Getting at the Root...

One of the things that stands out in Addis Ababa is the number of street children who are here.  You may find them begging or shining shoes or selling gum or selling Ethiopian wooden toothbrushes.   Some will find themselves addicted to chat.  Many find themselves in a difficult spot where they are “stuck” in the city without means and without an education to try to find a way out.   A stark scene is to travel into Mexico Square early in the morning and see the dozens of children sleeping in the grass median strip.  According to our Ethiopian friends, some of the youngest have been trafficked from the countryside to be “used” in the raising of money by beggars and will eventually disappear.  These friends have petitioned the government to make it illegal for women to be able to beg with children because of the safety issues involved.  

Its a difficult scene in a land where there are now over 5.2 million people in need of emergency food aid, according to a report just released from the Ethiopian government  and the UN last week (200,000+ more than thought in December).   Life in the countryside is difficult.  So, the draw of coming to the city to make a living has a certain promise to it.   What has been explained to us is that there are people who go to the countryside promising children jobs in the textile factories and in other businesses.  It makes sense to a family to send one of their children to the city - it is one less mouth to feed and it has the promise of money returning to the family in the countryside where subsistence farming is prevalent, but where the yield continues to decrease, especially in the face of lack of rain.

So, children arrive, but within a short time the jobs dry up or they don’t materialize at all.  This leaves young children on their own.  Children younger than Joshua are left to provide for themselves, sleep on the streets and stay out of trouble.

What are the answers?  I’ve loved seeing what some folks are doing to reach out to these street kids and bring hope to them.  One guy (who grew up on the streets himself) has started a soccer club which helps give education and food to kids in Jesus’ name while also giving them a positive outlet.  They have uniforms and play organized games against street kids from other areas who also have organized teams.  Others are providing drop-in centers which help feed, shelter and educate kids while also giving them some skills.

I really love what some folks we met last week are doing, though.  They have started an agricultural project in a rural area where a lot of children are trafficked to the city from.   In this project they are helping to increase the yield for farmers so that all of the mouths can be fed, they are providing children with skills so that they do not need to go to the city to find work, and they are generating revenue from the sale of fruits and vegetables to help with the ministry expenses of reaching out to street children in Addis Ababa.  I love that here is a group of people who have the foresight to not just address the surface need of seeing kids fed and clothed and sheltered here in the city (one area of their ministry does this).   But, they also are tackling a larger issue that starts in the countryside with families needing to find provision.

My prayer since meeting these guys is that we can have insight in how to address some of these core issues.   What would God have us do to help tackle some of the root issues and not just the surface need.   God give us wisdom...