Our Partners in Ethiopia

The Jamaican Rastafarian Development Community Organization (JRDC) is an indigenous Ethiopian based Non-Governmental Charity organization (NGO) established in 1991, with a democratically elected Board of Directors to implement its proposed projects. Being licensed as such and in Good Standing with the authorities it is qualified and able to represent the collective interest of the Diaspora repatriate-community to the authorities whenever desired.

The first stage of its history was the registration of the Jamaican Rastafarian Community in 1987 a local community organization, recommended in 1986 by Rastafarian leader Vernon Carrington AKA Prophet Gad, Founder of the Twelve Tribes of Israel organization.

The first objective of this JRC was to represent the collective interests of repatriates on the land grant who at that time comprised mostly persons and families of Jamaican descent. However, today many more African descendants from the Caribbean Diaspora and elsewhere in the African Diaspora have been arriving making the population more diverse in terms of nationalities.

However even though the population has become more diverse, to most Ethiopians, these Caribbean people and their descendants, are also referred to most fondly by Ethiopians as ‘Jahmakean.’

The organization was upgraded in status and potential in the year 2000 to NGO status as the Jamaica Rastafarian Development Community ( J.R.D.C) with the word ” Development ” added to its name. Membership is open to all settlers, without regard to sex, age, religion or nationality. The goal of the organization has been to partner with its overseas Diaspora well-wishers and partners in solving some of the various developmental challenges facing their local community in particular and Ethiopia in general. The priority areas of focus are in the fields of education, healthcare, food security, housing, recreation, social development, social welfare.

NGO Status

In Ethiopia, NGO status is granted on the basis of a clearly defined project proposal, accompanied by a letter of support from an overseas partner/sponsor. In the case of the JRDC, the government-approved project is the JRDC Kindergarten & Elementary School in Shashamane and the U.S. based Shashamane Foundation is the overseas partner/sponsor on record.

ACCOMPLISHMENT

For roughly two and a half decades (2000-2025) the JRDC has successfully promulgated its Kindergarten & Elementary School project, providing over 425 relatively poor and needy children, annually, with a solid basic education. The project provides steady ongoing employment to an average of 18 teachers, a Managing Director, Principal, Librarian, Secretary, and 6 auxiliary members of staff. All Board members of the JRDC work voluntarily.