Child Sponsorship background from Harrar, Ethiopia

SOS Children's Village Harrar

The second Ethiopian SOS Children's Village was built in Harrar in 1979. SOS Children's Village Harrar comprises 15 family houses, a village director's house, a community house with a library and a canteen, a village shop and a medical clinic.

Other SOS Projects in Harrar

An SOS Nursery School was added to the Children's Village in 1979, offering space for some 210 children predominantly from the surrounding area. It consists of six classrooms, a kitchen, adjoining rooms and a playground.

The older SOS youth (from about 16 years of age onwards) are housed at the two SOS Youth Homes for the period of their secondary/vocational education, giving them more responsibility as they are only supervised by one youth leader. SOS mothers, village directors and psychologists carefully prepare the youngsters for this significant step towards independence, to which roughly four years are assigned, extendable for prolonged education or job search.

An SOS Primary and Secondary School was opened in 1979 on a site adjacent to the SOS Children's Village, and provides education

for some 660 children. Grades 1 to 8 are taught in 16 different classes with approximately 30 pupils each. Facilities include 16 classrooms, two workshops, a computer lab, a library, administrative units, and a sheltered plot for school and sporting events.

Background to Harrar

Harrar is the capital of the province Harrarghe, Ethiopia, some 580 km away from Addis Ababa, and is regularly struck by long periods of drought. Sufficient rainfall for vegetable and coffee cultivation only occurs in higher altitudes.  It has a population of approximately 120,000.  It is the fourth holiest city in Islam.  The population of the city is split between Christian and Muslim.