Rehabilitation of 64 Vulnerable Women in Ethiopia

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

1. A woman who is family leader and who have dependant
2. Should be a victim of Gender Based Violence or other kind of violence
3. Should be economically poor
4. Able to run small business or who has started a small business
5. 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.