Oprifs

Direct Wonen supports street children in Ethiopia; Project OPRIFS (Organisation for Prevention, Rehabilitation and Integration of Female Streetchildren):

Some 100,000 children live on the streets in Ethiopia, of which 40,000 live in Addis Ababa. This number is growing by 5% per year. These are children who have become separated from their families due to poverty, war and starvation.

Young girls from the country are often forced to go to the city in search of domestic work, where they become exposed to exploitation and (often sexual) abuse. Many flee from this situation and wind up on the streets. Girls can swiftly become ensnared in (child) prostitution, where the risk of infection with HIV and hepatitis is extremely high.

OPRIFS is an Ethiopian organization set up in 2000 to fight for an Ethiopia free of poverty, where children are afforded their rights. It does this by providing aid to street girls in the form of prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration measures.

Since OPRIFS was set up, about 170 girls have been reunited with their families. In recent years, some 200 girls have been temporarily taken in at the sanctuary and about 400 girls have taken part in one of the OPRIFS programmes.

Direct Wonen became acquainted with OPRIFS via the Wereldkinderen organization and decided to embrace the project. We hope that the project can continue to help the many girls in Ethiopia.