Confirm the food package
In progress
Sisay is checking local prices. A second local contact will review the proposed contents and costs before purchases.
Friends supporting families · Lalibela, Ethiopia
Food and essentials for families in Lalibela
A small, locally coordinated campaign to help households meet their most immediate needs.
€500 provisional target. Package prices and household count are awaiting local confirmation.
A note from Antonin
I went for the churches. I stayed in touch with the people.
I visited Lalibela in 2025. Alongside its extraordinary rock-hewn churches, I shared food, prayed, played football, and spent time with people who live there. I also bought notebooks, pens and dictionaries for local schoolchildren.
I stayed in touch with friends there. Most of the families we are trying to help depended on tourism for their income. When visitors stop coming, guides, hotel and restaurant workers, drivers, artisans and small shops lose work, and the loss reaches whole households.
This campaign begins with practical help: food and essentials bought in Lalibela, with local people coordinating what is needed and how it reaches families.
Antonin
The situation now · Sources checked 11 October 2026
Years without reliable tourism income. Food is needed now.
Tourism in Lalibela was hit twice. COVID-19 brought travel to a halt in 2020. Then the war in northern Ethiopia, followed by renewed conflict in Amhara from 2023, kept visitors away and made recovery much harder. Families who had earned their living welcoming people have faced years of uncertainty.
The pressure is still there. On 24 September 2026, Reuters reported flight suspensions to Lalibela because of fighting nearby. This is a dated report; transport and local conditions can change.
FEWS NET’s September 2026 food-security update, based on information available through 30 September, describes conflict disrupting markets, transport and access to food and essentials in northern Ethiopia, including parts of Amhara.
Le Monde’s July 2026 reporting described a hotel worker in Lalibela with very little work who was struggling to buy food for his family, even while tourism was recovering elsewhere in Ethiopia.
A food package can help a household cover its immediate needs while income remains uncertain. Our first round will buy food and essentials locally, with quantities and prices agreed with Sisay and reviewed by another local contact.
Help fund the first food packages ↗
Our main local contact
Meet Sisay
Sisay grew up in the Lalibela area and has worked in hospitality and as a trekking guide. He is our main local coordinator for this campaign.
He has offered to check market prices, coordinate purchases, keep spending records and receipts where available, and organize collection and distribution. Another trusted local contact will review the package and prices before we buy.
Antonin will manage the fundraiser and transfers, and publish confirmed spending and distribution updates. Local contacts will help identify households with urgent needs, taking household size and collection arrangements into account.
More about Sisay and his guiding work →Bought locally
A useful package, priced on the ground.
We are discussing these basics with Sisay. Final items and quantities will reflect local preferences, household size, availability and prices.
Nothing will be purchased until the package and budget are agreed. The €500 goal is provisional, and we will publish the confirmed costs and household target when they are ready.
- Grain or flour
- Lentils or split peas
- Cooking oil
- Iodized salt
- Onions
- Soap
Food and essentials · Community campaign
Family support: goals and public log
Antonin has launched a small fundraiser for food and essentials in Lalibela. Sisay has offered to coordinate local purchases and distribution, with another local contact reviewing the package and prices.
Awaiting local prices. The €500 fundraising target is provisional. Household count and package quantities are not yet confirmed. No completed distributions have been reported for this campaign.
Support the campaign on GoFundMeSee the full campaign, meet Sisay and explore the photos →
Last updated: . This log is updated manually from confirmed records; it is not a live donation feed.
Fund the first distribution
Awaiting confirmed budget
The provisional fundraising target is €500. Package costs, quantities and the number of households remain to be confirmed.
Deliver and document the support
Not started
Record purchases, delivery costs, household sizes and packages received. Publish receipts where available and a summary after the distribution.
Support additional households
Future round
If funds remain or more donations arrive, agree a new food distribution and publish its budget and results separately.
Proposed package
Grain or flour, lentils or split peas, cooking oil, salt, onions and soap. Local needs, availability and current prices will determine the final contents. Household size will guide quantities; collection and delivery arrangements will be confirmed before distribution.
How funds move
Donations → GoFundMe → Antonin → Remitly → Sisay → agreed local purchases and distribution. Platform fees, transfer charges, transport and packaging will be reported separately. Each transfer will show the EUR sent, ETB received and actual exchange rate. EUR and ETB balances are kept separate.
Financial log
| Account | Amount | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Donations received (EUR) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| GoFundMe fees (EUR) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| Net funds received (EUR) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| Transfers sent (EUR) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| Transfer fees (EUR) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| Funds received locally (ETB) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| Food and essentials purchased (ETB) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| Transport and packaging (ETB) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| Remaining organizer balance (EUR) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
| Remaining local balance (ETB) | Not yet reported | Awaiting confirmed record |
Distribution log
No distribution records yet. After each round, the log will show its date, anonymous household reference, household size, items and quantities received, and confirmation of collection or delivery. Names, phone numbers and addresses will stay private.
Updates and evidence
The GoFundMe campaign launched for immediate food and essentials. Local prices and a second review have been requested. Receipts and transfer records will be added after transactions are confirmed.
Public receipts will have private details removed. Photos of supplies can document purchases; families do not need to appear in photos to receive support. If funds remain, they will support more food packages or another distribution, with any change of purpose explained before spending.
Sisay’s longer-term farming proposal is a separate idea awaiting assessment. This campaign’s goal is immediate food and essentials.
People and moments from Lalibela
The relationships behind this campaign.
These photos come from Antonin’s earlier visit and Sisay’s collection. They show past activities and community life; they are not evidence of distributions from this new campaign. Permission to publish identifiable people, including children, has been confirmed by Antonin.
Join the first round
Help us buy food and essentials locally.
Donate through GoFundMe, or share the campaign with someone who might like to support it. We will keep the goals and spending visible as the work progresses.
Support families on GoFundMe ↗