Fashion designer Gelila Assefa to build computer lab in Ethiopia

Ethiopian-born international fashion designer and philanthropist Gelila Assefa Puck (gelilastyle.com) has announced a partnership with the Orphaned Starfish Foundation to fund a new computer lab for a school run by the Ethiopian Children's Fund (ECF) in rural Aleltu, Ethiopia.

The Orphaned Starfish Foundation grant will support the Gelila Assefa Puck Skill Training Center, the newest addition to the celebrated ECF children's village in Aleltu. The grant will provide hardware, software, materials and trainers for ECF's first computer skills training lab. ECF plans to offer other vocational skills as additional funds are raised and the new Center expands.

More than a decade ago, Ms. Puck, who was born and raised in Addis Ababa, joined the board of ECF. There were then only 21 children in the program but today this pioneering set of children's boarding schools serves more than 400 orphaned and disadvantaged children in Ethiopia.

Said Ms. Puck: "The partnership with ECF is the first entry of the Orphaned Starfish Foundation into Africa and it will provide disadvantaged Ethiopian children with critically-needed skills. This vocational training is absolutely vital to preparing the children for the jobs they will need to support themselves and to raise healthy, independent families – which has always been the ultimate goal of the Ethiopian Children's Fund."

Added Ms. Puck: "I am delighted at this new development and will be excited to watch how the new computers and this new program will transform the lives of these incredible children."

Gelila Assefa Puck is an internationally known designer of fine couture gowns and handbags, and philanthropist who was born and schooled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Gelila's couture fashion brand, Gelila Style, is rooted in her East African heritage and today is principally focused on a distinctive handbag line, which includes simple, classic clutches and bags made from crocodile, ostrich and African springbok.

Gelila and her husband, superchef Wolfgang Puck, support numerous other charities worldwide, and were both honored in March of 2009 by the Children's Institute in Southern California with the prestigious Champion of Children Award.