We met hundreds of students along our route, from Woldiya to Kobo.
The bright colors they wore painted the roadside in blues, purples, reds and greens, as if to draw attention away from the arid fields.
Many farmers returned to their land after fleeing armed violence, only to find that years of hard work had been wiped out.
Ethiopian Red Cross volunteers were all smiles, ready for a new day of the ICRC seed and cash distribution in the Amhara.
Residents brought all the necessary means of transport to carry the bags of seeds allocated to them by the ICRC.
Pre-registered community members gathered in the shade in Raya, Kobo, ready to receive their registration cards.
Ethiopian Red Cross staff explained the eligibility requirements and procedures for the distribution process.
The arrival of the trucks can be an emotional moment.
Their journey has been long, sometimes challenging, and their load is so valuable for families. These two trucks carry over 2,000 bags of hope.
Residents, local authorities, Red Cross volunteers and ICRC staff work with extraordinary energy and excitement to unload and stack the seeds that will reach 1,300 households.
Everyone gets in line to present their card and collect their bag of seeds.
The beneficiaries of the seeds gathered for seed scooping in a nearby field. This is a task done only by women.
Each eligible household received high-quality seed of two different crops during the distribution.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Scooping. Each bag of sorghum must be shared among five households. The splitting of the seed is a precision task taken on by the women.
Life after the war became very difficult for Abede Wudye Degu. With the seed from ICRC, he will be able to raise his six children.
27 June 2022
A fresh start for the returnees of rural Ethiopia after decreased armed violence is both a hopeful and challenging affair. This is because when they return to their land, they find their once-prospering farms shattered and have to start everything from scratch.
As part of its nationwide assistance operations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is providing support to farmers in collaboration with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) and local authorities.
More than 65,000 households in Amhara, Oromia, Somali and Tigray will receive seeds and cash for agricultural supplies such as fertiliser and tools from the ICRC in 2022. Approximately 1,900 metric tonnes of seeds- sorghum, maize, teff, wheat and haricot beans- will be distributed.
"No one here was expecting this assistance. Thanks to the cash assistance, we can now buy more seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and other inputs. With God's help and if the rain comes, we will succeed," said Abede Wudye Degu, a farmer and father of six children.
