See the beauty of

Ethiopia

A diverse country, with more than 80 different ethnic groups that carry with them their own languages, customs, and traditions.

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Ethiopian Culture

Business Partners

DEMOGRAPHICS

  • Population: 94.1 million
  • Life Expectancy: 63 years
  • Literacy Rate: 39%
  • Religion: Christianity, Islam
  • Official Language: Amharic
Ethiopian Culture

Culture

  • Wat, a spicy stew, is the national dish of Ethiopia. It is traditionally served with injera, a spongy bread or pancake. 
  • Coffee is an Ethiopian favorite and is frequently part of a ceremony, during which the coffee is roasted, ground, and placed in boiling water prior to being served.  
  • Men are traditionally responsible for providing for the family, while women typically stay home to attend to the domestic needs or to operate a small business from the home. 
  • The Ethiopian economy has become one of the fastest growing in the world, as the country is consistently looking for new ways to minimize poverty within its borders.

Why Ethiopia?

World Orphans believes that transformation and restoration in every aspect of life is best accomplished through the limitless power of the Gospel. That’s why we partner with gospel-centered churches in Ethiopia, churches positioned on the frontlines of extreme poverty, AIDS, hunger, child labor and abandonment, ethnic turmoil, and political unrest. These churches are uniquely suited to shine the light of Christ into the darkest neighborhoods in and around Addis Ababa so that families can experience the full redemption of Jesus Christ.

Program Overview

The Goal

The goal of this program is to equip, inspire, and mobilize churches to build relationships with at-risk families within their communities. Relationships grow through frequent visits to families in their homes to offer prayer, biblical training, counseling, and overall encouragement. To empower this wholistic approach to orphan care, World Orphans and US churches connect with Ethiopian churches to provide Gospel-centered training and funding. 

Funding

Funding for the Home Based Care (HBC) program comes from a combination of church partnerships and fundraising campaigns. This funding ensures that these children receive the following:

Food

Food

Meals served with the families and at school on a daily basis

Medical Care

Medical Care

Access to medical services and monitoring for specific health needs

Education

Education

Assistance with school fees, school supplies, and tutoring

Emotional Care

Emotional Care

Counseling and mentoring through relationships with church members

Spiritual Care

Spiritual Care

Fellowship, prayer, discipleship, and encouragment

How it Works

Vulnerable Children Identified

ChilD Selection Process

The HBC committee works to identify 20 orphaned or vulnerable children in the community who are in the greatest need. From there, they meet with the caregivers to determine if the family is a good fit for the program. The due diligence process includes completing a Child Intake Form, informing World Orphans about each child in the selection process, discovering the family/caregiver history, and providing reasons for the program selection.

Home VisitS Per Family Each YEAR

Home Visits

Each family in the program receives at least one monthly home visit from the HBC committee. These visits ensure each child is receiving proper care and meeting pre-determined milestones in his/her development. Families and children receive encouragement, discipleship, life skills training, financial support, and prayer during these visits.

Impact reports each year on church, child, and community

Program Accountability

With long-term care of each child as our goal, World Orphans is serious about ongoing accountability. World Orphans staff members frequently communicate with the Ethiopian pastors and HBC committee to monitor and assess each child and the overall structure of the program. The pastors are required to provide monthly financial reports on how funds were apportioned, as well as quarterly reports assessing the overall HBC program as it relates to the impact on the church, the children, and the community. 

Economic Empowerment

Savings Groups

Savings Groups

All of our caregivers from our churches are participating in savings groups that give them the ability to save money monthly, despite their inability to access formal financial institutions as individuals.

Microloans

Eligible caregivers receive rounds of small microloans to start or expand their businesses.

Empowerment Packs

Literacy Programs and Empowerment Packs

Packs of supplies for literacy, education, basic first aid/hygiene, feminine hygiene, and nutrition are distributed at training seminars provided to the churches and families involved in our program.

WORLD ORPHANS MARKET

At World Orphans, our economic empowerment program creates a space for artisans to contribute by using their God-given talents and abilities. We believe that building stronger families and improving quality of life begins with recognizing that every person is created with purpose, value, and possesses intrinsic dignity.

By purchasing a one-of-a-kind handmade item from the World Orphans Market, you are helping preserve families, keep children out of orphanages, and empowering families to thrive.

VISIT THE WORLD ORPHANS MARKET

My life is improving constantly.

When we met Zewditu, she was in the process of grieving her husband’s death, and she had placed her children in the care of others, hoping that they would have the opportunity to have a better life than she could provide. 

Zewditu was devastated when she learned that her youngest child—whom she thought was receiving good care—was not being sent to school. Zewditu began voicing her frustrations to one of her clients, a woman whose clothes she washed, and the woman told her about the World Orphans Home Based Care (HBC) program at a local church. Supported by the local church, Zewditu brought her daughters home.

Today, through education on savings, training on business management, and additional resources, Zewditu has her own business selling food at the local market. With the church’s support and her increased income, Zewditu was able to move into a bigger home that better accommodates her business. She shares a life and a home with her two daughters.

A Good LIfe

My name is Worke Lea. I have one child of my own. Her name is Ribka. In addition I am also fostering a child named Yohannes Both are in the HBC program. I am working in the local market to provide for my family. Before joining the program I was having hardship. When the program began to provide a loan in addition to the monthly food basket and different support, I took four rounds of loans. Because the training taught me how to improve my life with saving, I can live a good life after this graduation. Thank you for helping me And I thank God for giving me the opportunity to foster Yohannes.

— Worke from Leku Keta Kale Heywet Church

Learn more about

Available PArtnerships

Tsega Kale Heywet Church

by | August 12, 2020 | Available Partnerships, Available Partnerships in Ethiopia, Ethiopia | 0 Comments

Tsega Kale Heywet church was founded in 1972 by six people at a school compound, Grace Christian Academy in the center of Addis Ababa. Though the number of believers at the time was very few, they spread the Gospel in the school and community. But the church was forced to close by former Ethiopian military junta, dispersing the number of believers. The church leaders at the time used home cell groups and other special events to keep the congregation and members connected. This diligence and perseverance of the leaders helped to keep the church together through the hardship.

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Sheno Kale Heywet Church

by | August 12, 2020 | Available Partnerships, Available Partnerships in Ethiopia, Ethiopia | 0 Comments

Sheno Kale Heywet Church was founded in 2002 and is located 80 kilometers from the capital, Addis Ababa, in a small city of few residents, mostly dominated by Orthodox Christians. The church remains small; however, since 2002, the church has planted three more churches in the surrounding areas. Thankfully, the church owns the place they have now, providing a great opportunity for the church to invest more deeply in establishing a wholistic ministry for the church members and for the community. The church supports families in the community with clothes, school supplies for the children, and with gifts on special holidays. The church’s contribution to these families has garnered it a greater respect and acceptance within the community.

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Beke Berhane Wongel Baptist Church

by | July 6, 2020 | Available Partnerships, Available Partnerships in Ethiopia, Ethiopia | 0 Comments

Beke Berhane Wongel Baptist church was founded in 1984 in the City of Beke, outside of Addis Ababa, where most of the community earn their living from farming.

The church was planted by people who come from the orthodox Christian group at that time. Pastor Getamesay has served as the church’s main pastor for the last eight years. He is married and has two children.

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