Gender Equality Ethiopia Project #26111

Rehabilitation of 64 Vulnerable Women in Ethiopia

by Abraham's Oasis

Project Report | Feb 5, 2019
Hope for the future

By Aklilu G/Egziabeher | Administrator/ Project leader

Mihret with one of her children and mother

Just a story about one of our beneficiaries:

Mihret L. is a twenty three years old lady in Sheraro Town. She has three dependants, they are 3 and 5 years old, the third dependant is her mother, she is 70 years old, The mother is not able to work anymore and she is totally dependent on Mihret. Mihret’s husband has left the family since she got her second baby 3 years ago. The community has given in kind support to Mihret’s family. Mihret started daily labor work to feed her two children and her mother. Without a husband to support her, Mihret’s life has become very difficult. In March, 2018 we sent a letter to Sheraro Women’s Affairs Office to select 8 women family leaders to be benefited from our Women Empowerment Project. Mihret was one of the 8 women selected. She has been trained in basic business skill for two days and she is also trained in family care for 3 hours by Abraham’s Oasis Social Worker. She stood out as an active participant in the training. She chose to start a small retail shop. Five thousand Eth Birr worth of material was selected by Mihret, bought by committee and handed over to her. She is currently running the shop effectively and she is already getting 400 birr net profit a month after all family expenses are covered. Mihret is spending 500 Birr on food and 200 Birr for rent every month. She is buying soya beans and house hold materials from the nearby refugee camp merchants and she is selling those supplies in Sheraro on Saturdays (the main market day)and she is getting a net profit of 500 birr every week from those items. Mihret has become a self confident business woman, the family is getting a proper meal at least 3 times a day and the older child is going to school.

Mihret’s future plan is to expand her business by taking a loan from micro finance.

One of many young women who became destitute due to unfortunate circumstances, so young and a heavy burden to carry....becoming dependent on hand-outs by the community, losing your dignity. But now a life transformed, a young woman who can hold her head up high, a family that will stick together and can feed itself. A way out of poverty, a way out of the dangers of destitution and desperation. A new hope has been given for the future.

It doesn't take much but the effects of a small gift will be for generations to come. Because a mother was raised out of poverty she was able to feed and sent her children to school so they can have an education and a better job in the future.

Thank you for playing your part in the life of these poor female headed households.

Mihret in her shop

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Nov 5, 2018
Happy women, happy families

By Aklilu G/Egziabeher | Administrator/ Trainer in small business skills

Small business skills training

Currently we have 40 women in our project. They all have received small business training and their materials to start/expand their businesses, the psychologists and social worker have given their input in the training on how to run their family in a good way. In the past month we have done some follow-up visits and the women are doing very well.

90% of the women have already started a local saving system by which they can grow their capital so they can expand the bussiness by themselves in the future. The families all manage to eat three meals a day now and their children are in school. They also manage to cover any medical expenses for the family by themselves.

Our follow-up is only for one year as we don't want to create dependency of our beneficiaries. We want them to be proud of their achievements and to be empowered in such a way that they are confident that they can expand their business by themselves.

The strength and succes of the project is because we let the women decide what their strenght and weaknesses are and based on that they decided by themselves what kind of business they are able to run. It is not helpful to force all of them to start for example a chicken business if their interest is in selling spices. We don't judge their interests, nor the material support they request. We have the principle that they know best what works in their area and what they need to succeed in life. The result is that we have 40 beneficiaries who are very satisfied with the assistance and keen to grow their business. We see families who are working together, families raised out of poverty and on their way to be financially independent.

We will never be able to thank you enough for your ongoing support for the women of Ethiopia!

Chicken business

Social worker giving training

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Aug 7, 2018
24 Empowered women

By Catharina van den Bosch | Founder/Director

training session

We managed to empower 24 vulnerable women over the past few months, bringing them out of poverty and social isolation and turning them into valuable members of their community who can walk around again with their heads held high. Just imagine the change in the lives of these women after having been given the tools and some means to make a change.

The majority of women has fully embraced this effort and are working hard to now provide for their family, sent their children to school and participate in comunity contributions and savings. Being able to acces credit institutions to take out loans to expand their business. The big succes has been that we let the women choose the busness of their interest. They know themselves and the market in their communities. The women choose businesses like: restaurant, retail shop, spices, boutique, poultry farm and milk cows.

The Women’s Affairs Office in each areaahas taken the responsibility of selecting those beneficiaries and they divide the selection of beneficiaries for this project to their lower level administrative unit of their area. The selection criteria’s were

A woman who is family leader and who have dependant
Should be a victim of Gender Based Violence or other kind of violence
Should be economically poor
Able to run small business or who has started a small business
Should be someone who didn’t get any support before

The women are selected according to the criteria’s set by our organization. Our experts have assessed the beneficiaries economically and psychologically, to make sure that they have the ability to run a small business properly to raise their family income. All those steps have gone well and we appreciate the initiative of women’s affairs experts.

We have given them a basic business training skill, in addition our Psychologist and Social Worker added an input on how to run and monitor a disciplined family, age wise child behavior and methods of positive discipline and counseling methods.

After the training all the beneficiaries got materials worth 5,000.00 (Five thousand) birr to start the business that they have chosen. The purchasing process was done by committee composed of Labor and Social Affairs office, Abraham’s Oasis and the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are entitled all responsibilities of assessing the materials that need to be bought in terms of quality, quantity and price wise, the purchasing committee only buy the items that has been selected, identified and agreed by the beneficiary. This system eliminate all kind of complains from the beneficiaries. Follow up and support by business expert, Social worker and Psychologist will continue for a period of one year to strengthen those families and their business.

Their feelings of self-worth have risen, they have gained confidence and their kids can eat better and go to school. It doesn't take much to bring a smile back on someones face! We thank you so much for helping to make an incredible change in the lives vulnerable women.

Cow purchase

Grain purchase

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