Ethiopian Families Find a Way Out of Poverty Through Small Business Development
When Terhas Abralahe and her husband Maharik took in her sister's 4 children after their parents died from tuberculosis (TB), they weren't sure how they would feed them. They already had children, and made little money in their rural community of Rama, near the Eritrean border. They tried starting a business with credit from a local agency, but the interest was too high and the business soon failed. Just when things seemed most desperate, they found Wide Horizons For Children's (WHFC) Family Empowerment Program.
First Terhas and her husband received funds to feed the children and send them to school. Next came help from WFHC economists and social workers to help them develop a business plan. They received a stipend to buy a sheep and open a small shop. Today, they have a ranch with 11 sheep (an amount almost unheard of in rural Ethiopia), a thriving shop, and an orange tree in their yard for additional food and income. They were even able to install a water pump in front of their house and purchase three beds for the family.
Economic self-sufficiency has always been the goal of Terhas and hundreds of other families participating in WHFC Family Empowerment activities. It has been three years since they joined, and with two prospering businesses, they are now no longer dependent upon the stipend. This summer, they will be among 70 families graduating from the Family Empowerment Program (also referred to as Child Sponsorship), and they could not be more pleased by their success and the security of knowing they can provide for all the children in their care.
The model for the Family Empowerment Program began in 2003, when WHFC began a Child Sponsorship Program in Ethiopia to ensure that children from the most impoverished families had sufficient food, clothing, shelter, urgent medical care, and an education. Social workers visited families to provide them with a monthly stipend and counseling on how to save money. The program made a tremendous difference in the lives of the children. But the social workers realized that families did not want to depend on charity, but rather needed a way to break the cycle of poverty.
With the help of economists, government officials, community members, and other experts, WHFC piloted the Family Empowerment program in Adwa, Tigray (northern Ethiopia). Through Family Empowerment, families receive a stipend in six month increments which provides them with enough seed money to begin a small business. Small businesses include livestock rearing, room rentals, honeybee farms, small shops and tea stands, craft-making, and firewood collection, to list just a few examples. The stipend also provides the family with sufficient funds to feed, clothe, and educate the children. In addition to the stipend, families receive monthly visits from a social worker who provides counseling services and monitors the health and well-being of the family, and professional help in developing a business plan to fit their individual circumstances. On average, families attain a level of self-sufficiency that allows them to "graduate" out from the Family Empowerment program after three years. This then frees up the funds to enroll new families into the program.
The program has been so successful in Adwa that it is now being expanded to other parts of the country including the Sidama and Kembatta Zones of the southern region (SNNPR) and Mekelle in Tigray. In addition to the stipend, WHFC is piloting a micro-credit program where families in their third year of the program can receive a small low interest loan to help further expand their business.
Only the most impoverished families are enrolled in Family Empowerment. To be enrolled, a family must be willing to send their children to school and work toward financial independence through the programs and services offered by WHFC. Enrolled families often include cousins or neighborhood children whose parents have died, parents who have severe disabilities, and families where one or both parents have passed away.
The success of Family Empowerment is demonstrated not only by families like that of Terhas and Maharik, but also like that of Nugus Abriha. Nugus became blind when he was 16 years old. Even before he was blind, his family was too poor to send him to school. He married Teheshrada who is also blind. Both blind, with no education, no employment, and two children — an 8 year old and a 9 month old — the only way they could pay their rent was to beg for money. WHFC social workers discovered the family and immediately enrolled them in the Family Empowerment Program. Though many believed the family would always be dependent due to their disability, today Nugus has a small business making brooms. Their older child is attending school and they have already saved 900 birr (about US $100) for his future education. WHFC social workers hope that in about two years Nugus' business will have grown to the point that he and Teheshrada will be self-sufficient.
Family Empowerment helps people make their way out of poverty. Whether they are struggling because they do not know how to start a small business, lack a credit program with low enough interest rates to build a business, or are unable to find employment due to disability, WHFC believes that everyone should be given an opportunity.
You can help us break the cycle of poverty for children and families in Ethiopia. Your support can not only help a child get food, clothing, medical care, and an education, but can also start a family on the road to independence and dignity. Sign up to sponsor a child, or consider a gift to underwrite the Family Empowerment Program and help us benefit more children and families in the community.
