Introducing our Ethiopian Board

Meet the Board supporting our Ethiopian team.

As part of our merger, Link Ethiopia and The Kindu Trust registered under the new name of Together We Learn – Ethiopia as a local Ethiopian charity. This status means Together We Learn is able to apply for funding in-country as well as more international funding pots.

It was also an opportunity to engage new board members who would support our mission and provide valuable support to the team in Ethiopia to carry out our work well. There are currently five members on the board and each one brings valuable knowledge and experience.

“Serving on the board will avail me with a unique opportunity to apply my experience and knowledge to deepen the impact of Together We Learn’s development work in Ethiopia. Throughout my career I have been working supporting Civil Society engagement to improve the lives of Ethiopians, in particular women and children. I am a keen advocate of rights based development and I would like to learn but also help Together We Learn integrate this unique approach in their education projects to ensure a comprehensive childhood development.

Also by working with the most vulnerable and marginalised using my technical expertise in social development including gender equality, women and young people’s empowerment, child development and protection, as well as experience working in service delivery, Together We Learn is providing me a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of my country, and help Ethiopia achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Mieraf Mergia, Chair of the Board 

Mieraf Mergia is the Chair of the Board. She is a qualified sociologist, social anthropologist and development manager who is currently Country Advisor for the Open Society Foundation for Eastern Africa Initiative. Mieraf worked for the UK Department for International Development in Ethiopia for over 10 years before that. There she took a lead on gender equality and women’s empowerment work and developed skills working on gender, inclusion, empowerment and accountability, inclusive growth and social protection, health care service delivery (in particular SRHR and equity), education and WASH programmes.

Ermias Ayele is the Vice Chair of the Board. He began his career working at Ethiopian Airlines before becoming the General Manager of the Great Ethiopian Run – a popular international fundraising run in Addis Ababa.

Dabebe Hailegebriel is a legal consultant and Attorney-at-Law. He served as a judge on the Federal High Court of Ethiopia for seven years, has been actively involved in many national research efforts and was a founding member of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders.

Eniye Bemir is a HR & capacity building specialist, and the general manager of Twoeb Management Solutions. She is a national coach for the UNDP leadership development program and a consultant for the Ethiopian Management Institute. She has more than 24 years of experience in leadership, capacity development, human resource management, including training, coaching and mentoring as well as organisational capacity assessments for different organisations.

Ethiopia Abebe has 20 plus years of experience on youth and leadership development programs, particularly those supporting women. Currently, she is the Country Representative of the Institute of International Education Sub-Saharan Africa and Ethiopia office.

We thank all the board members for giving their time and efforts to support the mission of Together We Learn.