A non-profit group that benefits children in rural Ethiopia will hold a fundraiser in Denver tonight and group members will travel to the African nation later this month for hands-on assistance.
Partners for Rural Improvement and Development in Ethiopia (PRIDE) will host the Denver fund raiser and the group plans to build a school within three years.
“We aim to make connections with a group in every needy village in a country that can really use our help,” said John Putnam, a local attorney who helped start PRIDE two years ago.
Putnam became involved, he said, after meeting his neighbor, Zewge Gebre-Mariam, who is an Ethiopian native.
Gebre-Mariam told Putnam stories of his homeland and the need for assistance there.
“He dreamed of bringing some of the benefits he’s had here back to the villages that his family had originally come from,” Putnam recalled. “After a few barbecues we said, ‘Let’s do it!’ We did and here we are. Now we are really hitting full swing.”
The group had a fundraiser in Boulder on Saturday that was well-attended, Putnam said.
So far PRIDE has raised $25,000. It has a goal to raise $100,000 as part of a three-year project plan.
Tonight’s fund-raiser, from 5 to 7 p.m. at 1675 Broadway, Suite 2300, will include stories and photographs of villagers. Ethiopian beer and coffee will be served.
For more information call Putnam at 303-825-7016 or visit PRIDE’s website at www.pride-ethiopia.org.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
