IFA Mission: To promote grassroots, community-centered development for socio-economic improvement, focusing on vulnerable children and women in rural Ethiopia.

Project Context: Girls' Education in Dodola District
In the Dodola District ( Ethiopia, Oromia Region, West Arsi Zone), many marginalized girls, especially orphans, cannot attend secondary school due to poverty. Families lack the resources to support their education, forcing girls to drop out. Orphans face dual barriers of poverty and lack of family support.

To attend school, these girls often relocate, living with relatives or in shared, unsafe housing in towns. This makes them highly vulnerable to exploitation, unwanted pregnancies, and HIV infection, risks compounded by low awareness of self-protection.

IFA's Intervention
Recognizing the need for comprehensive action to address these issues and the educational gender gap, IFA is launching a project in Dodola. The project will boost secondary school enrollment and retention for selected disadvantaged girls by providing:

  • Educational financial and material support
  • HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention training
  • Mentoring programs    

With a second donation from Grace Impact gGmbH, the International Friendship Association (IFA) is furthering its support for orphaned and marginalized girls' education and empowerment in the Dodola District (West Arsi Zone, Oromia). Consequently, 30 girls selected for their strong primary school performance have been provided with essential educational materials, uniforms, and school bags.