Dear all,
Warm greetings from JeCCDO Debre Berhan community Development Programs Office (DBCDPO)
DBCDPO is located 130 km north of Addis Ababa, the capital. This CDPO was established in Debre Berhan town as of September 1986.
At the CDPO different programs of Education (tutorial), Urban Agriculture and Environmental development, Health and Environmental sanitation, Orphan and Vulnerable Children Support, Livelihood, School Based Child Support are being implemented in all the nine kebeles (the smallest administrative unit) of the town.
We look forward to sending you news about the work we do in Debre Berhan, so please come back and visit these pages.
We appreciate your support of the work we do for orphan and vulnerable children in Debre Berhan
Alemayehu Haile
Manager
Almaz Tafesse
 Almaz Tafesse is 60-year old woman who lives in Debre Berhan City. A mother of eight and grandmother of seven, Almaz had her first child at the age of 14. Currently, she lives with her retired husband and supports her youngest son and three grandchildren. This requires her to keep on working hard to support her family and herself.
Almaz is now a member of one of the Self-Help Groups (SHG) established with the assistance of JeCCDO. She says, "When I first heard about the SHG, I was very skeptical about it, but my neighbor convinced me to join the group. Today, thanks to my group, I have learnt the culture of saving. I was also able to borrow 2,000 birr from the group which I used to engage myself in the preparation and sale of Injera. I also used the money to buy sheep and poultry. This enabled me to apply the knowledge I gained from the agribusiness training provided by the office of JeCCDO in Debre Berhan. Presently, I own 10 sheep and 20 chickens. I am happy with how my life has changed. I am now in a better position to support my family."
Almaz has returnd the money she borrowed from her group.
Ayenachew Mitiku
 Twenty-eight-year old Ayenachew Mitiku was born and raised in Dangla town. He attended church schools in his childhood and joined the military in 1997. However, he found it difficult to serve the military due to a recurring illness. He underwent treatment in the army hospital but his health did not get any better. As a result, he left the service in 2001 and went back to his parents in Dangla. He later on left for the Sudan to look for a better job, but was unable to withstand the hot climate and had to return home after four months.
Back in his home country, Ayenachew again fell ill. This time he went to Gondar for a medical check-up. There, he was told that he had tested positive for HIV by Dutch doctors. They offered him help but he refused. He then went to the church to pray and to get sprinkled with holy water.
When feeling much better, Ayenachew left Dangla for Debre Birhan where he started to work as a shoe shiner. However, he suffered from illness again and could not continue working. He had been sleeping on the street for 15 days when he finally managed to get treatment from a government health clinic nearby.
Ayenachew went to JeCCDO's program office in Debre Berhan after his recovery. He asked for advice on how the organization could help him. The program office then recommended that he join an Income Generation Association in his locality. The association, however, hesitated on accepting him as a member due to his HIV status. But due to JeCCDO's intervention, wherein it pointed out that a person's HIV status should not be a reason for him or her to be rejected, Ayenachew was finally accepted into the association. He was given a loan of 1,500 birr in April 2005 and was able to return the money within the set time period. He was also given business-related training by JeCCDO.
 
Today, Ayenachew is a proud owner of three small plots of irrigated farm lands along the Beressa River. He counts among his achievements his harvests of 1,000 eucalyptus seeds, which he planted for the Ethiopian millennium celebration, and 4,000 cabbages. He has also bought a horse-cart to transport his goods and is currently renting a fully furnished house where he lives with his partner. Ayenachew says he is very optimistic about his future and plans of expanding his business.
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