Marta giving relief supplies to Somali child, 1993

When Project Mercy was founded, the original mission was to assist refugee populations in Africa.   From the late 1970s until the early 1990s, Project Mercy worked to feed and clothe countless numbers of African refugees in Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, and Ethiopia.  Through our production of “atmit” and the Volunteer Sewing Program, we were able to help hundreds of thousands of people throughout Africa.

Shipment of Atmit, 1984

Atmit

To assist feeding people in latter-stages of starvation, Project Mercy developed a vitamin-fortified form of “atmit," a porridge-like food.  Since atmit is liquid-like in consisistency, it is able to be injested by those in the most severe stages of starvation.  Atmit is comprised of rolled oats, powdered milk, powdered sugar familiar to people in Ethiopia.  With the help of Indiana University, we were able to fortify traditional atmit with essential vitamins and minerals.  The high protein and calorie content of atmit, with the addition of these essential nutrients, proved to be life-saving for hundreds of thousands of people. 

Child with Atmit, 1984

In 1984, Project Mercy began the large-scale production of atmit for the victims of the famine in Ethiopia.  We continued to produce and send atmit to Africa throughout the 1980s and 1990s.  When the famines of 2000 and 2003 struck Ethiopia, Project Mercy was unable to produce enough atmit to satisfy the demand.  Through the generosity of Humanitarian Services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS produced and distributed atmit not only in Africa, but to starving people all over the world.  

Garments sent to Ethiopian Famine Victims, 1986

The Volunteer Sewing Program

In order to clothe the refugees, Project Mercy initiated the cooperative Volunteer Sewing Program in 1982.  Through the generosity of volunteers around the country and the McCall’s Pattern Company, hundreds of thousands of garments were sewn.  Using fabrics donated by textile mills, material was cut and sent to churches, homes, 4-H clubs, civic groups, prisons, and home-ec classes.  In all 50 states, people sewed for our program.  Since the program’s inception, Project Mercy has sent over 100,000 garments and 1300 blankets to refugees Africa!

Garments sent to Ethiopian Famine, 1984

The Ethiopian Famine of 1984

In 1984, severe drought and pervasive disease destroyed crops throughout Ethiopia.  According to aid organizations, nearly 6 million people were at risk of starvation.  By October 1984, around 200,000 people already had died.  Thousands of others fled to nearby Sudan-- an estimated 2,000 a day in 1984. 

In response to the famine, Project Mercy began to produce “atmit” a nourishing, porridge-like food familiar to the people of Ethiopia.  Atmit was given to the most severely malnourished during the famine, helping those who could not eat solid food to receive life-saving nourishment.  In 1984, Project Mercy sent 930 tons of atmit to the famine-stricken in Ethiopia.  With the help of World Vision, our partners and friends, we were able to feed thousands of starving individuals.

Ethiopian Famine, 1984

After 10 months of sewing, 61,000 garments were sent in June of 1986 to Ethiopia for the famine victims.  The clothes arrived just in time for the celebration of the Ethiopian New Year and the cold, rainy season.  With the help of World Vision, the garments were distributed to the needy.

Sudan and Malawi- 1986 and 1987

Throughout the mid-1980s, Project Mercy continued to assist the refugee populations throughout Africa.  In 1986, financial aid was sent to Ethiopian refugee children in Sudan and Malawi.  In 1987, we raised money to support three refugee churches in Sudan and continued to assist refugee pastors in their ministry.  Not only did this support the spiritual needs of the refugee population, but it also allowed the refugee leaders to minister to the pressing physical needs of the people.  Through Ethiopian Aid, a refugee organization, we shipped and distributed 110 tons of flour to the displaced Ethiopians in Sudan.  Nearly 8,000 pieces of clothing and 530 blankets were also donated to help Ethiopian Aid support their schools and refugee children.

Relief sent to Malawi, 1986

Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Malawi-  1990s

In the early 1990s, we continued to provide emergency relief and support for refugee church congregations and schools.  In Djibouti, we helped support two growing congregations.  Although the congregations started with only a handful of believers, they reached and maintained around 200 believers.  In the Ivory Coast, Project Mercy provided emergency relief items for Liberian refugees and funded schools so that the refugee children could receive an education.  Two churches were also built for the displaced Liberians.

We came to the aid of Mozambican refugees who had fled to Malawi.  Arriving with only the clothes on their backs, we gave them 3,670 pieces of clothing and 800 blankets.

Ivory Coast Mercy School

Sudan- 1990s

 In 1990s, Project Mercy helped fund the Nile School, located in Khartoum, Sudan.  The school was for the refugee children and adults who fled to Sudan.  It was staffed and operated solely by the refugees themselves.  They insisted that their children would receive an education, regardless of their refugee status.  Today, the Nile School is self-supporting and is independent of Project Mercy’s assistance.

Further emergency assistance was sent to the Ethiopian refugees residing in Sudan in 1991.  Three shipping containers consisting 4,700 gallons of cooking oil, 20 tons of wheat flour, and 20 tons of split peas were shipped to Ethiopia and distributed by the group, Ethiopian Aid.  In addition, 20,000 pieces of clothing, 655 blankets and quilts, 450 water containers, 92 tarps, and school supplies were distributed to the Ethiopian refugees who had little else on which to live.

Nile School Class

In order to help clothe and support their families, Project Mercy donated funds to initiate a sewing project for the women of Sudan.  Through donations of foods and sewing supplies, Sudanese women were able to produce garments for their families’ use and to sell.

Sudanese Women and Children with New Clothing

Ethiopia- 1991

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of support for the communist regimes, the Ethiopian government was overthrown in 1991.  As a result, Marta Gabre-Tsadick was allowed to return to her homeland of Ethiopia.  During her trip, she visited the Yetebon community in southwest Ethiopia.  This meeting resulted in the beginning of a partnership that would grow into the many successful community development programs found in Yetebon, today. 

Somali Boy in Our Donated Garments, 1992

Due to the Somalian refugee crisis of 1992, there were thousands of Somalis residing in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia.  With the help of many volunteers, 10,000 of the garments were sewn and shipped to help clothe the refugees.  In addition, Project Mercy provided atmit to thousands of the severely malnourished.  

Somali Refugees

Ethiopia- 2003 
Famine Relief Efforts 

The 2003, a catastrophic famine struck Ethiopia that put 16 million lives at risk—nearly 15 percent of the population.   The famine was caused by long periods of drought, which began in 2000.   Although the rains finally came, it was too late in the growing cycle for the crops to bear fruit.  As a result, the countryside appeared green and lush, but there was no food for the population.  Ethiopians refer to this as "green famine."  In 2003, the population of nearly 90 percent subsistence farmers faced grave danger due to the green famine.  Without emergency food aid, millions more would have died.

Ethiopian Woman and her Child, 2003

Project Mercy came to the aid of the Ethiopian people by distributing emergency rations.  Thanks to the support of our donors, Project Mercy provided 1,400,000 rations from March, 2003 - September 30, 2003.  These dry rations were provided monthly to an average of 240,000 famine-affected children and adults. 

In addition to the monthly dry rations distributed to sites within the 180-mile radius around Yetebon, Project Mercy cared for hundreds of the most severe cases of malnutrition in its feeding centers.  Through the generous support of AmeriCares, who supplied Project Mercy with tents, we set up ten wet feeding centers.  When these children were brought to the feeding centers, they were emaciated and had extremely short attention spans.  In spite of the horrendous effects of the famine, we were able to revive and restore many of the children.

At one of our Feeding Centers

We had two main feeding programs for the malnourished children.  Through our Therapeutic Feeding Program, children and the elderly were fed with a corn/soy blend porridge every three hours over the 24-hour day and received medical care.   The vast majority of the nearly 500 children treated through this program were able to be rehabilitated and released.   In addition, through our Supplementary Feeding Program we fed children the 889 admitted children five times per day.  These two programs also included care for 1360 malnourished mothers. 

Providing food for the hungry, Ethiopia, 2003

Our feeding programs were possible through the tireless efforts of our medical staff and the funding by Rotary International.  The medical staff gave tireless care and were able to rescue many children and mothers at the brink of death.   Thanks to Rotary International’s funding, 28 people from the Yetebon community also received training as Public Health Care Assistants and provide wonderful assistance to our medical staff.