Flowers in bloom: support 40 abused kids, Ethiopia

The impact of Covid-19 over the Ethiopian population and in general in the Horn of Africa has been less disastrous as thought up to now. The World Health Organization has registered more than 277thousand Covid cases with more than 4thousand deaths from January 2020 to July 2021. One of the reasons why this part of Africa has been less hit is the young average age, which is about 17 years old. However, the healthcare system of the country is always uncertain, protection devices are lacking and for many people it is difficult to follow restrictions like the one that prohibits to leave the house – in particular for the poorest because this means not to have the possibility to work.

From and economic point of view, despite the stunning growth of the Gross Domestic Product in the last decade, Ethiopia founds itself in a condition of fragile social and economic development. The gap between the richest and the poorest part of the population is getting wider and employment rate does not keep up with the demographic growth.

In the meantime, last November the government sent the army in the Tigray region, in the north of the country – because of the ongoing revolt of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). After eight months the rebels of Tigray are controlling a great part of the northern region. The defeats of the Ethiopian army as well as of the Prime Minister Abiy led to local, regional and national consequences. This war led to a humanitarian disaster, with 7 million people forced to migrate to Sudan or in other neighbor countries. Prompt aids are needed, but they are blocked and there is a total lack of security.

Fortunately, out project “Flowers in Bloom” is set in the capital Addis Abeba and not in the north of the country. Initially, because of the pandemic, all group activities (workshops and group meetings) had been suspended. Just individual workshops continued, as well as the activities in the Foster Home.

At the moment, all the activities of the project have restarted in compliance with preventive Covid-19 measures:

• COUNSELLING CENTER: in the counselling center the number of sessions of therapy has increased during last months because children in particular from 10 years old have requested more frequent meetings. Furthermore, it has been possible to provide psychological support also to the 19 families of the children included in the project in order to give them the tools to face their children’s rehab once come back home. Two visits were organized to the homes of some families to ensure that the reintegration of children took place in peace.
• THERAPEUTIC WORKSHOPS:  workshops complementary to psychotherapeutic cares, making all the activities that support sexually assaulted minors more effective. Children can acquire a better self-esteem and recover trust in adults. Moreover, children get in touch with other minors with similar backgrounds and problems, sharing the rehab program.

We want to truly thank all the donors that keep on supporting the project, that allow us to help our “Flowers in bloom”!