The children and their foster families receive support from the Koka OVC Center  in various ways: 

Meals

The OVC Center has a canteen where the children eat two meals a day: breakfast and lunch.

In addition to these daily meals, the project provides the foster families with flour and oil at a number of Ethiopian holidays to give the family something extra.

 

Education

At the start of the new school year the project provides schooluniforms, notebooks and pens to the children.  In Ethiopia, school children have to wear a school uniform. 

The summer holiday in Ethiopia lasts three months. During the summer holidays of 2017 the OVC Center organized a “Summer School”. The “Summer School” offered the children structure during the long vacation. In the morning they came to the OVC Center and were taught English language, arithmetic, computer lessons and social skills. There was also room for sports and games.

 

Two students who had completed their high school graduation where assigned as teachters. They taught the children a great deal and have also received a modest salary from which they could partly pay for their studies at the university or college. This Summer School was a great success. Children who could barely read before the summer knew the alphabet after the summer and could read simple words and sentences. They also worked hard to improve their personal hygiene. The Summer School was repeated in subsequent years.

 

Tutorial classes. The Summer School teachers have been appointed to tutor the children during the rest of the year, in addition to the classes at the primary school.

 

Projects to develop practical skills

Only a limited number of children have the opportunity to enter higher education. That is why the Koka OVC project focuses on developing skills for income generating activities  in the future. Examples of this are:

• hand crafts
• hairdressing
• sewing
• keeping animals – eg chickens for egg production

 

Medical care and personal hygiene

One of the companies supporting the Koka OVC project, DümmenOrange, has a fairly large clinic. Every week, sick children are examined there and treated if necessary. Common issues are are skin infections, parasites, intestinal infections and respiratory infections. If required, the nurses provide the children with medicines and teach them how to use and store the medication.

The project staff pays attention to the personal hygiene of the children. Most children do not have a shower, toilet or bathroom at home. The project staff teaches them how to wash themselves and their clothes, wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet, etc. Soap is regularly provided to all children and the families.

The social worker also visits the foster families at home. Besides the fact that the foster parents take care of a foster child they also have to deal with problems such as unemployment, illness and housing issues. They could certainly use extra support.

 

Income generating activities: Injera bakery

An injera bakery has been started on the site of the OVC Center. A dozen women bake about 800 injeras every day. Injera is the mainfood in Ethiopia. It is a sour pancake that is eaten with all meals, in combination with a sauce of tomatoes, onions and spices. Most of the injeras are sold to Florensi, the rest is for the children and the project staff. The women who work in the bakery are organized in a 'Women Empowerment Association'. They earn a salary and save money. In 2021, the majority of women left the team to set up their own business or economic activity with the saved money. New women have replaced them, who also get a chance to build a better future. SAEDO has been able to provide microcredit with donations from private sponsors to set up this activity.