Children enrolled in the program receive all the school materials they need to get the most out of their time at school, including registration fees, books, uniforms and stationery.
Once Hope for Children youth participants have completed their secondary education, Hope for Children offers a number of pathways including scholarship assistance and guidance counselling for youth to attend pre-university, university or vocational training.
Key Facts
There are 170 thousand children in Ethiopia living with HIV.
27.4% of children in Ethiopia are involved in some form of child labour.
25.1% of the Ethiopian population is aged between 10 and 19.
†Source: UNICEF
How Hope for Children Makes a Difference
Supports extra-curricular lessons, English, computer and art classes through the Hope for Children Youth Enrichment Centre.
Awards scholarships to students to continue their tertiary or vocational training.
Provides nutritional support and school resources to children and young people.
Medhanit and Zekarias
Eight year old Zekarias has been in the Hope for Children sponsorship program for seven years. When he was eight months old he spent two months in hospital and during and after his recovery his mother, Medhanit was struggling to pay for food and meet her rent and bills. She was having such difficulty finding money for food that she would go to Addis Ababa University student quarters where they would provide her with free food to feed herself, her mother and Zekarias.
Medhanit became very ill at this time and she was admitted to hospital for two months where a nurse put her in touch with Hope for Children and Zekarias was sponsored immediately.
Medhanit said after this she felt very relieved,
“I did not have to worry about Zekarias not eating anymore or getting sick and me not being able to provide for him”.
Hope for Children provided counselling support and also offered Medhanit with the opportunity to volunteer on the home based care team where she was paid a small stipend. This gave Medhanit the chance to socialise with other women from her neighbourhood and build her confidence.
Zekarias was enrolled in kindergarten and with the support of Hope for Children his uniform and school registration fees were covered. That year, Zekarias was awarded first in his class. Zekarias is now in grade three and is a science buff! He loves learning about the human body and healthy practices, which is part of the science curriculum in Ethiopia.
Medhanit is now employed by Hope for Children as a Home Assessor in our Child Sponsorship Program. She is responsible for visiting the homes of families in the program to ensure that their living situation is improved.
Medhanit finds great satisfaction giving back to the organisation and community that has supported her. Medhanit looks forward to the day when Zekarias can be a self-sufficient citizen who contributes to the growth and development of Ethiopia. Zekarias would like to be a medical doctor because he wants to take care of those who are sick.
Etagegn’s Story
Etagegn is 20 years old. She is about to begin her second year of university where she is studying Public Health.
Etagegn chose to study Public Health because she wants to eventually study medicine once she has graduated, and work in the rural areas of Ethiopia with impoverished families. Hope for Children’s Scholarship program has assisted Etagegn complete her studies by providing her with the life skills training to transition from school to university. The program has benefits for students like Etagegn who study in a town far from Addis, by supporting them with reading materials and transport allowances.
Etagegn’s father passed away when she was 11. This was very difficult time for the family because as well as losing their father they also lost their only breadwinner. Struggling to meet the rent or buy food Etagegn’s mother went to Hope for Children for support. Hope for Children sponsored both Etagegn and her brother Buzayehu.
This meant that immediately the children received adequate nutrition, schoolbooks and materials to enable the children to do well at school.
Etagegn’s mother joined a Hope for Children savings and loan group and soon after she started a business selling household equipment. This has assisted the family meet their basic needs.
In two years, Etagegn will complete university and apply for medical school. We look forward to hearing of Etagegn’s future success.