Programs in Ethiopia, 1970s-1980s

During this period in Marxist Ethiopia, JDC sought to reconnect to the Jews of Ethiopia. JDC first provided relief 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 non-sectarian. JDC focused on extensive famine relief efforts and a comprehensive medical program, including the establishment of the Teda Health Centre and the Gondar Polyclinic.