Ethiopia

Project Name:
Organization:
Location:
Start Date:
Expected Completion:
Latest Update:
HEROES Program Training
Strong Hearts Childrens Foundation
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
01-July-2015
30-April-2016
13-Jan-2016
Description:
The Heroes Program Training (the “Project”) is the implementation of the Calgary-based Impact Society’s  strengths-based leadership training, the Heroes and Heroes II programs, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Project is made possible through partnership between Strong Hearts Children’s Foundation (Canada), Strong Hearts Development (Ethiopia), Fig Tree Foundation and the Impact Society. The overarching aim of the Project is to have young individuals in Addis Ababa learn and grow through participating in, and facilitating, the Heroes program. Further, this pilot Project will be a learning tool for adapting and piloting the Heroes youth leadership program in different cultural settings, track its progress and learn from its implementation, to expand the reach of the Heroes program beyond Canadian borders. 
 
The Project will be implemented for 1 year (with the potential for renewal for a further two years). As part of the Project,  Getinet Teferi Tafesse, the Executive Director of Strong Hearts Development in Ethiopia, attended a facilitator’s training on the Heroes program in Calgary, Alberta in May 2015.

Over the summer of 2015, a group of 10 community leaders were trained by Getinet on implementing the Heroes program. The first group of youth, aged 17-22, started training on the heroes program in the fall of 2015, and as of January 2016 there are 15 youth taking part in the training. To date there the experience has been positive, and the program is garnering interest within the community.
Expected Outcomes:
The main outcome expected from the Heroes program is the ability for the youth involved in the program to focus on, and harness, their personal strengths. If the heroes program can be translated and contextualized into Ethiopian culture, and implemented successfully, the partners of the project expect the youth to have the skills and mindset needed to be leaders of their communities.
Fig Tree Principles:
Sustainability – Strong leaders are the core to successful, sustainable communities. Further, leadership skills can be learned, enhanced and acted on through training and support programs. The goal of the Project is to enhance the leadership skills of youth in the Strong Hearts’ community in Addis Ababa, which will in turn strengthen the youths’ lives and the community as a whole. 
Effectiveness – The Project is being implemented on a limited budget and with the use of current resources at Strong Hearts centre, with the support of Impact Society and Fig Tree Foundation. This lean approach will help us adapt quickly to implementation of the program. Further, we expect that a number of the youth that complete the program will in turn become facilitators for future groups of youth, providing continuity for the Project. 
Collaboration – The basis of the Project is the collaboration of two Fig Tree Foundation member organizations, the Impact Society and Strong Hearts Children’s Foundation. One of the main goals of the program is to find a way to adapt and learn from the implementation of a Calgary-based program in a different cultural setting. 
Transparency – The Project will meet the transparency objectives set out by the partners of the Project.