Meet our sponsored child, Edlawit. She is from Ethiopia. She is in Grade 1 and lives with her mother in a poor area. Her father passed away for quite some time. Her mother is self-employed but her earnings are barely enough to provide for her family.
Edlawit is part of the Jeju project in Ethiopia. Each World Vision sponsorship project is carefully planned to meet the specific challenges identified by each community. World Vision works with the community to respond to the immediate needs of childre, as well as finding long-term solutions fo rthe root causes of the challenges they face.
Where is the Jeju community in Ethiopia, East Africa?
The Jeju community is about 182 km southeast of the capital city of Addis Ababa. The Jeju community is home to more than 17,790 households, 60% of which are considered to be the "poorest of the poor." The annual income in Jeju is only one-tenth of the natiion's. There are two major ethnic groups in the area, the Oromo and Amhara, with the Oromiffa language most frequently spoken.
Here are some challenges that children and families in Edlawit's community faced when World Vision started working in Jeju.
Inadequate Farming and Lack of Food Security
The most significant challenge facing the people in Jeju is the availability of nutritious food especially during times of drought. Children are vulunerable to food shortages as farmers struggle to produce food for their own families and for the greater community. The farms lack dependabel irrigation systems so when drought hits, crops fail.
Families are foreced to cut down trees, shrubs and bushes for firewood, damaging the soil quality and therefore the crops grown in the area. Farmers have not had the opportunity to learn about healthier, more environmentally friendly organic farming techniques. Inadequate grazing mean farmers struggle to keep their animals alive and well. Livestock disease is common,so children do not always have access to a dependable source of food and nutrition.
When children do not have enough to eat, their health deteriorates. Their poor health means that many children are too sick and weak to attend school. Most parents have not had the opportunity to learn how to prepare nutritious meals for their children.
Lack of Clean Water, Health, and Sanitation
Safe drinking water is rare in many areas of the project. Poor families rely on unclean water from unprotected rivers, springs and ponds that leas to health problems like diarrhea, intestinal parasites and eye disease. Women and children trek long distances to collect water which takes children away from their studies and women away from activities that might increase their househould's income. When water sources dry up, families migrate in search of water, forcing children to leave shcool. Most households have traditional pit latrines, but these are poorly maintained and dirty, posing significant health risks. Basic sanitation practices, which could help reduce the spread of bacteria, are also lacking.
The majority of illness in the community are preventable. Poor housing conditions and lack of insecticide treated mosquito nets are mainly responsible for the prevalence of malaria, the leading cause of infantdeaths. Health clinics, although accessible, are in poor condition, lack well-trained staff and do not have sufficient medicine or supplies.
Lack of Education
Children often drop out of school because they are too sick to attend, or have to work to help provide an income for their families. Parents have not had the opportunity to learn about the value of an education for their children, especially the girls. Existing classrooms are in great need of repair and school supplies are scarce. Teachers have nothad the chance to become truly qualified to provide the best education they can to the children in the community.
HIV and AIDS
Edlawit lives in an area significantly impacted by HIV and AIDS. When parents become ill and can no longer provide an income for their families, children suffer because the community lacks the infrastructure and means to help them. In 2007, there were over 6200 orphans and vulnerable children living in Jeju. Young children are often left to care for their dying elders and the incidence of child-headed household is rising, as older siblings drop out of school to work and care for younger siblings.
Fifty-one percent of the people in the Jeju community had little knowledge of HIV and AIDs, how AIDS is spread or how to protect themselves from it. Testing centres are rare. Health personal have nothad the opportunity to be properly trained in prevention and care.
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This information is taken directly from the World Vision Jeju Ethiopia (ETH 175235). If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please contact World Vision directly.
