Through years of begging, prostitution, scavenging and providing menial work in the community, many Moms began to view themselves as worthless and outcasts. We partner with locals to walk alongside of Moms and their children to see that they were made in God’s image, both in the services we deliver and how they are compassionately delivered.
Preference is given to unemployed, underemployed who are orphan vulnerable or who have a disability or life defining illness. Upon entry into the project most women make less than $1.50 USD per day and they are the sole breadwinner for the family.
This is a local initiative that employs over 50 Ethiopian staff, with great ownership by the beneficiaries as well.
Ethiopia has come a long way since the days of famine, Band Aid and photos of children with distended stomachs overcome by flies. Today Addis Ababa is a thriving metropolitan city, the diplomatic capital of Africa and home to over 6 million people. However, still many among those 6 million live in deep poverty.
Our focus to date has been the poor, children and orphans who live in a section of Addis Ababa known as Kore’ (or Korah). This area of the city is very poor and is known as a forsaken place. It began decades ago as a leper colony, later become the site of the city trash dump and now has become a slum of 130,000 residents, many of them the poorest of the poor. The slum suffers from lack inadequate sanitation, overcrowding, high HIV and TB prevalence, high unemployment, inadequate schools and significant populations of elderly, disabled and orphaned.
We believe that the message of hope that Jesus brings to the whole person is a needed expression in this section of the city in cooperation with other individuals, churches and organizations who are already expressing His hope in holistic ways. Join us.
