Bringing Border Communities Together for Lasting Peace

#The bi-annual Community Peace Meeting was successfully held in Turmi, bringing together more than 100 participants committed to promoting peace, cooperation, and sustainable development among border communities.

#The meeting was led by the South Omo Zone Peace and Security Office and organized through the Capacity Building for Cross-Border Cooperation on Food Security, Livelihoods, and Peace Building (MAP) Project. Participants included peace committee members, community elders, women's representatives, government officials, partners from the #Core(H&R Foundation) and #Extended Groups(Agree Service Ethiopia, Jinka Research Institute ), and dedicated Catholic Caritas Ethiopia\Soddo staff. Representatives from the #Dassanach, #Nyangatom, and #Hamer communities came together to strengthen dialogue and collaboration.

#The event began with traditional blessings from community elders and heartfelt prayers from mothers, setting a strong foundation for unity, mutual respect, and shared responsibility. Participants reviewed ongoing peace initiatives, reflected on progress made, and discussed practical ways to safeguard peace and stability across the region.

#A key highlight of the gathering was the discussion on the cooperative management of shared local resources. Recognizing that these resources should serve as opportunities for collaboration rather than sources of conflict, participants signed a joint commitment to promote peaceful and sustainable resource sharing.

The event concluded with a symbolic peace walk accompanied by songs of unity and solidarity, demonstrating the communities' collective commitment to peaceful coexistence.

#Participants expressed their appreciation for the platform and emphasized the importance of continuing such dialogue forums to strengthen relationships among border communities, address emerging challenges through dialogue, and build lasting peace.

#Together, through dialogue, cooperation, and mutual understanding, communities can create a more peaceful and resilient future.

#PeaceBuilding #CommunityUnity #SocialCohesion #ConflictResolution #BorderPeace #MAPProject #CommunityDialogue #SustainablePeace #SouthOmo #CrossBorderCooperation #PeaceAndSecurity #CommunityResilience #Caritas_Soddo #Sub_Branch_Omorate#H&R_Foundation #Agree_Service_Ethiopia, #Jinka_Research_Institute #BBOLD#MAP

#በቱርሚ_ከተማ_ከ100_በላይ_ተሳታፊዎችን_ያሳተፈ_የማህበረሰብ_የሰላም_ውይይት _በተሳካ_ሁኔታ_ተካሄደ።
ውይይቱ በድንበር አካባቢዎች የሰላም፣ የትብብር እና የዘላቂ ልማት ጥረቶችን ለማጠናከር የተዘጋጀ ሲሆን በደቡብ ኦሞ ዞን ሰላም እና ፀጥታ ቢሮ መሪነት እና በ“Capacity Building for Cross-Border Cooperation on Food Security, Livelihoods, and Peace Building (MAP)” ፕሮጀክት ትብብር ተካሂዷል።

#በውይይቱ ከዳሰነች፣ ኛንጋቶም እና ሐመር ማህበረሰቦች የተውጣጡ የሰላም ኮሚቴ አባላት፣ የሀገር ሽማግሌዎች፣ የሴቶች ተወካዮች፣ የመንግሥት አካላት፣ #የCore (H&R Foundation)እና#Extended (Agree Service Ethiopia, Jinka Research Institute) Group አጋሮች እንዲሁም የካቶሊክ ካሪታስ ኢትዮጵያ-ሶዶ ሠራተኞች ተሳትፈዋል።

መርሃ ግብሩ በሀገር ሽማግሌዎች ባህላዊ ምርቃት እና በእናቶች ጸሎት ተጀምፘል። ተሳታፊዎች እስካሁን የተከናወኑ የሰላም ግንባታ ሥራዎችን ገምግመው የተመዘገበውን እድገት በመመልከት፣ በአካባቢው ዘላቂ ሰላምና መረጋጋትን ለማስጠበቅ ያላቸውን የጋራ ኃላፊነት ተወያይተዋል ፣ እንዲሁመረ በጋራ የሚጠቀሙባቸውን የአካባቢ ሀብቶች በትብብር የማስተዳደር ጉዳይ ላይ ውይይት ያደረጉ ሲሆን እነዚህ ሀብቶች የግጭት ምንጭ ሳይሆኑ የትብብር እና የጋራ ጥቅም እድል መሆን እንዳለባቸው በመግለጽ፣ ተሳታፊዎች ሰላማዊና ዘላቂ የሀብት አጠቃቀምን ለማበረታታት የጋራ ቃል ኪዳን ፈርመዋል።

መርሃ ግብሩ በአንድነትና በወንድማማችነት ሙዚቃዎች የታጀበ የሰላም ጉዞ በማካሄድ ተጠናቋል፤ ይህም ማህበረሰቦቹ ለሰላማዊ አብሮነት ያላቸውን የጋራ ቁርጠኝነት በተግባር አሳይቷል።

#በመጨረሻም ተሳታፊዎች ለተፈጠረው የውይይት መድረክ ምስጋናቸውን ገልጸው፣ በድንበር ማህበረሰቦች መካከል ያለውን ግንኙነት ለማጠናከር፣ በውይይት አማካኝነት ችግሮችን ለመፍታት እና ዘላቂ ሰላምን ለመገንባት እንዲህ ያሉ መድረኮች በቀጣይነት መካሄዳቸው አስፈላጊ መሆኑን አሳስበዋል።

#የሰላም_ግንባታ #ማህበረሰብ_አንድነት #ማህበራዊ_ትስስር #የግጭት_መፍትሔ #የድንበር_ሰላም #MAPProject #የማህበረሰብ_ውይይት #ዘላቂ_ሰላም #ደቡብ_ኦሞ #የድንበር_ትብብር #ሰላምና_ደህንነት

CRS Ethiopia-Funded Caritas Soddo Operation Brings Vital Lifeline to Flood-Hit Families in Konso Zone

Catholic Caritas Ethiopia Branch Office of Soddo,  in collaboration with donor partner Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Ethiopia, has successfully completed the distribution of emergency Food and Non-Food Items (NFIs) to flood-affected individuals in Melega Dugaya Kebele, Segen Zuria Woreda.

The intervention delivered life-saving assistance to 357 households (2,026 individuals), specifically prioritizing highly vulnerable groups including 233 children under five, 119 lactating mothers, and 98 pregnant women.

The distributed relief package provided essential survival resources, including emergency food rations, plastic sheets, sleeping mats, cooking utensils, jerry cans, dignity kits, and chlorine tablets to ensure health, safety, and shelter for the displaced families.

We are profoundly grateful to our partner, CRS Ethiopia, for their invaluable collaboration and support.

በኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊካዊት ቤተክርስቲያን በካቶሊክ ካሪታስ ኢትዮጵያ /ሶዶ- የጂንካ ንዑስ ቅርንጫፍ ከካሪታስ ኢንተርናሽናል (Caritas International) ጋር በመተባበር በደቡብ ኢትዮጵያ ክልል፣ በደቡብ ኦሞ ዞን በበና ጸማይ ወረዳ ቦላ እና ቡራ ቀበሌዎች በጎርፍ አደጋ ለተፈናቀሉ ፣ ሰብላቸው ለተጎዱ እና እጅግ ዝቅተኛ የኑሮ ደረጃ ላይ ላሉ የህብረተሰብ ክፍሎች በኢመርጀንስ ፕሮጀክት የገንዘብና የምርጥ ዘር ስርጭት ተካሄደ፡፡

#በኮንሶ_ዞን_ለተፈናቀሉ_ወገኖች_የ3.4 ሚሊዮን_ብር_የሰብዓዊ_ድጋፍ_ተደረገ!

በኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊካዊት ቤተክርስቲያን የሶዶ ሀገረ ስብከት በኮንሶ ዞን ሠገን ዙሪያ ወረዳ በተፈጥሮ የጎርፍ አደጋ ምክንያት ከቀያቸው ለተፈናቀሉ ማህበረሰቦች 3.4 ሚሊዮን ብር የሚገመት የምግብና የቁሳቁስ ድጋፍ አበረከተ። ይህ አጋርነት የተሞላበት ድጋፍ የተሳካዉ ከካቶሊክ ሪሊፍ ሰርቪስ (CRS Ethiopia) በተገኘ የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ሲሆን፤ የሶዶ ሀገረ ስብከት ጳጳስ ብፁዕ አቡነ ደጀኔ ሂዶቶ፣ አቶ ፍጹም አረጋ በውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስቴር የኢትዮጵያ ዳያስፖራ አገልግሎት ዋና ዳይሬክተር፣ አቶ ዘመዴ ዘውዴ የCRS ኢትዮጵያ ተወካይ፣ ዶ/ር ነጻነት ደምሴ የካቶሊክ ካሪታስ ኢትዮጲያ/ሶዶ ዳይሬክተር እንዲሁም የCRS እና የካሪታስ ሶዶ ሰራተኞች በቦታው በአካል በመገኘት ድጋፉን አስረክበዋል።

#በዕለቱ ብፁዕ አቡነ ደጀኔ ሂዶቶ በሀገረ ስብከቱ በተደጋጋሚ የተፈጥሮ አደጋዎች መከሰታቸው የሚያሳዝን ቢሆንም፣ እንዲ ባለ አብሮነትና አንድነት ክፍ ጊዜያትን ማለፍ እንደምንችል አሳስበዋል።

#እንዲሁም_አምባሳደር ፍጹም አረጋ እንዲህ አይነት ፈታኝ ሁኔታዎች ሲያጋጥሙ እርስ በርስ መረዳዳት የሰብዓዊነት መገለጫ መሆኑን በመጥቀስ በዚህ የበጎ አድራጎት ስራ ላይ በመሳተፋቸው የተሰማቸውን ደስታ ገልጸዋል።

#አቶ ዘመደ ዘውዴም CRS በተለያዩ አካባቢዎች በተፈጥሮ አደጋዎች ለተጎዱ ወገኖች እንዲህ አይነት ድጋፎችን ሲሠራ መቆየቱን የገለፁ ሲሆን፣ አሁንም ይህንን ድጋፍ በማድረጋቸው ደስተኛ መሆናቸውን የገለፁ ሲሆን ዶ/ር ነፃነት ደምሴ በበኩላቸው የCRS አጋርነት ሁልጊዜም ፈጣን ምላሽ ለመስጠት ዝግጁ መሆኑን ገልጸው ላደረጉት ትብብር ከልብ አመስግነዋል።

#በመጨረሻም የኮንሶ ዞን አስተባባሪዎች ይህን ድጋፍ ይዘው ለመጡ ቡድን ደማቅ አቀባበል ያደረጉላቸው ሲሆን፣ ይህ ድጋፍ የወንድማማችነትና የሰብዓዊነት ትልቅ መገለጫ እንዲሁም ለሌሎችም አርአያ የሚሆን ተግባር መሆኑን ገልጸዋል። ለተደረገው ድጋፍም በዞኑ መንግሥትና ሕዝብ ስም ለኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊካዊት ቤተክርስቲያን ሶዶ ሀገረ ስብከት እና ለCRS Ethiopia ልባዊና የላቀ ምስጋናቸውን አቅርበዋል።

በደቡብ ኦሞ ዞን በና ፀማይ ወረዳ የቦሪ ቀበሌን ሙሉ በሙሉ ተጠቃሚ የሚያደርግ ንጹህ መጠጥ ውሃ ፕሮጀክት ተመረቀ!
Clean_Drinking_Water_Project_Fully_Serving_Bori_Kebele_Inaugurated_in_South_Omo_Zone!

#በደቡብ ኢትዮጵያ ክልል በደቡብ ኦሞ ዞን በና ፀማይ ወረዳ የሚገኘውን የቦሪ ቀበሌ ማህበረሰብ የዘመናት የውሃ ጥያቄን የሚመልስ ግዙፍ የንጹህ መጠጥ ውሃ ፕሮጀክት በድምቀት ተመርቆ ለአገልግሎት ዋለ።

#Apostolic_Vicariate_of_Soddo_Concludes_Landmark_Three-Day Resource Mobilization Training for Diocesan Priests

Under the leadership of His Excellency Bishop Dejene Hidoto, Apostolic Vicar of Soddo, diocesan priests successfully concluded a landmark three-day professional training focused on resource mobilization and institutional sustainability.

Initiated through the Bishop’s strong commitment to self-reliance and long-term sustainability, the program marked a strategic shift from traditional fundraising approaches toward a broader and more sustainable resource mobilization framework.

#A unique feature of the training was Bishop Dejene’s daily biblical reflections, which thoughtfully connected professional development with scriptural teachings, strengthening participants’ sense of mission and pastoral responsibility.

Throughout the three-day training, priests actively participated in experience-sharing sessions and reflective discussions, leading to a renewed understanding of their own value as the Vicariate’s most important resource.

Facilitated by Mr. Mamo Beriso Development Program Director at Spiritan Community Outreach Ethiopia (SCORE), participants collaboratively developed a strategic roadmap aligned with the Apostolic Vicariate of Soddo Strategic Plan.

The priests expressed deep appreciation for the training, describing it as both empowering and transformative. They also formally requested the continuation of similar capacity-building initiatives to further strengthen the long-term institutional and spiritual sustainability of the Vicariate.
In recognition of his valuable contribution and outstanding facilitation of the training, His Excellency Bishop Dejene Hidoto presented a certificate of recognition to Mr. Mamo Beriso.

Bishop Dejene Hidoto Apostolic Vicar of Soddo Meets with Chief Administrator Tilahun Kebede
Soddo, Ethiopia

The Chief Administrator of the South Ethiopia Regional State, Mr. Tilahun Kebede, held a consultative meeting with His Excellency Bishop Dejene Hidoto, the Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Soddo, during a visit to the Cathedral.

During his visit to the  Cathedral, the Chief Administrator noted that the Ethiopian Catholic Church plays a significant role beyond its religious mandate by actively participating in various peace and development initiatives that benefit the public.

He specifically highlighted the Church’s contributions across all zones of the region in areas such as water supply, educational infrastructure, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). On behalf of the people and the regional government, Mr. Tilahun expressed his heartfelt gratitude for these impactful projects that directly improve the lives of the community.

The Chief Administrator emphasized that the developmental involvement of religious institutions in fulfilling their social responsibilities greatly supports the government’s efforts to realize Sustainable Development Goals and ensure the holistic prosperity of the people.

“The Church’s involvement in development works creates additional momentum for the growth of our region,” Mr. Tilahun stated. He called upon the Church to further strengthen its partnership and coordination with the regional government to continue implementing projects that empower the community.

Furthermore, he urged religious leaders to focus on supporting the government’s skill-based job creation initiatives for youth. He noted that the Church’s contribution is vital in providing vocational training, character building, and fostering the values of peace, love, and brotherhood among the younger generation.

In response, His Excellency Bishop Dejene Hidoto noted that the Catholic Church has a long-standing history of involvement in peacebuilding and development alongside its spiritual mission. He reaffirmed that the Church will continue to strengthen these vital efforts.

Bishop Dejene also acknowledged that the government has created a conducive environment for religious institutions to participate in development. He assured the Chief Administrator that the Vicariate of Soddo remains committed to working hand-in-hand with the regional government to ensure the continued benefit and well-being of the community.

#Apostolicvicariateofsoddo #catholiccaritasethiopia #caritassoddo #CBCE

ADEY Project Annual Progress Review and Strategic Planning Workshop (April, 28, 2026)

The Adey Project successfully conducted its Annual Progress Review Meeting and Planning Workshop, hosted by Catholic Caritas Ethiopia (CCE) in Soddo. This significant gathering brought together more than 25 participants, including representatives from the CCE National Office, program managers, project coordinators, MEAL officers, and finance professionals. The event saw active representation from five branch offices: Caritas #Hawassa, #Jimma, #Emdibir, #Hosanna, and #Soddo.

Throughout the two-day session, attendees conducted a comprehensive review of the 2025 progress reports, which included an in-depth discussion of operational challenges and the identification of strategic ways forward. By reviewing and revising existing strategies, the team successfully developed an accelerated plan for 2026 to ensure the project meets its upcoming targets with increased efficiency. A key highlight of the workshop was the knowledge-sharing session focused on documentation best practices, facilitated through the shared experiences of the Soddo team.The proceedings were grounded in spiritual guidance, with the program opening and closing under the blessings and reflections of Abba Alemayehu W/Eyesus (Vicar general of Soddo Vicariate). We extend our appreciation to the National Office, the various branch offices, and all participating staff for their commitment to refining our impact and ensuring the continued success of the Adey Project.#catholiccaritasethiopia #caritassoddo #CBCE #ADEY #MastercardFoundation

#ለጋሞ_ዞን_የመሬት_መንሸራተት_ተጎጂዎች_የ11_ሚሊዮን_ብር_ድጋፍ_ተደረገ

በጋሞ ዞን በመሬት መንሸራተት አደጋ ለተጎዱ ወገኖቻችን የሚውል የ11,041,215 (አስራ አንድ ሚሊዮን አርባ አንድ ሺህ ሁለት መቶ አስራ አምስት) ብር ግምት ያለው የሁለተኛ ዙር የምግብና የቁሳቁስ ድጋፍ ተበረከተ።ይህ ሰብአዊ ድጋፍ የተገኘው ከጣሊያን የልማት ትብብር ኤጀንሲ (AICS) በተገኘ የገንዘብ ድጋፍ፤ በሲ.ቪ.ኤም (CVM) እና በኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊካዊት ቤተክርስቲያን ሶዶ ሀገረ ስብከት አስተባባሪነት ነው።

ድጋፉን የተረከቡት የጋሞ ዞን ዋና አስተዳዳሪ ልዩ አማካሪ አቶ ተስፉጺሆን ዘነበ ለተደረገው ሰብአዊ ድጋፍ በዞኑ መንግስትና በተጎጂዎች ስም ላቅ ያለ ምስጋና ያቀረቡ ሲሆን ፤ በቀጣይ ተጎጂዎችን በዘላቂነት ለማቋቋም በሚደረገው ጥረት መንግስታዊና መንግስታዊ ያልሆኑ ድርጅቶች የበኩላቸውን ርብርብ እንዲያደርጉ ጥሪያቸውን አስተላልፈዋል።

11 Million Birr Support Provided to Gamo Zone Landslide Victims

A second round of food and material support, valued at 11,041,215 (eleven million forty-one thousand two hundred and fifteen) Birr, has been donated to assist victims of the landslide disaster in the Gamo Zone.

This humanitarian aid was secured and implemented through funding from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and was coordinated by CVM (Comunità Volontari per il Mondo) and the Ethiopian Catholic Church, Apostolic Vicariate of Soddo.

The support was received by Ato Tesfatsion Zenebe, Special Advisor to the Chief Administrator of the Gamo Zone. During the event, the Advisor expressed deep gratitude on behalf of the zonal government and the victims for the humanitarian assistance provided. He also issued a call to both governmental and non-governmental organizations to collaborate in the ongoing efforts to permanently rehabilitate those affected by the landslide.

#GamoZone #HumanitarianAid #AICS #CVM #CCE #Ethiopia #SupportOurCommunity

የአባ ፓስካል ከፍተኛ ሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት፣ በዓለም ዶክተሮች (World Doctors) ድርጅት ድጋፍ ያስገነባውን ትምህርት ቤት አስመረቀ