Street Children Caretaking

  Ethiopia

Addis Ababa

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 1-2 years
Dates: 17-90

Description: Street children in Ethiopia

According to the department of children youth and family welfare 150,000 children live on the street of Ethiopia - around 60,000 in the capital many arriving from the rural areas looking for work. However, aid agencies believed that the problem may be far worse, estimating that there are nearly 600,000 street children countrywide over 100,000 of them in Addis Ababa the capital. With the AIDS pandemic along with a declining economy, the number of children living on the streets has continued to climb.

The Children at Mercy Home

Children who come to Mercy Home do so because they are living in a situation of poverty that is so severe that they have been forced to take to the streets in order to live because their parents are unable to provide for them, or because they needed to earn money for themselves or for their families by begging, selling tissue packets and gum, or by other dubious ways including gambling and theft. Generally, Mercy Children have one or both parents, but a few have been orphaned or abandoned. They stem from various ethnic backgrounds, and several speak more than one Ethiopian language. At this time, all of the children in Mercy Home are boys.

Before coming to Mercy Home, our children were a product of the streets. They learned how to survive and how to make money. They learned many bad habits and did many horrible things. These are the behaviors and nearly natural instincts we are working to change. Team work, love, honesty, hard work, and integrity are some of the things we are trying to bestow in our children.

Accomplishments of Mercy Home

* Mercy Home rehabilitated and reunites 11 street children back to their family or close relatives. When these children reunited with their family all their necessity like school fee, school materials, uniforms, health care, clothes are provided by Mercy Home.

* Mercy Home also supports 25 under privileged children with their school fee, school materials, uniforms, health care, and clothes.

* Mercy Home accommodates 16 children at this moment 12 boys and 4 girls between the ages of 6 - 11.

Note that, Mercy Home is completely dependant on volunteer support and donations to keep the organization running.

Volunteering at Mercy Home

Volunteers contribute in many different ways to the children in the center. In the past, volunteers have used their talents and abilities to build furniture, provide nursing care and design websites and brochures. They have even sponsored numerous different kinds of fundraising events and charity drives in Ethiopia and in their home countries including the collection of school supplies, clothing, shoes, vitamins and funds. Volunteers are encouraged to work on additional projects including assisting in the translation of documents, development programs and grant-writing.

All volunteers/interns are responsible for the general care of the children living in the center. This means spending time with the children, playing with them, and helping the children who attend proper school with their homework in the evenings. They are in need of attention and love knowing they are important to all of the volunteers working in the center.

Highlights: Some of the causes which pushes children to go on the streets are:

* Family disintegration due to divorce & other reasons.
* Poverty and hunger.
* Social problems such as early marriage, forced marriage, abduction, rape among girls are common.
* Lack of institutions that can adequately address the problem children from poor families.
* Child sexual and labor abuse at family level are some of the reasons.

Problems that street children face every day:

* Child abuse, sexual & labour abuses.
* Health and sanitation problems, pneumonia fever, diarrhea, etc.
* Addictive behavior, alcoholism, chewing chat, cigarette smoking etc.
* "Malnutrition and under nourishment (hunger)
* Psychological/mental problems/, stress, anxiety, frustration, worthless ness.
* Involvement in criminal activities.
* Lack of education and other basic social services.
* Stigma and discrimination are the common problems that street children face every day.

Our vision is:

* To shape well-educated, motivated children, who are well behaved, and mentally, physically and spiritually healthy.
* Raising awareness regarding child rights at family and community levels.
* Supporting poor families so that they get out of poverty.

Our aim is:

* To support underprivileged children and families who suffer due to national, social and economic difficulty.

Qualifications: Ability to work in group, having a passionate heart to street kids.

Minimum Education: High School

Cost in US$: 18 per day

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Any one who have the heart for children and the needy.

Age Range: 17 - 60

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Ethiopia Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Mercy Ministry Happy Children Home's Mission Statement: The main goal of Mercy Ministry is: "To support underprivileged children who suffer due to national, social and economic difficulty". We want the children to be able to change their lives and to shape them into well-educated, motivated children, who are well behaved and mentally, physically and spiritually healthy. Our project changes the lives of street children by: * Providing nutritional meals to street children in Addis Ababa. * Providing education for the children living in the centre, which includes providing them with school supplies, uniforms and tuition. * To provide health care, as well as psychological and emotional support to children who still suffer due to the difficulties of having lived on the streets. * To provide children with a healthy, safe, and disciplined environment in which to live, work and play.

Year Founded: 2005

Mercy Ministry Happy Children Home is a Christianity based organization. We do not require our participants to be of the same faith. Our volunteers will not be involved in religious proselytizing.