Child exploitation
and homelessness
Safeguarding children's futures.
Our aim. To equip orphaned and vulnerable children in Ethiopia for a safer, brighter future free from hunger, disease and exploitation.
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The challenge today
Ethiopia has one of the highest orphan rates in the world. Right now, one in eight Ethiopian children have lost one or both of their parents, one-third live in poverty and more than one in twenty children die before the age of 5.
Without guardians or stable homes, children and youth lack the means to stay in school. Many have nowhere to turn but the streets where they fall prey to sexual exploitation and child labour. Adolescent girls face further threat of human trafficking; sometimes sold by their parents for money or snatched from the street for sex work.
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The solution you can be part of
We’re working alongside project partners in some of Ethiopia’s poorest areas to give immediate aid for orphaned, homeless, trafficked and impoverished children, improve their future prospects and address the gaps in social services to stop kids falling through the cracks.
- Giving homeless, orphaned or abused children a stable home for as long as they need, while working to reunify trafficked children back with their families if safe
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- Ensuring every child has access to quality education by subsidising the cost of school supplies, offering sponsorships for high school students about to drop out, plus refurbishing schools in need
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- Ensuring kids from destitute homes have proper nutrition by providing free breakfasts, building school veggie gardens and teaching parents about nourishment
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- Equipping unemployed youth with skill development, entrepreneurship and seed money to kick-start their career or small business
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See the solution in action
Out the front of a group children’s home for orphaned and vulnerable children. The children live with a house mother (right) and big sister (bottom centre), go to school everyday and get to make friends with others their own age. Even after they leave the group home as adults, many return to celebrate holidays and special occasions because the people in the home have become their family.
One barrier against children finishing their education is that schools are ill-equipped with sufficient learning and teaching resources while parents cannot afford the school supplies needed for their children. By providing simple supplies such as pencils, writing books and textbooks, we can lessen these barriers and help give more children access to quality education.
In a classroom in rural eastern Ethiopia. This primary school is desperately in need of refurbishment and thanks to our project partners JeCCDO, construction has since begun on the school. Today, the school has been outfitted with bathrooms, clean water supply, a library and new learning materials in all the classrooms.
A free, pre-school breakfast for primary school students from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It’s a simple meal – often bread, fruit and milk – but it means children won’t start the day on an empty stomach and can have more energy to learn and grow.
In such a traditionally rural country, many youth migrate to the cities for better work and living opportunities – only to discover that they aren’t qualified for most jobs and competition for these jobs is brutally high. Many youth fall prey to exploitation and abuse unless given the chance to learn new skillsets and become job-ready.
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The impact you can have
“The love I got here I will never forget.”
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When Hanna’s mum passed away, she had nowhere to go but the streets. She was just 15 years old and spent three months trying to find work while being stalked by child labourers.
Luckily, she was found by project partners Yenege Tesfa and brought to their group children’s home.
One year on, Hanna has a safe and loving home, friends her own age and a new-found love of reading and history. But more than that, Hanna’s now set on a new course for life; a productive and resilient course that will carry on to the next generation.
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Meet your project partners
> Yenege Tesfa
Meaning ‘Hope for Tomorrow’, Yenege Tesfa stands alongside some of the most marginalised groups in society; orphans, street children, single mothers and people living with illness or disability.
They offer group homes for homeless children, run mobile street schools so those on the street can still learn and sponsor students from destitute homes with all their school supplies. Alongside education assistance, Yenege Tesfa also fund hundreds of coupons for free medical services each year and run agricultural programs for single mothers so they can provide for themselves and their families.
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> Jerusalem Children & Community Development Organisation
Established in 1985, the Jerusalem Children & Community Development Organisation (JeCCDO) are committed to the wellbeing and protection of children.
They follow a child and community-based approach where they first provide access to basic services such as education, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, then improve an orphaned or vulnerable child’s ability to lead an independent life, before finally working to improve the quality of living for the wider family or community. In this way, both children and community can grow together for a future free from poverty.
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Make your impact
Donate today to help a equip an orphaned child like Hanna for a safer, brighter future.
