Welfare for Street Mothers and Children

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(Ruta writing…) My friend, Catherine, is a VSO volunteer working at the Welfare for Street Mothers and Children Organization (WeSMCO). This worthy organization hosts a variety of programs to support the poor women and children of Ethiopia. Attached are pictures from their urban gardening program, which by the way receives funds from USAID. There are certain criteria of which women or families receive the privilege of using the plots to grow vegetables to feed their families or to sell for income. Many of the urban farmers are women with HIV/AIDS or families affected by HIV/AIDS (e.g. grandparents caring for family members/orphans).

WeSMCO also runs a successful sponsorship program that supports over a 100 disadvantaged children. Donors from Addis Ababa or from abroad send $26/month which pays for the kids’ schooling, regular food rations, and health care. Pictured are a group of 20 young girls who are sponsored by one woman. This amazing woman has selected young girls to send to a better-than-average-school and provides after school tutoring for the girls in addition to the other services. In this picture, Blen, the teacher, is an alumni of the sponsorship program who has returned to teach the younger girls in the sponsorship program.

I was also impressed by WeSMCO’s new project that is building a biogas incinerator. The organization is building public latrines, converting gas from the waste and using it to heat the water for communal showers and communal kitchen facilities. Biogas applications offer an excellent alternative to deforestation - cutting trees down to burn to heat water and cook. I think it’s a great idea, and I hope the project proves to be very successful and replicated throughout the country!

WeSMCO also teaches woodworking skills to youth, offers HIV counseling, testing, and care, and is planning research on clean water use. I passed on received donations of clothes, toiletries, hand sanitizers, office supplies, etc. We wish them great success!

For more information, check out their website www.wesmco.org.et

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