This project will allow us to launch our academy. Our target is children who are of the street or youth who are at risk of becoming of the street. We will provide food, showers, training, relationships, equipment & through partnership with a local NGO make sure those in need are cared for holistically. We will use Football (Soccer) as a vehicle to engage & help these children reclaim their youth. Our ultimate goal is to work to help each achieve their dreams & use the gifts they've been given.
There are an estimated 60,000 people living on the streets in Addis Ababa, a large portion of which are children. Children who are left to fend for themselves & don't have much of an alternative currently. The risks of living on the streets are as you can imagine plentiful. Simple things like where to sleep, when the next meal will be that aren't concerns for many of us are everyday struggles for the group that we seek to serve. Meheret FC will give them a place to belong and blossom!
Our goal is to alleviate the risks that currently exist for these children, and invest in them individually to let them reclaim their youth & pursue their dreams rather than worry about survival. Football (Soccer), a sport which is culturally relevant in Ethiopia, to be able to use it as a way to engage & inspire children is a gift. We will provide holistically for those who need it. Nutritious meals, showers, school enrollment, counseling, & a loving environment that allows each to flourish.
Each boys or girls team that is funded will have 18 players. 18 players who otherwise would have been in vulnerable situations. We view this as a long term investment in each individual that will have both short term impact and long term ripples that hopefully start to shift mindsets & culture. Through healthy meals, shelter, education & positive relationships we hope to play a part in changing what these lives would have been, to allowing them to chase their dreams using their giftedness.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
