Overview
2015 is the target date for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Yet millions of Ethiopian women at home and abroad (yes, even in Europe and North America), have already missed the most important goal of all, to “complete a full course of primary education”.
Unable to read or write, these former child wives are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty because they are unequipped to (1) save themselves from extreme hunger and poverty; (2) stand up against physical, sexual and emotional violence; (3) defend their basic rights for equality in accessing services; (4) protect themselves against HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB and other preventable diseases; (5) improve their environment; and (6) participate in any income-generating activity.
We work with former child wives in the UK and Ethiopia, and provide them with the practical support that they need to break the vicious cycle of poverty which plights their lives.
Some want safe accommodation, others want to go back to school while others want take up skill training. None of them want to depend on handouts. All of them want the means to regain their dignity, self worth and independence.