIFT (BIC): AEKTCH22 IBAN: CH28 0870 4016 1004 6030 8

Operation Rescue Ethiopia P. O. Box 1142 Phone: 251 0344 409442 Fixed Line: 251 0914 300397 Mobile Fax no: 251 0344 410810 E-mail: getachewtesfay.ore@gmail.com

Bank account COMMERCIAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA MEKELLE BRANCH Swift Code : CBETETAA Account Name : ORE Development Account Number : 1000012062838

BELGIUM Alice Mockel Herbiester 87, 4845 Jalhay, Belgium Phone: +32 87 64 84 91 Mail: alice.mockel@skynet.be

UK AND IRELAND

Bank account Fortis: 001-3934429-88 BIC: GEBABEBB IBAN: BE 56 0013 9344 2988

Kate Doherty Chairman of the Board Operation Rescue Ireland Mullaghmeen Road, Drumgay, Enniskillen Co. Fermanagh, N. Ireland, BT 74 4GH Mail: mkdohertyekn@gmail.com

Bank account Nationwide Building Society 19 High Street Enniskillen BT7 74 7DD Account Number: 0949/704 259 263

USA Pr. Leandro Nogueira General manager Operation Rescue Child Care Projects PO Box 133 Elk Grove Village, IL 60009 Tel. +1 (847) 345-2150 Email: leandro@operationrescue.ch

Bank account US bank Routing. 071904779 Acc. 199378938534

BRAZIL Edinete Martins General manager Operacao Resgate - Brazil Rua Rosa Maria Sales, q9 lt 36 Patos-PB 58708-215 – Brazil Phone: +55 83 99896-7622

Bank account Banco bradesco branch. 1563-6 acc. 15718-0 cod SWIFT: BBDEBRSPRCE cod IBAN: R4260746948156360000157180C1

INDIA Imtilemba Panger General manager OPERATION RESCUE – INDIA Addres: 9E, Nirmal Chandra Street 3rd floor Bowbazar, Kolkata- 700012 India Tel. +91 8582949484 Email: india@operationrescue.ch

Bank Account: Axis Bank Ltd Branch: Ganeshchandra Ave Kolkata Acc. 918010019794441 SWIFT COD: AXISINBB836 IFSC: UTIB0000836a

NETHERLANDS Erna van den Doel President of the board Operation Rescue Nederland Omval 19, Amsterdam Phone: + 31 20 665 6870 +31 6 5516 6018 Mail: ernavddoel@hotmail.com

Bank account: KvK nummer 74676806 RSIN 85 99 89 458 Rekening NL35 INGB 0008 2501 13

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