The project is implemented in 5 primary schools found in Asella town in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The proposed project location is known as a transit town with a high prevalence of HIV, gender-based violence, and harmful traditional practices such as early marriage. ECYDO aims at raising awareness around violence against girls and democracy to eliminate harmful phenomena. The project empowers girls and promotes girls’ participation and enhance understanding of democratic processes. The goal of the project is to enhance knowledge and awareness on governance, democracy, the rule of law, gender equality, to increase the confidence of girls among targeted in-school adolescent boys and girls; to be active citizens within their community.

Funding Agency: The Embassy of Canada to Ethiopia, Canada Fund for Local Initiative (CFLI)

Implementation period: September 2019- March 2021

Implementation area: Oromia Region, Arsi Zone, Asella city Administration (in five primary schools)

In Ethiopia, 95 percent of all persons with disabilities are estimated to live in poverty (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs). Many depend on family support and begging for their livelihoods. On the other hand, The partner organization SCPDA runs a school for 20 children with visual impairment in Bishoftu the children are provided educational special attention to reading and writing in Braille after they graduate from this special school they are sent to regular schools. Due to the high number of pupils in the classes, no special attention can be given to the children with visual impairment. This Lack of educative materials for children with visual impairment makes the integration even more difficult. The project has equipped the children with basic tablets, embosser (Braille printer), recorded 5 new missing textbooks, teachers training and community awareness creation. The project involves local governments and SCPDA and also works with the communities to eliminate the stigmatization of blindness and to motivate communities to support blind people and children.

Funding Agency: Czech Republic Development Cooperation, Addis Ababa

Implementation period: April 2019- September 2019

Implementation area: Addis Ababa and Bishoftu city Administrations

In Ethiopia, many young people search for jobs to gain their living. Due to limited skills and employment opportunities, they often end-up in poverty. On the other hand, there are missing services in the country. The project inspires young people to solve both – by Active Citizenship and Social Enterprise. Active Citizenship encourages people to play an active role in the society and its development, and to actively search for and create solutions. One of the tools to do so, can be Social Enterprises – for – profit businesses using commercial mechanisms to improve well-being of a community. Based on these two concepts, the project motivates young people to reflect on their identity and position in communities. It gives them confidence to take responsibility for problems in the society, and provides them with skills and guidance for addressing these problems, identifying resources, developing social business ideas, planning and making these ideas a reality. The project engages micro-finance and public institutions and mobilizes communities to support young people in their efforts. The project is implemented in nine target areas characterized by high poverty and unemployment rates in seven regions of Ethiopia. ECYDO focuses on Addis Ababa.

Funding Agency: The British Council

Implementation period: October 2018 – April 2020

Implementation area: Addis Ababa, Yeka sub-city woreda 9,10,11 and 12

BEST Girls – Being Empowered, Strong and Together project is a project implemented by 4 youth-led/youth focused grassroot organizations that has been working in partnership since the year 2017on various development projects. Using this existing synergy, the organizations came together and form a strong project implementing cluster called “Addooyyee” to implement BEST Girls project in Adama City Administration at Logo Sub-city, Bika kebele. The members of Addooyyee cluster CSOs includes Eshet Children and Youth Development Organization, Better Life for Women and Children Charity Organization, De La Salle Community Development Organization and Serk SRH and Development Youth Association

The ultimate goal of the project is working with adolescent girls is to recognize and wield their own power in order for them to demand the respect of their rights and exert influence over issues affecting their lives by the end of the project period.

Funding Agency: Child Rights and Violence Prevention Fund (CRVPF)

Implementation period: January 2020 – December 2021

Implementation area: Oromia Region, Adama City Administration, Logo Sub-city Bika Kebele  

The project aims at increasing access to quality and youth-friendly sexual and health information and services to the targeted young people, improving their knowledge in the area, challenge their attitude about gender roles, and motivating young people to make safe and informed sexual and reproductive health-related decisions. The project foresees also improvement of technical and leadership capacity of 300 young people who would talk to their peers about sexual and reproductive health issues, such as physical changes in puberty, HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancy, early marriage, female genital mutilation, or gender-based violence and become agents of change. Parents, school communities, and service providers were closely involved in the project implementation in order to increase the capacity of the institutions to provide adequate, youth-friendly services.

Funding Agency: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Implementation period: October 2017-September 2019

Implementation area: Addis Ababa, Yeka sub-city Salaysh and Wondyrad primary schools and Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy

The primary objective of the project is to facilitate the process in which in-school adolescent boys and young men realize their potential to act as agents of change by raising awareness about and act against those sexual and reproductive health issues including HIV that disproportionately affect women and girls such as HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence that increases the transmission.

Boys’ clubs have been established in three partner secondary schools, 60 boys peer educators have been trainer about sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS. These peer-educators hosted 21 sessions where they discussed the subjects with their schoolmates. In total, 720 pupils have been reached through these sessions. Besides that, six school-wide educative and entertaining events have been organized by the boys’ clubs that spread further the message on HIV/AIDS and sexual health in general. The young people had the opportunity to think and talk about gender roles, respect in relationships, and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

Funding Agency: U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia, through PEPFAR Small Grant Program

Implementation period: October 2017 – November 2018

Implementation area: Oromia Region, Arsi Zone, Asella city Administration (in three primary schools)