Sponsorships – Orphan Student Education Fund

The program began in Nazret, a town about two hours south of Addis Ababa. HIV/AIDS is a very serious problem in this area and the school administrators identified 1000 orphans who are at risk of dropping out of school without sponsorship assistance. These children live with relatives who need some financial aid to keep the kids in school. AAI sponsors approximately 200 of the youngsters at this time and hopes to increase the number as new donors join the project. We have recently expanded the project to include orphan students in Mukatore and Shashamone where we recently opened intake facilities for children who are then transferred to Layla House for adoption. A few dozen students in those areas are being sponsored. Because we cannot accept all the orphan children available for adoptive placement in these areas, we are working to support keeping the children in school.

Sponsors contribute to a fund from which each child receives $20 per month. Sponsors do not sponsor a particular child but rather contribute to a fund which is distributed to the children through the local school administration. Sponsors receive a quarterly newsletter with general descriptions of the progress of the sponsored students and information about sponsored students. Donations in any amount are appreciated but sponsors are encouraged to donate at the $20/month rate.