ABOUT
LIGHTHOUSE OF ETHIOPIA

Lighthouse of Ethiopia  

is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity, founded in 2019. We exist to serve a large array of healthcare needs in Ethiopia, Africa. Donations received are currently supporting the medical work of a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Ethiopia, called LIGHT HOUSE ETHIOPIA MEDICAL. 

 

Our mission is to establish lifesaving medical clinics in underserved regions of Ethiopia, using both financial and medical supply donations, in order to ensure holistic and self-sustaining healthcare practices for generations to come.

 

By helping to support the work of Ethiopian medical clinics, we will improve and increase access to quality outpatient care, alleviate the burden often placed on local hospitals, offer viable, long-term employment opportunities and better serve the medical care needs of Ethiopia's people. We will also give Ethiopian healthcare workers the proper tools, work environment and medical supply equipment needed to do their jobs well, as they strive to serve the vast healthcare needs of patients living in impoverished, underserved communities.

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Ethiopia is the second most populous region in Africa, and developing more as a country each day. Although forward thinking and positive changes are being implemented, many Ethiopian citizens still suffer tremendously from extreme poverty, sickness and disease.

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The Founder and Director of Lighthouse of Ethiopia is Kendall Valenzuela. She currently resides in San Francisco, California, is a mother to four grown children, a grandmother and has been married to her high school sweetheart since 1990. She also has an adopted niece and sister from Ethiopia.

 

In 2017, Kendall traveled throughout Ethiopia, visiting different hospitals, poverty stricken regions and forming relationships with some incredibly dynamic Ethiopian citizens and physicians. Since then, she has traveled back to other cities and grown more enlightened, aware and concerned about the country's vast shortage of medical facilities, diagnostic healthcare equipment and supplies.

 

Kendall is a firm believer that "you don't truly know...until you actually go." Until you actually travel to Ethiopia (and other parts of Africa), and see first-hand the poverty and critical healthcare needs of the people (in addition to the bountiful array of beauty Ethiopia holds as a country) -- it's difficult to fully comprehend. Developed countries, such as America, have some of the best and most modern healthcare facilities available in the entire world...but Ethiopia, as a developing country, still has significant voids. 

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Through Kendall's interactions with rural Ethiopian families, conversations shared with representatives of other Ethiopian charities, and through meetings with local health care professionals (including the late Dr. Catherine Hamlin, of the Hamlin Fistula Hospital), it didn't take long for the vision of starting Lighthouse of Ethiopia as a nonprofit organization to materialize and take root. 

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Lighthouse of Ethiopia recognizes the importance of networking and partnering with others in it's mission to serve those who suffer unnecessarily. In June 2021, Lighthouse of Ethiopia joined hands to help support Light House Ethiopia Medical. They are an ETHIOPIAN registered, board-led Civil Society Organization in Addis Ababa.

 

Light House Ethiopia Medical (LHEM) was formed in the capital city of Addis Ababa by Dr. Zelalem Yirga Biwota, and is run by a highly talented volunteer Board of Directors. These board members serve in various communities of Ethiopia as professional medical doctors, nurses and public health administrators. Lighthouse of Ethiopia and LHEM are working in collaboration, with the goal to establish new medical clinics throughout underserved and rural regions of Ethiopia. 

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Light House Ethiopia Medical clinics will offer quality healthcare services to patients of all ages. A percentage of all monthly medical and prescription services will be given FREE, as charitable acts to patients most in need.