We help orphans and build jobs in Ethiopia
At Bille Leather we believe in giving back. Every purchase you make with Bille Leather helps make a difference in children’s lives. We are happy to donate 5% to Ethiopian orphans and children with special needs. We also provide funding to help people learn trades and skills to help build jobs in Ethiopia.
Supporting children
Ethiopia has one of the largest orphan populations in the world, with over 4.6 million orphans. We began supporting orphans in 2012 from the Oromia Region in Ethiopia who had lost their parents because of HIV and other diseases. We started with 20 orphans who required critical support. Now we provide these orphans with food, clothing, and school materials.
We work with their close relatives, teachers, and healthcare professionals to make sure they are benefiting from the support we provide and followup on their achievements in school.
We plan to increase the number of orphans we support, those who are in a dire situation.
Our charitable partner
To provide charitable services to these orphans, we are partner with Ekklesia Oromia, a non-profit Christian organization registered with the Minnesota Secretary of State in Minnesota statutes, chapter 317A USA. Ekklesia Oromia is deeply rooted in the values of Compassion, Empathy, Affection and Community. We are very proud to partner with them.
5% of all proceeds from our leather goods go to help orphans and people in need. Your purchase will help them have a brighter future.
Creating jobs
Ethiopia is among countries with a high unemployment rate. In 2015, we started creating sustainable job opportunities for unemployed youth in Ethiopia. We believe in helping the youth learn new trades and skills to give them new opportunities. We worked with talented designers and artisans in the leather production field to develop jobs. Then sponsored and trained unemployed women in leather production. We started with two artisans and have now expanded to 12 employees. Our goal is to further expand employment opportunities by hiring and training more unemployed people, mainly women, and empowering them to be independent and able to support their families.
Training artisans
We support Ethiopian youth to educate them and expand job opportunities. By paying for these young people to attend a leather design institute, we help create jobs in Ethiopia. We plan to provide more education and training to unemployed youth and orphans to give them new opportunities to achieve their dreams.
Medical missions
Ethiopia has a low health service coverage, with most of the population with poor access to healthcare. We have a passion for helping people in need. As a physician, I travel to Ethiopia to go on medical mission trips to provide medical care. At Bille Leather, we are happy to give back to people who need our help.
