Family Strengthening Program

Between 2018 and 2020 New Flower in Africa will support the school education of 800 children coming from two selected neighborhoods of Dire Dawa, city of the eastern Ethiopia, in order to guarantee them a future.

Only the half of the parents (58%) of Dire Dawa send their children to school. The main reasons often concern the lack of money to pay the scholastic material and the need for work in order to survive. Thank to this project, we guarantee to the children and their vulnerable families a holistic approach. Children who don’t go to school are helped and we’ll improve their parents’ awareness concerning the importance of the school education. Moreover, poorest children receive scholastic material and those involved in child labor are supported for a short period with scholarships. Those who have difficulties can benefit from the pedagogical support and those with the best results are rewarded. Scholastic clubs have been created and limits of schools and libraries are identified and correct.

400 families and 800 children from the neighborhoods of  Kebele and Area 05 of Dire Dawa will directly benefit from the project. Indirectly, all the families of the two neighborhoods could also benefit.

Dire Dawa, with about 330.000 inhabitants estimated in 2010, is the second city of Ethiopia. It stands in the eastern part of the country, on the banks of the Dechatu river, at the foot of the Harare plateau of the Ahmar mountains, in an area with mainly Somali people. It developed in the XX century thank to the constructions of the railroad Addis Ababa-Gibuti, and it’s and important industrial and business centre. On average, in Dire Dawa, every person has 9.30 CHF per month: it’s the lowest per capita income of all Ethiopia and it means that almost the half of the population (41%)  live below the poverty line. Moreover, the inhabitants spend 70% of their income to buy food, but when the price of it increases, a lot of people cannot afford to buy basic foodstuffs and consequently 31% of the children is undernourished. There is also a lack of medical assistance and drinking water, the living conditions are unhealthy and the accommodations crumbling. Furthermore, child labor is very spread in Dire Dawa: 50% of the children are seen as an economic resource and they work in order to contribute to the family income.