J251N Grace Centre for Children

The Situation

Over the past 40 years the families of Ethiopia have suffered drought, famine, civil war and more recently the AIDS epidemic. Families have been stripped of their wage earners, and traditional multi-generational support. Infant mortality is high (16.5%) and literacy low (less than 30%). Overall, Grace Children’s Centre aims to work together with families to provide a means of improving the lives of their children. This will mean that these children will be given the opportunity to grow up into people who can change their world in a positive way with a hope and vision for the future. 

The town of Bahir Dar is approximately 500km from Addis Ababa, lies on Lake Tana and as such is a tourist centre for the Gojam Region. Due to the transient population and tourism, the sex industry has a high incidence of HIV/Aids which has taken its toll on family life. The area has one of the highest infant mortality rates, lowest age of women at first birth (i.e. under 14 years), high level of abortion, maternal complications and sexually transmitted diseases in the Gojam Region. When a family is in need of care for their children when in difficult situations, there are very few options. Many mothers do not feel they have a choice to raise their children, when they do not have work, training or sufficient food to feed themselves. Therefore, they abandon or relinquish their children in the hope of something better for their child at least. A family in need of childcare for any duration has nowhere to turn. Sadly, many children are in poor health and do not survive. 

The Grace Centre for Children and Families is a multi-faceted, integrated, holistic approach to meeting the need of a broad range of children and their families in the town of Bahir Dar, and its surrounding environment.  

The Objectives

Through a variety of multifaceted, holistic approaches, project activities include:

1. Education and training for local impoverished children.
2. A day care centre for mothers without extended family for support so they can work knowing their children are safe and cared for well.
3. A temporary centre for families who need short-term support through respite for their children.
4. A clinic to provide health care and education for mothers and children.
5. A transitional care centre for abandoned or truly orphaned children.
6. Assistance for extended family or community foster families who foster local orphans.
7. Grace Centre also offers training programs in child care, local handicrafts skills, and literacy as well as running a small business program. It aims to provide a village training centre for young families, a school, a vocational training centre and a facility for adults with disabilities.