"Out of a population of 67.2 million - almost half, 28 million - live in deep and long-term poverty. Ethiopia's poor are vulnerable to drought, acute malnutrition, and even starvation."   -- One World Africa

Have you ever seen a small child asleep on a city park bench with a newspaper as a pillow? In Ethiopia, the number of street children is growing at an alarming rate, and their need for basic services such as shelter, food, health care, schooling, and counseling have not been adequately met. Their condition is deteriorating as a new influx of children are destabilized, displaced, and becoming destitute. UNICEF estimates there are 50,000 to 60,000 street kids in the capital city alone.

Forty-five percent of the Ethiopian population is under fifteen years of age. This isn't surprising for a country with an average life expectancy of forty-one years. Nation-by-Nation estimates that there were approximately three million people living with HIV/AIDS in 1999. To date, an estimated 840,000 children have been orphaned because of HIV/AIDS. By 2009, there are estimates that there will be more than 1.8 million AIDS orphans.

We are helping to find shelter for Ethiopia's homeless children. Click on an image below to learn more, or click here to donate.

Maranatha Hope for the Hopeless Street Children Program Addis Ababa	Mojo Ministries Mojo
The Shepherd's Fold Addis Ababa	Almaz Nazareth