Summaries of HUNGER PROJECTS in Africa
Working with LWR Partners

Ethiopia—Community-Based Youth Program

Partners: LWR and Jerusalem Association Children ’s Home (JACH)

According to the Ministry of Labor in Ethiopia, the number of children on the streets in urban areas has reached an alarming proportion. Poverty pushes most of them to the streets, but the AIDS epidemic sweeping Ethiopia is making the problem worse. There are an estimated one million AIDS orphans in the country and the number is expected to rise to 2.9 million by 2014. Attitudes towards the institutional care of these children has shifted in Ethiopia, recognizing problems with their social reintegration. Families and communities are the country’s primary social safety nets and resources and efforts have been channeled towards strengthening family and community capacities to meet the needs of vulnerable children.

GOAL: To improve the livelihoods of vulnerable children i.e. through active participation of their communities. Through this project, the organization proposes to improve the food security and livelihoods of vulnerable children in Dire Dawa through the support of community income generating activities like small-scale urban agriculture, environmental conservation measures, and HIV/AIDS prevention activities.
Through its accompaniment, LWR will work closely with JACH to develop clear monitoring and evaluation strategies, and facilitate the documentation of the intervention for learning and experience sharing with other partners in the region.

OBJECTIVES: LWR’s partner, JACH is expected to aid over 4,700 people (adults and youth). The project results will include:

"Improved food security and livelihood of vulnerable children
" Families of vulnerable children will have established income generating activities like agro-forestry, small trade, poultry rearing, beekeeping; increasing their capacity to buy food, enroll their children in schools and access other vital services.
" Environmental conservation measures including terracing, tree planting, and awareness raising activities lead to the reduction of soil erosion and possible employment for the youth from sale of fuel wood and grass.
"Reduced vulnerability of children to HIV/AIDS
"The promotion of HIV/STD transmission prevention methods and behavior change communication will reduce new transmissions among high-risk groups further reducing the number of children who will be orphaned or otherwise made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.

Approved Project Support: $145,254 through to 2005

Page 1 2

Hunger Projects : Burkina Faso, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.

Top of Page