Sponsor's update from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Child sponsorship update from the SOS Children's Village Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from Summer 2008

Here are warmest family greetings and gratitude for your generous support which enables us work for the development of SOS Children’s Village Addis Ababa and the facilities under it. We are really contented to inform you with recent major happenings of what your contributions have made.

The whole family in the village is doing fine. However, our village director is seriously sick and could not continue working. As a result, he resigned and is following his medication. Thus, we are on process to have a new director.

The SOS Children's Village
34 Orphan and abandoned children are admitted in place of those who are transferred to youth facilities. This brings the present number of children in the village to be 135. All SOS mothers and co-workers are also working so hard for the new children to adapt their village life and we are becoming successful with all of them integrating very well.

Along side, 6 of our children who got passing result have gone to different universities and colleges in the country. In addition, 2 more children got admissions to study for their degree level in South Africa and went there. On top of this, 12 children already started their independent life up on completion of different trainings. Twelve girls have also started semi independent life with a help of a youth home leader and over all supervision of the village, in the new youth facility for girls’. And this brings the number of youth in the youth facilities to 41(18 boys and 23 girls).

Children's growth

In the elapsed few months we have been working so hard to change the performance of the school going children. And we started to see some hope that the first semester final examination result children took in the past February was promising. We are also working well for more.

Apart from academics, children and youth are also involving well in co-curricular activities. Amongst, the child parliament formed in the village is accomplishing very well with their monthly meeting which mostly focus on child rights and children activities. The other clubs like sponsorship, sports, music and art, health are also taking big roles in widening the outlooks of children. The small kids, who do not start visiting the nursery school, also have fun spending a lot of time in the new kids’ corner in the village.

Moreover, youths at the Girls’ Facility started a weekly poetry night on which they present their own and other well known poets’ works. This really helped them to express their talent and have fun in the mean time. Besides, all the youth in the youth facilities participated in a youth hearing program prepared to create a venue for them to discuss on different life issues. The youth expressed that such a scenario is so helpful to develop their life experience. Meanwhile, youths at the Boys’ Facility had a friendly Soccer match with youths from a school called Hope. We all are happy that our youth took the win. Besides from enjoying the game, the youth had fun making new friends.

There have been many festivities that have entertained and thought our village family. Most of all, from all child welfare organisations in the town our village was selected by the government as exemplary to host the millennium parents’ and children’s week celebrations. The first session of the celebration was held with the presence of government officials and our SOS village presenting small suggestion boxes to all the schools in the surrounding. The boxes are signs of listening to children and are used to have suggestions of children for their school. On the final day, Ministers and highest religious leaders attended the celebration and had lunch with the village family. They also forwarded their appreciation for the organization. Children also presented lovely songs. It was a really great happiness for all the family to have time and discuss with the respected personalities we knew only on TV.

The world anti HIV/AIDS day was also the other celebration which our village family enjoyed and benefited from. On the day children presented showing the adverse of HIV. In addition, the experience that a lady with HIV/AIDS shared about her life was a really good lesson for the village family. Mothers, youth and other staff also learned the problem of stigmatising people who live with HIV.

Not to mention, the SOS mothers’ day was also celebrated and enjoyed a lot by the village family. Talking of this, our village also hosted the 8th round SOS mothers’ pre service basic training. After completing the training the trainees graduated in a hot ceremony.

Children's education in Ethiopia

SOS Nursery School
The nursery school in our village has continued giving quality education for the 125 children of whom 57 are from our village.

21 individuals with a combination of Nursery School teachers, Nursery School principals and officers from the sub city education bureau paid a one day visit to the SOS Nursery School. It is comforting that the visitors appreciated the method of teaching and the facilities of our Nursery School. Similarly, two of our nursery school educators had an experience sharing program in two different nursery school and shared their good practices for the nursery schools.

SOS Vocational Training College
The training centre is working with full capacity of 109 children. Of these 16 are from SOS and the rest are scholarship and self sponsor students from the community. Apart from this, the college also give a night shift program for 118 students from the community. Beside, the previously halted department of Maintenance Technician started working in a new organised way. In addition to this two of the programs called Automotive Mechanics and General Mechanics are changed their curriculum and started to give speciality trainings on Auto Electricity and General Metal Fabrication respectively so as to make trainees capable in the specified fields.

In addition to classroom and practical studies, the students have also educational visits to different places which they benefited a lot. These are, the 2nd year General Mechanics department students had educational trips to Akaki Spare parts factory and the Federal Small Scale Enterprises. Moreover, the 3rd year students had an educational visit to a private metal industry. Besides academics, the youth also have lively participations in Sport, health, Science and Technology, Environmental protection, and Recreation and art clubs.

As the nursery school educators training institute has been moving to the vocational training centre, the regular education has been stopped for some time. But by now we are making the necessary arrangements to start class.

Supporting children and communities at Addis Ababa

SOS Social Centre
The social centre has committed its service for the 150 children and their poor mothers. Still more, the centre is also helping the beneficiaries to engage in self supporting activities. Amongst, 40 beneficiary mothers from the centre got skill trainings in weaving, plastic bag and mat preparations. Upon completion of their training, they graduated in a ceremony prepared at the centre’s compound. On the day, the graduates prepared their hand made materials for sale and displayed some for exhibition. On top of that, the beneficiaries also opened a small shop by the fence of the centre to sale some low cost commodities to the surrounding and raise funds for their small handy project. Apart from this, the bed ridden HIV/AIDS patients who get help from the centre are getting very well with the care and by now most of them are not on bed. And the follow up has still continued for them.

In our country Ethiopia, as in the rest of the world the cost of living has shown a tremendous increment. Fuel price is steadily growing; intern life in the cities especially is getting more and more complicated. The price on food items is also getting costly and has left a considerable impact in the country. Though the government is taking some measures like deducting some taxes on food items to relive the people, the cost of living is still challenging for every one to sustain.

Ending our letter, we extend our colossal appreciation on behalf of our big SOS family. Your thoughts to the progress of SOS children is helping us a lot to make all these possible.

Sincerely yours,

Asqual Markos (Ms.)
Project Administrator-Addis Ababa