For additional information, contact:
Lloyd Wright at (703) 685-0510, Ext. 208                                      December 20, 2002

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ECDC Launches Fund Campaign
To Aid Ethiopian Famine Victims


 With an estimated 14 million Ethiopians threatened by drought-induced famine over the next few months, the Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc. (ECDC) in Arlington, Va., has launched a fund-raising campaign to help provide emergency assistance.

ECDC President Tsehaye Teferra said the organization’s “Ethiopian Famine Relief Fund”will provide concerned individuals and organizations an effective channel through which to make contributions, with the assurance that 100 percent of the tax-exempt donations will go directly to benefit the famine victims in Ethiopia. 

“Aid workers are predicting that this crisis could be far worse than the devastating disaster that struck the Horn of Africa in the mid-1980s,” Teferra said. “Without an immediate and generous response, available food supplies will be exhausted by the end of December. As many as 14 million people are facing imminent starvation.” 

Founded in 1983, ECDC is a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian assistance to refugees and immigrants in the United States and supports educational and socioeconomic programs in Ethiopia. In recent years, ECDC has raised several thousand dollars to aid Ethiopian victims of drought, famine and war, and has provided donated books and other materials valued at more than $8.1 million to educational and medical institutions in the country.

To make a contribution to the relief effort, send a check or money order to:
ECDC/Ethiopian Famine Relief Fund, 1038 S. Highland St., Arlington, VA 22204.



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