Women in Crisis in Tigray, Ethiopia

Who are women in crisis?

* They are survivors of rape and abuse

* They are the survivors of trafficking and returnees after illigal migration to the Middle East, who endured unspeakable hardship during their journey and stay.

* They are the victims of early marriage and genital mutilation

* They are the street girls, addicted and abused

* They are the families of babies whose mother has died in childbirth, who can't afford the expensive baby formula

* They are the women who suffer in silence,  who lost a husband and are now left to take care of their family.

The amount of suffering around us is staggering and at times we feel very overwhelmed. These women are not statistics for us, they are women in need of an arm around their shoulder, a safe house to be rehabilitated, economic assistance to start a business, a listening ear, advice and follow-up. We don't throw our assistance at them....we take them by the hand and walk with them till they can continue by themselves, till they have regained their dignity and confidence.

Yes, it is often hard to hear the constant stream of stories of hardship and suffering but it is the smile which breaks through the tears, the hope which radiates from their eyes when step by step they start climbing out of the dark pit and are able to build a future for themselves and their family.

Thank you for walking with us! We couldn't do what we are able to do without your support!

She was only thirteen years old, just a child.......

Her mother was not well and her father had an aggressive way of disciplining his children. There was not much family interaction and our little girls started to drift more and more to the street. No one was questioning where she was and what she was doing. She didn't feel loved and one day she decided that she would move to another town and look for some work there. But she quickly found out the reality of her actions and having no home to go back to she resorted to sleeping on the street. She tried to hide herself as much as she could but in the middle of the night she was found by a man and he raped her. She was so traumatized and started crying uncontrollably. People rallied around her and tried to calm her down but she was just heartbroken en frightened. The people took her to the loval government office who reffered her to our organization. She came and she was silent. She refused to talk and the first week she just observed. The other ladies in our safehouse were kind and tried to comfort her, each in their own way. Slowly she started to interact and in the following weeks she opened up and we were able to give her the help she needed. We also asked her father to come and we discussed all the happenings and problems. The poor father was completely in shock and very repented of his hars treatment of his children. He appologized to the girl and she agreed to give him a new chance. They went home together and she has since stayed home and is caring for her sick mother. We phone her on a regular basis and everything is going well. The father is a changed man and the house is peaceful.

We keep working with communities in our prevention and outreach to raise awareness on how to care for your children and the dangers of children migrating to the street. Whenever we teach them, people are in shock as they don't know how dangerous the streets are but also they have no idea that childern need parents who love and care for them.

Thank you so much for your ongoing support for the women of Tigray, we couldn't do it without you!