'WE ARE THE WORLD'
37th Year & Once more
#ንሕናዓለምኢና
A Call for solidarity to stop #TigrayGenocide
A social media campaign to help STOP the great suffering of the people of Tigray!
April 23, 2022
#WeAreTheWorld
#EndTigrayFamine
#NeverFamineAgain
#TigrayCantWait
Event Title
We are The World 37 for Tigray (WATW37)
Event Objectives
Co-sponsored by ED-REAP and other diaspora organizations, the event has two objectives:
- Create awareness about the weaponized famine in Tigray.
- Collect life-saving humanitarian aid through public mobilization efforts.
Contents
About 'We are the World 37'
How did the WATW36 (WATW37, 2022) for Tigray event originate?
The core idea of the event was initiated and proposed by Dr. Mulugeta in early April 2021 based on an idea that emanated from discussions with colleagues regarding the man-made famine in Tigray, Ethiopia.
The first event that commemorated the 36th year anniversary of the ‘We are the World’ album (WATW36) was proposed by Dr. Mulugeta and the event was co-sponsored by ED-REAP and SJT.
The event required the involvement of several youth volunteers who organized and conducted all the clubhouse programs and fundraising efforts. On behalf of the people of Tigray, we would like to acknowledge and applaud all the volunteers’ efforts and accomplishments. Thanks for your great support!
The two key achievements of the WATW36 event, that took place in Clubhouse, were global participation of thousands of people and fundraising of more than $20,000.
What is WATW37?
We Are The World 37 (WATW37) is the 37th anniversary of the release of the ‘We are the World’ album to mobilize the World to aid the Ethiopian people who were suffering from famine.
According to Wikipedia, the promotion and merchandise helped “We Are the World” raise more than $63 million ($156 million today) for humanitarian aid.
Today, we’re commemorating the 37th anniversary of the said album to raise awareness about an ongoing man-made famine that’s impacting the survival of more than 7 million people in Tigray, Ethiopia.
What is the target of WATW37?
We would like the world to be aware of the man-made famine in Tigray via art, storytelling, advocacy and other activities in the days leading to April 23rd.
We would also like to collect life-saving humanitarian aid through public mobilization efforts.
The world needs to know that we are not expecting alms rather a small help to overcome the genocidal man-made famine that’s being waged on the people of Tigray.
What is the context of WATW37?
The 1984 famine in Tigray, Ethiopia was initially triggered by natural causes of drought however, it was exacerbated by the policies of the communist Dergue#1 regime and by the blockade imposed by Isaias Afeworki – leader of Eriterian Liberation Front
As a consequence of the man-made famine in 1984, thousands of people died and millions became destitute for life. Thankfully, the World came together, through the ‘We are the World’ song which was released in 1985, to the rescue of the people of Tigray who were suffering in the man-made famine.
Together with the world, the people Tigray are resilient and determined enough to overcome any challenges including the ongoing man-made famine. Thank you for your support!
What is the WATW37 pledge?
- We pledge to rehabilitate Tigray!
- We pledge to rebuild Tigray!
- We pledge to do everything in our power to make sure that no famine happens again in Tigray #NeverFamineAgain
Who are the beneficiaries?
The sole beneficiaries are the people of Tigray through fundraising collected by ED-REAP, which is a 501c3 designated charity organization in the US.
The tale of the two man-made famines
The 1984-1986 Famine
The perpetrators of the 1984 -1986 Famine
The 2020-2022 Famine
The perpetrators of the 2020-2022 Famine
Articles and News Media Coverage
ቅድሚ ፴፮ ዓመታት ንመኸተ ድርቂ ትግራይ ንምሕጋዝ ብሉፃት ኣርቲስትታት/ከየንቲ ዓለም ተኣኻኺቦም ‘ንሕና ዓለም ኢና’ ኢሎም ዘሚሮም ነይሮም። ሎሚ ኸዓ ተመሳሳሊ ተበግሶ ‘ንሕና ዓለም ኢና’ ዝጠልብ ሰብን መንግስትን ዘንቀልዎ ንትግራይ ዘፀንት ደርቂ ንምምካት ፃውዒት ነቕርብ።
#WeAreTheWorld
#ንሕናዓለምኢና
#WeAreTigray
#Tigrayawyan
#ንሕናተጋሩኢና
#NeverFamineAgain
#ድርቂንሓዋሩነጥፍእ
Note from ED-REAP
Welcome to the second anniversary event of ‘We Are The World 37 for Tigray’ co-sponsored by multiple diaspora organizations including ED-REAP! The goals of the event are two fold; Creating awareness and mobilization of life saving help.
- We would like to create awareness in the international community about the ongoing man-made famine in the Tigray region of Ethiopia by showing the relationship and differences between the ongoing famine and the 1984 Ethiopian famine.
- To collect lifesaving aid for the people of Tigray through public fundraising. ED-REAP encourages people to make donations through options provided on donate
ED-REAP was founded in 2011 with the missions of creating partnerships between diaspora and the motherland to help with capacity building efforts & humanitarian work. Our key focus since 2020 has been the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Tigray, Ethiopia. To learn more about ED-REAP, please visit who-we-are & contact-us