Ethiopian New Year Celebrations

September 2015 MAHEBER Newsletter
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Ethiopian New Year Celebrations

Chicago celebrated Enqutatash (Ethiopian New Year) in grand style this year withflags flying over the city, dance performances, concerts – including the New Year party featuring TEMU with Ras Band, and the second annual Ethiopia Fest!
Ethiopia Fest Chicago 2015

Northside Housing Collaborative (NHC)

ECAC, in cooperation with the NHC, provides housing counseling services on how to buy homes, refinancing to avoid foreclosure, and pro-bono legal assistance. Every Thursday 9:00am – 5:00pm.

The NHC also provides workshops on topics of financial literacy including budgeting, credit, and basic banking. The participants and teachers pose for a the photo above after September’s Basic Banking class.

Next NHC Workshops:

Energy Efficiency Workshop
Understand how you can properly manage your energy and lower your costs
Wednesday, October 7th – 11:00am – 12:30pm

Basic Banking Workshop
How to choose a financial institution, types of accounts, using debit & credit cards, depositing & withdrawing money, how to read statements, etc
Thursday, October 8th – 11:00am – 12:30pm

Free Credit Report Workshop
Get a free credit report and learn what it means for you
Thursday, October 15th – 11:00am – 1:00pm

Condo Training Class
A great class to assist you and give you information about your condo/apartment
Thursday, October 22th – 11:00am – 12:00pm

For more information contact M’aza Dowling-Brown: (773) 508-0303 ext. 118

ECAC Welcomes 22 New Refugees to the United States this Week

This week alone, ECAC’s Reception and Placement Program will welcome 22 new refugees to the United States! Despite the unusually large numbers this week, ECAC staff and volunteers have stepped up to assist the transition of these new Americans. Apartment searches, furnishing homes, welcoming at the airport, orientations, many appointments, and much much more have been in process over the last few days and is part of the continual work of the program.

A refugee family in their new home along with volunteers from our partners Exodus World Service.

ECAC staff welcome a family of 7 at the airport!

Board of Directors and Staff Retreat

This past weekend ECAC’s Board of Directors and Staff headed to Michigan for a yearly retreat. The retreat is not only a time of refreshment but also a time of team building, training, and planning for the future. This year focused on preparation and strategies for successful transition of leadership as Executive Director of 31 years, Dr. Erku Yimer, retires at the end of the year. The board and staff came back to Chicago prepared and ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Museum Artifact of the Month
Wooden Icon – Hand carved & painted

Icons are Ethiopian works of art representing Christian religious stories. The wooden icon (13.5″ x 9.25″ with doors closed) pictured above, which is one of many religious artifacts in ECAC’s collection, has two hinged doors which open to revel three hand painted scenes. Works of art consisting of three hinged painted panels such as this is called a triptych.
Ethiopian icons are a traditional form of religious artwork and are hand carved by Ethiopian woodworkers. These altars are then handed over to Ethiopian artists who have been specially trained in correctly painting traditional religious icon scenes in the appropriate colorations. Ethiopian icons are used by Ethiopian Christians for devotional purposes, smaller sized icons are also sometimes worn or carried for personal protection.

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