7 Tons of Clothing, Cloth Donated to JDC is on Its Way to Ethiopia

An Alitalia plane left from Kennedy International Airport today with seven tons of donated new clothing and cloth at an estimated value of $220,000 for distribution in Ethiopia. It was donated to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, it was announced by the JDC.

The transportation of the clothing and cloth to Rome was provided gratis by Alitalia. Ethiopian Airlines will transfer the goods from Rome to Addis ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Earlier, last week, Ethiopian government authorities advised the JDC that the “greater portion” of a 70-ton, $500,000 shipment of new clothing, cloth and hospital supplies has been distributed. According to the officials of the Ethiopian Relief and Rescue Commission (RRC), 78 bales of cloth and 42 bags of clothing were distributed to the needy in the Wello and Bale regions of Ethiopia, both severely affected by drought.

The report added that the remaining 2,298 cartons of hospital supplies and 54 bales of cloth “will be distributed in the shortest possible time.” According to the RRC report, the medical supplies are to be made available in Gondar.

In recent weeks, the JDC received permission to operate feeding stations in the Gondar region and is negotiating with the Agency for International Development for the provision of food in coming months. An estimated half a million people face starvation in the Gondar region — one of the areas in Ethiopia hard hit by drought, the JDC reported.

The JDC opened its mailbox to donations for Ethiopian famine relief on October 31, and has received more than $300,000 in cash and pledges to date, a third of which was committed by the Central British Fund – World Jewish Relief in London, the JDC said.