From the 24th to the 28th of June we were in Addis Ababa for the end of our project WORK, aimed at improving the living conditions of women and young people, in rural and urban areas, through creating new job opportunities and new businesses.
In Ethiopia, in fact, jobs do not satisfy people’s needs and the level of unemployment is higher among women, the unemployment rate among young people is three times higher than unemployment among adults. In the urban areas of Addis Ababa and its surroundings, the lack of job opportunities and the limitations imposed on women by a patriarchal system force them to migrate. Our goal has been to improve this situation. We worked in partnership with WISE – Organization for Women in Self Employment, an Ethiopian NGO. We provide them technical support, to guarantee a gender and integrated approach to business creation, based on human rights and access to equal employment opportunities. Therefore, we provide concrete support to women in disadvantaged conditions to realize their potential, fight against poverty, guarantee their economic autonomy and well-being.
This field trip was an opportunity to visit, after a while, women entrepreneurs who participated in the economic empowerment activities carried out over the years.
All the women we talked to underlined the importance of receiving, beyond the technical and professional training, a constant encouragement, which allowed them to find or rediscover their self-esteem and self-confidence. The stories of Alem, Ejege and Sarkar, who respectively started a nursery, a textile company and a spice and cereal shop, are emblematic. In addition to becoming self-employed, they have also managed to hire staff and support their families.
On the 27th of June the women who participated in the project’s training opportunities attended the final event, hosted by WISE in Addis Ababa, aimed at presenting its results after 45 months. Paola Cirillo, project manager, shared Aidos’ satisfaction with the impact achieved and the quality of the partners’ teamwork. Afterwards, several women shared in a very emotional way the importance of both having acquired new skills and having received financial support thanks to the project.
Among these, Amarech, who opened a business to produce artisanal soaps and detergents, also providing the local community printing and photocopying services. Her job allowed her to apply for a loan to buy a house. While Fozeya, thanks to the training courses, runs a home-based production of food and clothes, which allows her to support her 4 children all by herself. Tisita designs dresses and is promoting them on online platforms, aiming at increasingly expanding her business.
Their stories, coupled with the creation of businesses that are sustainable and the network created with WISE and CEFA, allows us to say that we have not only achieved the project’s objectives, but we have also witnessed real change by working on the structural causes of inequalities with a holistic approach.
The project was carried out by CEFA – European Committee for Training and Agriculture Onlus (leader), in collaboration with AIDOS and two Ethiopian partners: AIDOS collaborates with WISE – Women In Self Employment, while CEFA collaborates with the Wolaita Development Association (WODA). The project was financed by the Italian Ministry of the Interior – DLCI and by the Waldensian Church.