IFA’s mission is to create and to promote community centered development activities at the grassroot level towards socio-economic improvement. IFA’s primarily supports children and poor women living in the rural areas of Ethiopia.
The girls project is carried out in Oromia National Regional of South Arsi Zone of Dodola District. Many orphan and marginalized girls who live in the District remote areas could not attend their secondary education because of different reasons mostly due to economic problems. Their parents forced to make their daughters quit their secondary education because they cannot cover all costs of living of their daughters throughout their academic years. Especially orphan girls have no chances to access to education due to their dual problems economic and being orphan.
Beside, since most of these girls are obliged to be dependent of either some relative (if they are lucky) or should rent a small room in group in the slum areas of the towns in order to peruse their education. This contributes to their venerability to unwanted sexual relationship and as a result they might have contracted HIV. The fact that these teenage girls have very minimal knowledge to protect themselves from such kind of danger aggravates problems. Generally, to overcome all these problems including closing the gender gap in access to education requires concerted interventions at various levels and need the active involvement of all stakeholders.
With this in view, IFA envisaged launching a project in the aforementioned locations which focuses on enhancing orphan and ,marginalized girl students participation in secondary schools through provision of educational support, HIV/AIDS awareness raising programs and mentoring activities for purposefully selected disadvantaged and needy girls.
Grace Impact gGmbH has provides a second donation to International Friendship Association (IFA) to support orphan and marginalized girl students and empowerment project in Oromia National Regional State of West Arsi Zone in the Dodola District.
As a result, 30 orphan and marginalized girl students but performed well in their primary education were selected and provided educational materials, uniform, and school bags.
