Locatie
Addis Abeba
Self-support groups
The project mainly focuses on two poor municipalities in Addis Abeba. The estimated amount of inhabitants is 290,300. It is a risky environment to grow up, with high numbers of children who drop out of school, or become the victims of forced child labour or prostitution.
The self-support groups of partner organisation Organization for Prevention Rehabilitation and Integration of Female Street Children (OPRIFS) are focused on social-economic support (saving and lending collectively) and parental support, including parenting skills education.
Education and school material
In 2018, 187 children were supported with school materials and 68 children with school uniforms. 45 mothers cooperated in a so-called self-help group. These women, mostly earning their income with selling on the streets, were provided with training, for example in calculating and bookkeeping and how to display their vendibles in an attracting way. Their income has been increased and they state that they feel more confident and that the communication with their children has improved. These women also got support in applying for government grants for poverty alleviation. None of their children dropped out of school and our partner organization also observes that family relations have been improved.
The project is supported for three years (2016-2019).
“OPRIFS gives me the strength to think about what used to be impossible. Look at me now, I have my own shop! I can now be a role-model for my child and for women who go through comparable difficult situations. "
Almaz is making a profit
Almaz from Addis Abeba owns a company that sells ‘injera’, this is food made from the crop teff. She makes a good profit. She has renovated her home and she can take care properly of her two children. This used to be quite different. Almaz was so poor that she found herself forced to become a prostitute at age fifteen. After having been a prostitute for years, she was inspired by a friend of hers with a similar background. This woman started her own business with the support of partner organisation OPRIFS and she changed her life. Almaz also got support from OPRIFS and she took part in various courses, both business-like courses as courses focused on the upbringing. She is happy with their support and with the support of Wereldkinderen. “My life would have been very different without this support.”
