Founders

Dr. Berhanu Habte and Sr. Almaz with their daughters (Peniel and Bersabeh)

Ekklesia Good News to the Poor started in one family, a family of Dr. Berhanu and Sr. Almaz. Sr. Almaz Tarekegn has a Nursing profession and served as a nurse for 16 years in different Government Hospitals. Witnessing the harsh living conditions of many Ethiopians, Sr. Almaz had a heavy burden for the poor and destitute and wanted to contribute her part to help the needy. She had a special sympathy for vulnerable children who are victims of divorced families and women who were involved in commercial sex industry as a way of living.

 

Sharing her burden, Dr. Berhanu joined Sr. Almaz and started a registration process to realize the vision of establishing a Non-profit Charity organization that was intended to provide access to quality education for children, vocational trainings for women and youth, and health care access to community members.

 

By the time they started the registration process, Dr. Berhanu Habte was serving as a Promotor in his own organization, named ‘Arise Ekklesia’. Dr. Berhanu was a medical Doctor specialized in Nephrology and served in Government Hospital for 21 years. The couple shared this new vision with close, friends and laid the foundation to make it a reality. By so doing, a baseline survey was conducted around Sendafa-Beke Town, a board was formed and a fund-raising office was registered in the US.

 

But on February 15, 2008 an unfortunate thing happened, Dr. Berhanu was involved in a vehicle accident that took his life. Despite her shocking and hasty loss, Sr. Almaz continued the registration process with the Oromia Zone offices and Ekklesia Good News got the official registration from the Ministry of Justice the following month. 

 

Two years later, it was re-registered as local charity organization by the charities and Societies Agency and officially signed an agreement to work with the Oromia Zone Offices. After discussing the immediate need with different government officials in Sendafa, Ekklesia Academy became a reality in 2011.