The Beletu Foundation provides both financial and advisory support for projects that contribute to the development of Ethiopia. Because we feel that the relatively small initiatives started within communities themselves can provide a meaningful stimulus to development, all projects supported by the Beletu Foundation are local initiatives.
Annemiek Snaphaan, former president of the Beletu Foundation and now responsible for the evaluation of applications and ongoing projects, has lived and worked in Ethiopia for several years. Our fieldworker, Marieke Boersma, has been living and working in Ethiopia for more than eight years. During their time in Ethiopia, Annemiek and Marieke have met many Ethiopians who dreamed of and worked for a better future for their country. Beletu was founded in 2007 to raise financial support to make these dreams come true.
Beletu, meaning “large woman”, is the nickname that the children living on the streets of Gondar, a city in northern Ethiopia, gave Marieke, our “large and great woman” fieldworker. We have chosen Beletu as the name for this foundation because we aim to support “great people”.
Marieke maintains contact with the projects that the Beletu Foundation supports, providing regular updates on the Beletu weblog. One of the projects receiving support by Beletu is Yenege Tesfa. Most of the activities of Yenege Tesfa focus on the children living on the streets of Gondar. Read more about the activities of Yenege Tesfa under “projects”, where you will also find more information about the other projects we support or have supported in the past.
Do you have any ideas or questions? Or would you like to contribute to the activities of Beletu in another way? We invite you to send an e-mail to Beletu and help make our projects successes.