Hope for Children Now Supports More Than 700 Children in Ethiopia

Bethesda, MD – January 9, 2007 - Hope for Children (HFC), an Ethiopian NGO founded by Yewoinshet Masresha in 2000, celebrated its sixth anniversary in December and announced that it now provides comprehensive community-based care and support to more than 700 children in Ethiopia affected by HIV/AIDS. HFC-Ethiopia’s vision is to enable HIV/AIDS affected children and families to live with dignity in their local communities while ensuring that their basic needs are met. To date, HFC’s work has focused primarily on the Gulele Sub-City in Addis Ababa. Funding has recently been obtained to expand into the Lafto Sub-City, and operations have begun in Babile in eastern Ethiopia, as well.

Since its inception, HFC has operated a variety of projects and programs for the children and their families, including:
 Providing much needed financial assistance for food, shelter, clothing and school fees through its Child Sponsorship Program;
 Operating group homes for AIDS orphans;
 Offering psychosocial support and grief counseling to children, families and caregivers facing the terrible losses inflicted by HIV/AIDS;
 Training women from the community who work as home-based caregivers, providing basic care and support for people suffering from AIDS;
 Running a variety of Peer Education Programs designed to ensure that the community has accurate information about HIV/AIDS and its prevention.

Plans are underway to open a Center that will offer educational programs and vocational training for the children, as well.

Hope for Children United States (HFC-US) is a US-based Section 501(c)(3) organization that works closely with Hope for Children in Ethiopia. To find out more about Hope for Children in Ethiopia and our work here in the United States, please visit our website at www.hopeforchildrenus.org or contact Carol Rhees at crhees.hopeforchildrenus@gmail.com.