Written by: Becky Highsmith, Sponsorship Coordinator for Addis Jemari
Our newly launched Family Empowerment Program has one goal: strengthen and empower impoverished families living in the sub-city of Akaki-Kality in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia so families can stay intact. We believe this is one solution to the orphan crisis currently in Ethiopia. Addis Jemari is excited to be working with the first 50 families that live in the Akaki-Kality. This sub-city is divided into 12 sections called woredas. We will be working with families that live in woredas 5, 6, 7, and 8.
On a recent trip to Ethiopia with the AJ administrative team, I was able to walk through woredas 5 and 6. I was excited to see and experience firsthand two of the areas that we will focus our resources. I knew that Akaki-Kality is known as the industrial area of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. It didn’t take us long to know why. We saw many large construction vehicles driving throughout the streets and parked around the area. There were significantly large potholes in the roads, which made it difficult for our driver to maneuver. When we found a place to park the car, we walked the streets to explore the area on foot. The neighborhoods were filled with one to two-room houses, made mostly of mud with corrugated tin roofs. All along the streets were piles of rocks and loose gravel.
The amount of dust in the air was significant. This made it a little difficult to breathe. Dust covered most everything around us, including the fruits and vegetables being sold on the side of the road. We smiled at locals that we saw and they seemed curious as to why we were there but were very friendly. As we walked around the woreda, we came across a few churches, several small shops, and even a health clinic.
While touring the health clinic, we learned that approximately 33,000 people live in woreda 5. Real people like you and me. We are excited to get to know our FEP families on a personal level. We will work hard to strengthen them and empower them, thus keeping them together.
We are praying for God’s continued guidance as we establish the next steps of our Family Empowerment Program (FEP). The baseline assessments of all 50 families have been completed and we will soon begin to empower our beneficiaries through our five core values (education, discipleship, financial literacy, life skills, and community involvement.) It is Addis Jemari’s belief that through our five core values, we can empower our beneficiaries who are affected by generational poverty with hope.
Will you help us? Pray for our FEP families and for our AJ staff on the ground working in Ethiopia each and every day to make a difference.
We currently have 14 sponsors for our FEP families, and we are looking for 36 more sponsors to help keep children with their families…where they belong.
For more information, visit www.addisjemari.org/sponsorFEP.