Why a counselling centre in Tigray ?

Tigray is mostly the mountainous region in the northern Highlands of Ethiopia – through the  Axumite civilization, the foundation of Ethiopia’s distinctive highland culture. It has seven administrative zones.

Tigray’s estimated  more than 7 million population is overwhelmingly rural, with over 80% of the population living by subsistence farming.

It has a rich Christian culture with over 96% of the population Orthodox Christian with small minorities of Muslim and other Christian denominations.

Despite its rich culture, steeped in historical tradition and the distinctive Orthodox faith and worship, Tigray as been repeatedly stricken by a combination of natural and man-made disasters – drought, locust infestations, poverty, diseases, wars etc..

Most recently the 2020-22 war, a catastrophic war which has devastated the country, leaving many areas in ruins and the entire population suffering physically, psychologically, socially, spiritually and economically.

From the Regional President down to regional Offices, religious institutions, all are calling on the international community for aid and help, both immediate aid and psychological/ social help to rebuild the lives of the traumatized population.

Facing the Challenges of Restoration and Development 

The Potential:

• Individuals “Made in the Image of God” – a union of flesh, soul and spirit, with personality and personhood.
• Our ability to think, feel, choose, decide, to love and care, to make moral and ethical judgments, to work for purpose and meaningful life.
• A region-wide education system
• A deeply religious and God-fearing people.

The Challenges:

• An increasingly chaotic and shrinking global village – so that many lives are spent reactively rather than proactively, surviving crises, rather than flourishing and growing
• A Conservative Culture resistant to change
• An Agrarian Economy vulnerable to drought and infestations
• The devastation of the recent war