Ethiopia is the second most populace country in Africa with 92 million people. It is landlocked but contains many natural resources and has been making strides to reduce poverty with different forms of investment and assistance from foreign governments. 37 million Ethiopians live in poverty. Ethiopia has a literacy rate of 44%, with only 41% of women being able to read and write. Many children are made to leave school early and are forced into child labor, child marriage, and child trafficking. HIV/AIDS is a continuing health concern.
Clowns Without Borders pilot effort in Ethiopia took place in 2010. The project is a preliminary expedition to explore the potential to implement CWBSA’s arts intervention methodology with Worldwide Orphans (WWO), a nongovernmental organization dedicated to providing a holistic development to children who are orphans or vulnerable. They have programmes in many different countries including Bulgaria, Vietnam, and Ethiopia. Our partnership was germinated over the past 2 years at the annual Unite for Sight Global Health Conference in which WWO founder, Dr. Jane Aronson, and I presented in the same sessions on innovative community interventions that build local capacity. A casual conversation about potential synergy gradually grew into our first collaboration here in Ethiopia.
OUR WORK HERE
Here since 2010
1 Project Completed
4,808 People Served
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