Ethiopia – Family reunion and education projects for streetchildren, from 505 Euro. Total 2725 Euro 

According to government estimates there are between 150.000 and 200,000 street children in Ethiopia. Most of them are thought to be working and living on streets of Addis Ababa, a lot of them sleeping out 'rough' at night on the pavements with no care or support. The biggest reasons for children ending up on the streets of Addis Ababa are poverty; inability to go to school, being forced to work, death of one or both parents and a lack of funds by the other familymembers to care for the child. 
Street children are amongst the most vulnerable groups of children at risk. They live and work in hazardous environments and are easily exploited, even by authority figures who should be protecting them. Yet they are also some of the most resilient and creative children. Most of all they are children, who have the right to protection and deserve the chance to reach their potential.

Maggie Crewes is country Director for RETRAK Ethiopia, a social work NGO working with street children in eastern Africa. They are committed to providing each child with an individual route back to family and community. RETRAK Ethiopia’s drop-in centre in Addis Ababa is a safe space for street children to find food, clean clothing, shelter, education, health care and hygiene facilities. The RETRAK Ethiopia team gets to know the children, assists them with past traumas and helps them to think about their future. When they are ready, children are then enabled to move on from street life and either reunify with their family or – if this is no option - go to school or vocational training as a path to independent living. Since its launch in June 2007 over 70 children have been enabled to move on from the streets and return to family and community life.

Over the next year RETRAK hopes to work with 70 children, getting to know them at the drop-in centre and meeting their most pressing needs. Hopefully twenty of them will be able to return home with a chance to join school or start a small business, helping many more family members as a result. 

1. Family reunification project 
This will enable a social worker to accompany one boy back to his home and to reunify with his family, as well as set up a small Income Generation Project to help the family income. 
Over a year we expect to be able to reunify 20 children with their families. Moments of Joy would like to pay the costs for 10 kids. 

No. Item Birr cost Euro cost @10 Euro to the birr 
1 Transport/travel expenses from Addis Ababa to home 700 birr 70 Euro
2 School uniform, shoes 300 birr 30 Euro
3 One set of clothing 220 birr 22 Euro
4 Income generating project (eg chickens, sheep, vegetable growing, small business) 1000 birr 100 Euro

TOTAL 2200 birr 222 Euro
Total for 10 kids 2220 euro 

2. Education project
Children that have missed the first years of school need to do either literacy or catch-up primary school classes to help them integrate back to full-time schooling:

No. Item Birr cost Euro cost @10 Euro to the birr
1 4 exercise books @ 3.50 = 14 birr x 50 700 birr 70 Euro
2 4 boxes of 50 pens @ 50 birr each 200 birr 20 Euro
3 Coloured pencils, erasers, rulers, glue 400 birr 40 Euro
4 Chalk and whiteboard markers 400 birr 40 Euro
5 Art paper x 4 reems @ 50 birr each 200 birr 20 Euro
6 Photocopying for tests/art/activities 1000 birr 100 Euro
7 Night school fees for 12 boys wanting to register in formal schooling 2150 birr 215 Euro
TOTAL 5050 Birr 505 Euro

Total € 1250,-- 

adopted by the general fund of Moments of Joy

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