Welcome to Support for Sustainable Development (SSD)

Support for Sustainable Development (SSD) is a national, non-profit making, resident charity established by the late Engineer Gebreyes Haile in May 2003 with support from family members and friends.SSD is established to support the development initiatives of the poor, neglected and marginalized communities of Ethiopia.

SSD engaged in providing the following services : Ensuring food and income security, Addressing climate vulnerability, Humanitarian assistance for crisis affected communities, Social services-wash, health & education and women & youth focused.

Over the past twenty years, SSD has implemented integrated livelihood & basic social service support programmes in Afar, Oromia, Amhara ,Tigray and SNNP Regions.

SSD has re-registered and accorded legal entity with registration number 0034 on September 23,2019 as local organization in accordance with civil society organizations proclamation No. 1113/2019 by Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Agency for civil society organizations.

work

About

Project Thematic Areas

Food and Income Security

SSD’s livelihood and food security projects promote livelihood diversification through irrigation based integrated development as an approach to sustainable pastoral & farming community development. Over the past 18 years, SSD has implemented 21 irrigation based integrated development projects that developed 2,600 hectares of farm land for 7,810 households with direct beneficiaries of 50,765 people in Afar Region. The Livelihood support programs have contributed towards poverty reduction creating resilient and food self-sufficient communities.

Climate Change Adaptation

The climate change adaptation interventions of SSD built local capacities to prevent and mitigate the impact of hazards on communities at risk helping them to better cope with natural disasters and shocks through climate change adaptation and mitigation practices such as traditional early warning system, watershed management, irrigation based agriculture, better resource management strategies and more importantly through diversifying means of livelihoods. Through climate change adaptation projects SSD has built disaster resilience capacity for over 1000 households in Afar Region.

Women Economic Empowerment

SSD believes that addressing gender inequality is central to achieving sustainable development. Through various projects, SSD supported women to achieve equitable economic and social positions in their communities through facilitating income generating activities and providing equal opportunities for both women and men. By way of organizing women in saving and credit groups, SSD had economically empowered 1,100 pastoralist women in the Afar Region.

Humanitarian Assistance

During incidences of disasters such as droughts and conflicts that cause severe food insecurity and displacement of families, SSD intervened with provision of free food, supplementary food for malnourished children and non-food items. The drought emergency support in 2008, 2011 and 2016 and flood emergency responses in 2012 and 2014 are among the major emergency response programs implemented by SSD in Afar Region. In end of 2021 and early 2022, SSD has also supported 6,200 conflict affected people in 8 IDPs in Kombolcha and 4 IDPs in South Wollo Zone. Moreover, SSD has benefited 4,539 drought affected people in Borena in 2022. In total, the emergency support projects benefited over 28,592 people.

Social Services

SSD’s intervened in the education sector with the aim of improving access to education and increasing enrollment of girls and boys. So far, SSD constructed a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) center, and three high-schools in Oromia region with financial support from Rainbow for the Future (RFTF) and the Addis Ababa Rotary Club. A total of 2,660 students are getting proper education in these schools. SSD has also been engaged in WASH programs and benefited over 65,000 people with financial support of RFTF, Care Ethiopia and UNDP in Afar Regional State.