Reaching Out to Street Children in Ethiopia

In Addis Ababa the capital of Ethiopia there are 11,000 children living on the streets. These children are among some of the most vulnerable in the world and really need your support. Why not give a ‘tribute card’ this Christmas. Show your love to your friends and family through Retrak ‘tribute cards’. These cards enable us to return children to safe and loving homes or provide older street children like Worju (below) with vocational training so that they can have a real alternative to life on the streets.

Go to ‘Gift’ here -  http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/reaching-out-to-street-children-in-ethiopia/

... and transform the life of a street child this Christmas.

17 years Worju was 16 years old when first he came to Retrak.  He ended up on the streets because his father was an alcoholic and the family was desperately poor.

Worju’s father used to abuse him and his brothers, both physically and emotionally. So Worju decided to leave his father’s home.  He ran away and went to Arbaminch town where he started working around the bus station carrying luggage and goods. Worju struggled to get enough money to care of himself, so he decided to travel all the way to Addis Ababa, more than 500km. Unfortunately his hopes of making more money and getting a better life in the capital city did not go well and he ended living up on streets.

Worju’s dream when he came to Addis Ababa was to continue his schooling – he was a good student and already in grade 9, but he was not able to continue his schooling and was left without adult support and with no hope. He stayed like this on the streets for two years.

One day some other street boys  told him about Retrak.  The next morning Worju came to the gate of the project and talked with a  social worker.  After listening to his story, the social worker invited him to join the drop-in centre programme.

After establishing that it was not possible for Worju to reunite with his alcoholic father, the staff proposed to him that he do one more year of school and finish grade 9 class whilst living at Retrak’s small group home in Addis Ababa under the care of the house parents.

Worju successfully completed his grade 9.  By this time we was  17 years old, so Retrak encouraged him to  join vocational training in order to gain a skill from which he could earn a living. Worju opted for plumbing.

Worju has been attending his training for the last 8 months and he is  doing really well in his apprenticeship and practical training.   After completing the training he hopes to get a job on one of the many construction sites in Addis Ababa, whilst at the same time doing night school to complete his grade 10 certificate.    Worju’s life has been turned around in the past 2 years and now he has real hope of a positive future where he can care for himself and be independent whilst continuing his dream of finishing his high school education.

Zenia was born in Addis Ababa in 1996. Her father died when she was a young child and she lived with her mother until she was 7. Not long after Zenia turned seven her mum died from AIDS. Zenia’s uncle had to take her in and look after her. Her uncle’s wife was not happy about having to look after another child. She began to abuse Zenia, beating her and calling her names. Her uncle tried to help her but the abuse didn’t stop. In the end he told her that she should leave as she was never going to be welcome in his wife’s home. Zenia left her home with nowhere to go. She spent the night on the streets of Addis Ababa. She was attacked and raped on her first night away from home. 

Zenia was scared and needed to find someone to protect her from the violence of the streets. She decided to accept the offer of another older street boy to become her “husband” . He promised to protect her from strangers. Although he did keep her safe from others he was also physically and sexually abusive towards her. After a year she decided to run away again, she was just 13 years old.

Two years later Zenia was addicted to alcohol and very damaged from life on the streets. One night she met a street outreach worker from Retrak. He spoke to her and invited her to the Retrak drop in centre. The next day she went along to the Retrak centre where she was able to see a nurse and a social worker. They spoke to her about the help that she could receive from Retrak and how they could help her move away from street life. Zenia now comes to the Retrak centre every day. She is having counselling and the social workers are trying to help build up her self esteem. Zenia has found it hard to love herself again after years of rejection and abuse.

Zenia has recently started a tailoring course and is very happy learning a new skill. Thanks to the money that you donate Retrak has been able to support Zenia on this two year course. She now has an alternative to life on the streets and is beginning to realise her potential and discover her worth.