Rev. Nicholas Richards, President and co-founder of The Abyssinian Fund stopped by our studio for an exclusive interview which stretches the start and mission of the organization. In part one of the interview he elaborate’s on New York’s Abyssinian Baptist Church and how The Abyssinian Fund came to be created, as well as the community programs it supports. Richards also talks about his personal experiences in Africa which lead to his ministry-related work on the continent.

“Abyssinian church took a trip to Ethiopia in 2008. We went all across the country and we talked to Ethiopians far and wide. The common theme that we heard in Ethiopia was that the number one enemy of the citizens of Ethiopia was poverty,” he said.” We came back from that trip and we thought long and hard about how we could really address the issue. We created the Abyssinian Fund as our answer to help reduce poverty.