Abebech Gobena Yehetsanat Kebekabena Limat Mahiber (AGOHELMA)
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Mission Statement
Promote children wellbeing, empower communities and contribute to education and health advancement..
About This Cause
Dr. Abebech Gobena Heyi, a prominent humanitarian lady, was born in 1938 in Oromia regional state North Showa zone (Salale) in a Small rural village called Shebel. The Italians killed her father during their invasion of Ethiopia when she was one month old. So, she grew up in her grandparent’s home until she was nine. She was forced to marry when she was ten. She was not interested in her marriage and she runaway and came to Addis Ababa. Although life in the city was not found simple to Dr. Abebech she didn’t give up. Instead she started to challenge life itself strongly. She was employed in different companies and established a family for the second time. Though, she has not her own child, she was leading a decent family life. In 1980 she went to Gishen Mariam, a holy church in Wollo province, for pilgrimage. During that time the area was highly stricken by drought caused famine and many people were destabilized from their homes and many were dying. The horrifying incident has disturbed Abebech’s mind. She did not hesitate but started to distribute what she has in her hand. While distributing, Abebech observed a child suckling her dead mother’s breast. She thought that the woman was in a deep sleep and tried to awake her, but later she learned that the woman was dead. Her soft heart pierced, she wept very bitterly and took the child from the corpse. She added another orphaned child to bring them home to Addis Ababa. This unfortunate situation in addition to her inherent sympathetic character compelled Abebech to determine her future. She continued to collect more and more children and the number of orphaned children grew to twenty-one by the end of the same year. The humanitarian activity faced obstacles from the incipient stage. Her husband and other relatives totally rejected her idea and activity. They considered as if she got mad and they advised her to stop. She had two options, to throw away the children and continue her decent married life or renew her commitment to safeguard the helpless kids and abandon her marriage. Though, it seems challenging Abebech had decided to abandon her marriage and continued the lofty effort that she had started. She moved to a small poultry house with the children. She made a Medeb (bed made up of mud) to sleep on and feed the children under a tree. It was not easy to support such a big number of children without any source of income. In order to keep the children alive, Abebech had to sell her personal belongings including her jewelry. She had passed the first six torturous years without despair and continued taking care of the children. To support her meager income she has been engaged in selling petty items like tella, tej, injera and kollo (homemade drinks and foods). Abebech’s devotion and relentless effort made her known, and gradually she started to get support from individuals and non-government organizations. In 1986 the orphanage got registered as BRUH TESFA CHILDREN VILLAGE AND SCHOOL as indigenous NGO under Ethiopian law. Later on it changed its name to Abebech Gobena Orphanage and school and currently called Abebech Gobena Children’s Care and Development Association The humanitarian activity that was started in a poultry house by two orphaned children has immensely grown up and involved in many community development activities Since its establishment(180), Abebech Gobena Children’s Care and Development Association has been performing commendable jobs in the area of orphans and vulnerable children. With the relentless effort of the founder and genuine support of humanitarian organizations and individuals the Association has made tremendous progress and today: has built a capacity to provide institutional care for hundreds of orphans at a time, Is supporting annually more than 14,000 OVC in different programs within the community, Is undertaking various child centered community development in its intervention areas namely Addis Ababa, Burayou, North and West Shoa zones of Oromia Regional State, With all its program activities in all its intervention areas more than 1.5 million people are annually benefiting. Its entire program is guided by a strategic plan in which it has clearly set its Vision, Mission, values and Strategic priority areas. Abebech Gobena is considered one of the most compassionate humanitarians in the world. Through her humanitarian pursuits in rescuing impoverished and deprived children, Abebech is a beacon of hope for the type of generosity our world so badly needs. For that reason, she fully deserves her title of “Africa’s Mother Teresa.” Abebech Gobena began her crusade to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in the wake of a famine in 1980 that devastated the Wollo region of Ethiopia. Originally in the area for a spiritual pilgrimage, Abebech Gobena was struck by the desolation in the area. After stumbling upon the scene of a baby girl futilely sucking at the breast of her dead mother, Gobena elected to save the child from the horrors of the situation and brought her home. She subsequently saved another child and continued her rescues until she had eventually plucked 21 children from the grip of death. This rescue mission came at no small cost to Gobena, whose marriage dissolved as a result. She was undeterred however, and continued saving endangered children, eventually moving into a tiny poultry building so she could raise the children. She resorted to selling her own personal belongings in order to afford to care for the children. The number grew to 200, and in 1988 she received legal permission to raise the children as orphans. Nowadays, her organization is known as Abebech Gobena Yehtsnant Kebekabena Limat Mahirber (Abebech Gobena Children’s Care and Development Association), or AGOHELMA and is 12,000 children-strong with six separate branches. AGOHELMA is now one of the most successful orphanages in East Africa. The orphanage provides security, vocational training, healthcare, food and boarding for the children under its care. In addition to its goals of improving the lives of children by encouraging them to grow into well-rounded and self-sufficient individuals, AGOHELMA also contributes to its neighbors by assisting in community development, doing its part in the fight against HIV/AIDS and providing vocational training for disadvantaged women. Program Principles In order to fulfill our vision and mission, all of our programs conform to the following basic principles: • We act in the best interest of the children & the community we serve • Ensure accountability and promote responsibility • Non discriminatory including gender equity • Promote empowerment • Work with partners • Seek sustainable results • Environmental friendly Program Areas /Thematic Area 1. Institutional Care Continue institutional orphans care as a last option by providing full boarding services admitting only under five years of age and those who don't have any means. Towards this it has already built a capacity to provide institutional service to hundreds orphans at a time. 2. OVCs support - expands OVC support through different programs and alternative child cares like foster parent, child family reunification, adoption and provision of basic needs, in this line it supports more than 12,000 OVC annually in different programs. 3. HIV/AIDS Involves in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support realizing that it is one of the major causes for children abandonment & deprivation. Awareness creation, IEC materials Condom promotion & distribution Voluntary counseling and testing ( free VCT service) Skill training and start up money 4. Capacity Building Under takes capacity building focusing on women and youth for self reliance and create bread winner at household level. Micro business promotion Skill training for employment & self employment Village level saving and credit 5. Health under takes both curative & preventive health care & environmental protection measures. MCH hospital service Reproductive health & family planning Supplementary feeding for malnourished children under 5 years of age Water and sanitation On- job-training for health workers Health Posts 6. Education Creates access to formal and non-formal education to deprived school age children and contribute for quality of education. Provides free formal education service from KG to 8th grade Establishes non-formal education centers in rural area Provision of school materials, uniform, school fee Construction & furnishing of primary schools & KGs On -Job -training for school teachers. 7. Food security- under takes agricultural demonstration and technology transfer to improve access to technologies, inputs, credit, and basic services. 8. Women Empowerment Empowering women in different program activities which include skill training on Food preparation and catering, village save and credit and some other practical ways. 9. Income generation - undertakes income generation activities in integrated fashion to supplement the charity work, creates job opportunities and transfer of skill to children grown in the institution. Intervention Areas 1. Addis Ababa (Arada, Gulele, Addis Ketema Sub cities) 2. Oromia Region (Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne, North Shoa, and West shoa)