Ethiopia

Population:88 millionLiteracy Rate:42.7%Religion: Roman Catholic (0.70%)

Salesian Missions in Ethiopia is helping children with nowhere else to turn. The country has 4 million orphans – which is 12% of the world's total. The AIDS epidemic is fueling this crisis by killing the parents of more than a half million children. One in three Ethiopians live in poverty, causing thousands of runaway children seeking a better life on the streets of the cities.

Featured Mission

Protect Youth from Disease

Ethiopia is home to more than four million orphans, or 12% of all children. More than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of AIDS, according to UNICEF.

The CARING Orphans and Vulnerable Children project in Ethiopia is funded by USAID to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. The program increases access to youth orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, and provides holistic care, community reintegration, and support for 60,000 orphans, street youth and children who have been made vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS. To date, more than 13,000 orphans and vulnerable children have received services ranging from shelter and care, formal education, non-formal education and economic empowerment activities. More than a quarter of these youth have been reintegrated with their extended families.

More Missions in Ethiopia

Build Schools

Thirty five percent of Ethiopians live below the poverty line, according the World Food Program. Through a wide range of educational programs in Ethiopia, children and youth have the opportunity to study, learn a trade – and reach their full potential.

Ethiopians in 14 towns and cities participate in:

Primary and secondary schools, vocational training centers
Family sponsorship programs
A street children rehabilitation program provides support in food, shelter, health and education (and serves as a model in the country)
School feeding programs

In all, Salesian Missions programs in Ethiopia are committed to improving the lives of youth.

Provide Housing for Orphans

More than 150 street children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will soon have a place to call home. And 750 more at-risk children will benefit from a variety of programs designed to instill confidence and self-respect. That’s because exciting plans are underway for a new Salesian Center that will feature dormitories, classrooms, a recreation hall and cafeteria. When it opens, the Center will serve hundreds of needy children by providing the immediate basics of food and shelter.