Joy Village

View of village from the mountain. The Cooking Tukul is on the left, and the Meeting Tukul in centre. The Physio Unit, Teaching Centre and dam are to the right, off the picture.

Desta Mender Manager, Ephrem Aklilu
Desta Mender (or “Joy Village” in English) is the name given to the village for patients who cannot be completely cured.  A small proportion of the patients have been so badly damaged that their injuries cannot be repaired by surgery.  These women are fitted with an external bag for their urine but continuing medical care – not available in their home villages – is essential.

 

 

 

 

A few of the ladies who live in Desta Mender enjoying the new skills learned here
The Ethiopian Government gave 21 hectares of rural land outside Addis Ababa for a self-help village.  There are ten self-contained units to accommodate 45 women, and also a meeting room, teaching centre, and physiotherapy unit.

The women have the opportunity to attend literacy classes and develop basic business skills and personal health management.  They also do craft work and sewing.

 

Desta Mender is self-supporting.  Here we see the people working with their chickens and collecting the eggs
The village aims to be self-supporting through its vegetable gardens, poultry farm and dairy farm.  A recent development has been to train some of the women in cooking and catering, skills which they will be able to exercise in a café shortly to be opened.

The objective of all the programmes is to help the women in their progress to sustainable, independent living.  With the skills they are acquiring, it is hoped that many will be able to support themselves in the community and take the opportunity to return to their home regions, where they will not be far from the outreach centres, at which they will be able to get regular check-ups for their health and also supplies of stoma bags.