CNIS works at the community level through Trauma Team Training (TTT) and Essential Burn Management (EBM) courses for health practitioners and and through a non-violent conflict resolution course in Axum, to secure safer communities in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has been a member of the Injury Prevention Initiative for Africa (IPIFA) since it was inaugurated in 1997 and has hosted an IPIFA Injury Epidemiology course in 2008. The Trauma Team Training (TTT) course was initiated in Addis Ababa in 2005. In the same year, CNIS initiated a ‘Basic Burns Care Project’ in Jimma. The curriculum has since been revised into CNIS Essential Burn Management (EBM) course. Courses are supported by National Burn Treatment Expert, Dr. Sarvesh Logsetty from Winnipeg, Manitoba and plastic surgeon, Dr. Tim Sproule from Scarborough, Ontario.

CNIS’ non-violent conflict resolution course was implemented in Axum, in Northern Ethiopia in 2009. Each year, at least 2,000 grade-5 students have benefited from its lessons. As a country with a recent history of conflict, the course promotes efforts towards peace and a greater feeling of security. The course has been translated into Tigrinia, the language of the region, with help of volunteers from Vancouver and our colleagues in Uganda. The program is directed locally by headmasters Ato Zenaabe of the Axum Primary School and Ato Abraha of the Abraha we Atsbeha Primary School. CNIS is working for national adoption of this program, which is so popular amongst both students and teaching staff.