ETHIOPIA: GIRLS LEAVING ORPHANAGES: A VULNERABLE

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002472 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/E, DRL:SJOSEPH, G/TIP:RYOUSEY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM ECON ELAB ET KWMN SOCI SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: GIRLS LEAVING ORPHANAGES: A VULNERABLE POPULATION ¶1. SUMMARY: A conversation with girls in a government-run children's home in Addis Ababa indicates limited economic options exist for this vulnerable population. Government support after age 18 is minimal, and the girls are not prepared for an independent life. One of the potential livelihoods mentioned, moving to an Arab country to work as a domestic, is particularly worrisome in light of Ethiopia's Tier 2 trafficking in persons status. END SUMMARY. -------------- TIME RUNNING OUT-- NO PLACE TO GO -------------- ¶2. Econoff met with the director and a group of residents of the Kechene Children's Home in Addis Ababa. Kechene is a GOE-run home that houses approximately 165 children from infancy through age 18, most of whom are girls. At age 18, children must leave the shelter. The director stated that there are GOE-sponsored &re-integration8 programs for children approaching 18. Nearly all children who &age out8 are female, so the programs are geared towards occupations traditionally held by women in Ethiopia such as hairdressing and cooking. In addition to re-integration training, the children receive a lump sum of 4,400 birr (about USD 487) from the GOE upon exiting the home. ¶3. The director stated that 32 children aged out of Kechene in 2006, and 26 (all girls) will age out in 2007. When asked how well the current program served the girls, he said that there were several problems. First, the re-integration program focused solely on vocational skills, not life-skills training such as personal finance, job-hunting or household management. Because of the institutional nature of Kechene, the director stated that the children do not learn basics such as shopping, budgeting, or cooking. He said the lack of financial knowledge leads to the children squandering the cash they receive from the government. The director also said that an additional problem is a complete lack of follow-up from the GOE after children exit the shelter. -------------- &MAYBE I'LL GO TO AN ARAB COUNTRY8 -------------- ¶4. When asked what they planned to do after leaving Kechene, few of the female residents aged 14-18 had formed any plans. One girl stated that because of their lack of education, they would be dependent on men either as a wife or a girlfriend. Another stated that, although she would prefer to stay in Ethiopia, she was considering going to an Arab country to work. Several others agreed with her that this was their best option economically, although they did not know details of the process to migrate legally. ¶5. Almost none of the girls leaving Kechene complete 12th grade. When asked why they were no longer in school, all the girls who answered indicated they had not scored high enough on government-administered exams to continue and that they lacked money for matriculation fees at private schools. (NOTE: Ethiopia's public education system requires an exam at the 10th grade level. Only those students scoring high enough may remain in government schools for additional free education. Fees at private vocational/technical schools are about 200 birr, or USD 22, per month. END NOTE.) ¶6. Lack of education and eagerness to migrate (legally or illegally) to Arab countries presents a trafficking concern. As the 2007 TIP report states: 8Ethiopia is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation...Ethiopian women are trafficked primarily to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia for domestic servitude...Small percentages of these women are trafficked into the sex trade after arriving at their destinations.8 ¶7. COMMENT: While the number of Ethiopian orphans being adopted by Americans and other foreigners is growing, adoption is doing little to mitigate Ethiopia's orphan problem. Ethiopia has over 5 million orphans, and many of them will grow up in institutions like Kechene. While the GOE does provide some services and resources to those children leaving institutional care, they (especially girls) are among the most vulnerable populations. Facing high unemployment and little opportunity in Ethiopia, they are at risk of trafficking. END COMMENT. YAMAMOTO