Education Ethiopia Project #59632

Helping Young People Rise Out of Refugee Camps

by Boy With a Ball

Helping Young People Rise Out of Refugee Camps

Summary

Boy With a Ball's Love Your City efforts send skilled, passionate teams out into slums and refugee camps to build relationships with the young people and their family members living there. As trust and relationship form, these teams learn from the families and youth what obstacles they are currently facing to reach their dreams. Team members then launch mentoring relationships and developmental small groups (job skills training, tutoring centers, language classes and more) to help them rise.

$150,000
total goal

$150,000
remaining

0
donors

0
monthly donors

6
days

Challenge

Ethiopia, the second-most populous country in Africa, with a population of 100 million, is one of the world's poorest countries. Ethiopia's youthful population is an incredible asset and untapped resource for positive growth. Of Ethiopia's population, estimated at 104 million, 41 percent is under the age of 15. More than 28 percent is aged 15 to 29. Youth unemployment is estimated at nearly 27 percent. Gambella region hosts the largest refugee population in Ethiopia: 308,978.

Solution

Boy With a Ball is partnering with GCM to launch Love Your City in refugee settlements in Gambela. Within Love Your City, skilled, passionate teams walk into the refugee camps each week to build relationships with each family and each young person. Week after week, conversations between the team members and refugee families help create understanding of the major obstacles keeping youth from school and reaching their dreams. Mentoring and small groups are launched to help students graduate.

Long-Term Impact

Education and employment opportunities and access to water are two major challenges refugees in Ethiopia face today. Boy With a Ball's Love Your City efforts will create developmental mentoring relationships and small groups to support young people reengaging education to go on to graduate or to find meaningful employment. As a result: youth will graduate, youth will find meaningful employment, household income levels will rise, refugee families will integrate and find their footing.