In Honor of Sigd: JDC Programs in Ethiopia, 1970-1980s
Photographs and video footage of JDC's humanitarian work with Jewish communities in Ethiopia, including a clip of the 1990 observance of Sigd in Jerusalem.
About
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) first provided relief to the Jews of Ethiopia in the early 1980s through the London-based Falasha Welfare Association and later through ORT, where JDC provided funding for health services, education, and religious activities. Following the Ethiopian government’s closure of the ORT program in 1983, JDC received permission to operate in Ethiopia, based in the Gondar region, on condition that its relief and medical programs would be nonsectarian. JDC focused on extensive famine relief efforts and a comprehensive medical program, including the establishment of the Teda Health Centre and the Gondar Polyclinic.
All photos and videos presented in this gallery are from the digitized online collection of the JDC Archives. They focus on communities that have received JDC support and assistance. Additional photos on this topic may be found on the JDC Archives website and by searching its online database.
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