Little Voice Foundation

The next step is to create Satellite Youth Homes that will consist of either 5-6 girls or 5-6 boys who have reached adolescence and are currently living in our Home for Children. In order to foster independence and encourage the learning of life skills and household management we are hoping to set up small satellite homes where the youth living there will manage the household with the support of Little Voice staff. The rationale behind this project is to encourage collaboration amongst the youth on how to collectively run their household.

They will continue to receive complete financial support from Little Voice so that they are able to continue with education or skills training but they will be in charge of managing their budget for food and household materials. Despite this independence they will still be involved in activities with the children at the main residence and will receive support and guidance from the staff. As individuals, the youth at these satellite homes will be able to make decisions for themselves and choice about their future. As a group they will learn to manage the household, cooking, cleaning and maintenance and hopefully foster lasting friendships and self-confidence. This addition to our current programs facilitates individual empowerment and the development of relationship skills necessary for future personal growth of each adolescent.

As funding permits we also plan to establish another Home for Children aged 7-12 in order to provide support to a larger number of children in Addis Ababa who are experiencing life on the streets. We plan to limit the number of children in each main home to 30 in order to maintain the intimate atmosphere that is conducive to active participation in the home by all the children.

We also hope to increase the number of primary school compounds in the area of Shiromeda in order to allow for greater access to free education for the children living in that area.