Perspectives for 1800 children from 900 families
Zurich / Debre Berhan, February 12, 2025 – Menschen für Menschen is continuing to develop its children's project in the Ethiopian city of Debre Berhan: Over the next three years, the aid organization will increase its support for 1,800 children and young people from 900 extremely poor families. In addition, 100 young people will receive vocational support. The city administration is supporting the project by providing land for almost 100 simple houses.
The deputy mayor of the city of 150,000 inhabitants also came to the opening workshop in a hotel. Werkalemahu Kostire praised the broad focus of the project, which provides many impulses for the poorest citizens: "That's why I'm so pleased that the project is continuing with a new phase."
Over the past three years, Menschen für Menschen has supported 1200 children and young people from 663 families. Among other things, the parents, especially the mothers, received vocational support. At the turn of the year, two thirds of these families were able to become independent: they no longer need any further support. New families are now being included in the support, and the number of children and young people supported is being increased from 1200 to 1800. In total, the Swiss aid organization will support around 900 families over the next three years.
The deputy mayor brought more than just nice words to the opening workshop. In fact, the city is also supporting the children's project with assets: many of the particularly poor families live in inhumane shacks made of wood, cardboard and plastic; Menschen für Menschen wants to build a total of 96 simple houses for these families over the next three years. The city is providing the building land, as well as local building materials. According to estimates by the authorities, the building materials and land are worth a total of 96 million Birr on the real estate market, the equivalent of 770,000 Swiss francs. In addition to the deputy mayor, Beletish Girma, the head of the city's Office for Women, Children and Youth, also spoke in favor of the investment: "The project is tackling the right problems. We are ready to cooperate at all levels."
Continued high demand
The children receive school materials every year. This and the provision of tutorials help to reduce the number of school dropouts. In the last three years, 15,000 textbooks were also sent to local schools. 199 families with 434 children were able to move into decent housing. 1,273 parents, mainly mothers, organized themselves into 69 self-help groups to receive training and microcredits for small businesses - and independent living. 1,150 children received medical treatment, often for poverty-related diseases such as scabies or life-threatening infections such as pneumonia.
But despite these successes, children in the city still live in poverty, have no access to education or are affected by malnutrition. Ethnic conflicts have left children orphaned and other families have fled to the city. The Tigray war, in which many fathers died, was followed by the uprising of militias in rural regions of the state of Amhara, to which Debre Berhan belongs. The poorest are also still suffering from the economic consequences of the Covid pandemic: many have lost their source of income and their emergency savings. At the same time, inflation is leading to galloping living costs. Added to this is climate change, which is making agricultural production more difficult with dry periods and heavy rain, increasing food insecurity and driving rural exodus.
Continuing what has proven successful, introducing new measures
In this situation, the new three-year project (2025-2027) is developing tried and tested measures and initiatives and setting new priorities. The number of children supported will be increased from 1,200 to 1,800. Because no one can learn when they are hungry, 225 malnourished children regularly receive additional food - grains, pulses and oil. In a large proportion of the families supported, the mothers are single parents. To enable them to better provide for themselves and their children, 900 parents, mainly women, are organized into around 50 self-help groups. They receive training in savings strategies, business management and marketing. Microcredits are available to help them start their own business.
Many young people have no real prospects of finding a job. That is why there is a new focus on vocational training: 100 young women and men are learning how to handle money, become self-employed and set up a small business. Craft courses are also being offered so that the young people can work as hairdressers, seamstresses or electronics repairmen in the future. They also receive start-up capital to buy tools and materials.
Many families do not have health insurance because they cannot afford the premiums. 700 families are now receiving financial support to be able to get insurance. At the same time, social workers are helping the families to have regular health checks and to seek medical help in an emergency.
Financial help, new knowledge and self-confidence
Over the next few days, the authorities and civil society groups will work together to identify the very poorest families who are eligible for support. The change is being driven by nine social workers, each of whom is responsible for around 100 families. The rising cost of living is a particular challenge: "Many people cannot even afford one meal a day," stressed Yodit Gebreyiwot, 30, at the opening workshop. But it's not just about immediate help, it's about long-term change , added Fikerte Tefera, 25: "They don't just need financial help, they also need new knowledge and self-confidence." Take health, for example: "Many women don't know much about preventative care and treatment options. We need to educate them and raise their awareness." Martha Eshetu, 39, wants to encourage her charges not only to earn an income in traditional areas such as crafts or trade, but also to reach a higher level in the service sector. For example, they should no longer have to laboriously wash clothes by hand, but should be able to run a laundry with a machine purchased on credit.
Birhanu Tekiletsadik, the head of a cooperative in which several self-help groups have joined together, reported that this can be successful: "16 women have already taken out loans so large that they have been able to implement their particularly lucrative business ideas." These include keeping dairy cattle or purchasing a Bajaj, a three-wheeled vehicle that is used as a taxi: "Such examples are a realistic incentive for other women to develop further."
Über die Stiftung Menschen für Menschen
Menschen für Menschen setzt sich gegen Armut und Hunger ein. Die Stiftung wurde von dem Schauspieler Karlheinz Böhm (1928 – 2014) gegründet. Im Geiste des Gründers schafft das Schweizer Hilfswerk Lebensperspektiven für die ärmsten Familien in Äthiopien. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, dass sie in ihrer Heimat menschenwürdig leben können. Schwerpunkte der einzelnen Projekte sind Frauenförderung, Berufsbildung, Mikrokredite, Kinderhilfe, Familienplanung und landwirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Die Komponenten werden nach den lokalen Bedürfnissen kombiniert und mit sorgfältig ausgewählten einheimischen Partnern umgesetzt.
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