Ethiopia is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa, and officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 85.2 million people. The capital is Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, and Kenya to the south. It is also the most populous landlocked country in the world.
The country’s population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak some Afro-Asiatic language, mainly of the Semitic or the Cushitic branches. The Oromo, Amhara, Tigray and Somali make up three-quarters of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members.
Ethiopia has forty-eight indigenous languages. English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is the medium of instruction in secondary schools. Amharic was the language of primary school instruction, but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromifa and Tigrinya. Ethiopia has its own alphabet, called Ge’ez or Ethiopic, and calendar.
Ethiopia has close historical ties to all three of the world’s major Abrahamic religions. It was one of the first Christian countries in the world, having officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century. It still has a Christian majority, but a third of the population is Muslim. According to the 2007 National Census, Christians make up 62.8% of the country’s population (43.5% Ethiopian Orthodox, 19.3% other denominations), Muslims 33.9%, practitioners of traditional faiths 2.6%, and other religions 0.6%.
Axum, Ethiopia. The holy city of Ethiopia, possible resting place for the Ark of the Covenant, home to the Queen of Sheba’s palace and other significant archaeological sites. Once a powerful city, Axum began a decline when trade routes changed in the 7th century. Now, after centuries of poverty, Axum is once again on the rise. Construction has begun again in this city of 45 thousand. Axum is home to a new international university with 5000 students and a regional hospital that will service nearly a million Ethiopians.
Still, most of the residents of Axum live in a 1 or 2 room home with no water or power. The people live on a diet of beans and ingera, a bread-like substance made from teff, an annual grass requiring low moisture that is high in protein, iron and fiber.
Axum was the center of Ethiopian civilization as early as 3000 years ago. The stele (decorated pillars built from a single stone) and the archeological sites of Axum are documented as one of UNESCO’s world heritages. The archeological foundations of gold and silver coins show the city’s rich cultural wealth, economic and political strength from the first through eighth centuries. Additionally, the Biblical ark of covenant is believed to be kept in the grounds of church of Saint Mary Zion in Axum adding to the historical richness of the city.
However, the contemporary Axum inhabited by about 60,000 hard working people is overtaken by its poverty. The impact of two decades of civil war as well as lack of capital and skilled labor like many poor nations have caused Axumites to languish in destitution. Lack or absence of health services and basic nutrition are causing many parents to either suffer in their everyday lives or pass away in their earlier years leaving their children for street life. Many parents also lack incomes to satisfy basic needs for themselves and their kids which is the other factor that forces children from poor families to quit school and wander on the streets to gratify their needs. These situations have made the children vulnerable to street lives, domestic servitude and other illegal activities. Thus, children who are supposed to be raised in a way to be the future hope and builders of their communities will rather end up becoming the burden to the community members and to the nation as a whole. Additionally, these uneducated and unskilled children will keep on passing the harshest way of life they are experiencing to their children which will keep the cycle of poverty going on from generation to generation.
Mosaic Global Mission desires to invest in the development of the city of Axum in the following areas: education, clean water, health care, and orphan care. We believe that by investing our time and resources over a sustained period of time, we will see families elevated above the poverty line and we will see the orphans of today become the leaders of tomorrow.
