Why This Center?
Life is not easy in Welkite, an extremely poor community in Ethiopia. Poverty has taken its toll on people here, causing high rates of child mortality, malnutrition and disease.
Lack of basic necessities like adequate food and shelter are common. Employment is rare, even among the men, and most all of the women are illiterate.
The culture in Ethiopia favors men, and that favoritism, along with a religion dominated by traditional beliefs (witchcraft), contributes to the hopelessness of the women in Welkite. Welkite Mekane Yesus Child Survival Program, however, is an oasis of hope for these women.
When you support the Welkite Mekane Yesus CSP your donation will help save the lives of babies and mothers in poverty utilizing local churches to assist mothers of at-risk infants and toddlers.
For women in Welkite, the CSP gives them hope that life can be different – both for their children and for themselves. The hope that is ignited is life-changing and by supporting this CSP, you can be a part of this miracle.
The Child Survival Program: Compassion's First Response to Poverty
The Child Survival Program is Compassion's first response to fight poverty on behalf of vulnerable infants and unborn babies.
When you chose to support the Welkite Mekane Yesus CSP mothers and their children receive:
- Medical checkups
- Immunizations
- Food supplements and nutritional counseling
- Instruction in reading and writing
- Life-skills and vocational training
- Spiritual mentoring and discipleship
In a nutshell, your tax-deductible donation is helping some the world's most impoverished children survive the first few years of life.
It Works: A Success Story
Alem lives with her husband and five children in the community of Wolkite. Alem makes enjera to sell on the roadside and her husband works as a day laborer, but even with both jobs, they only make enough to support their most basic needs. When Alem’s last child, Sara, was born two years ago, she was undernourished and had it not been for the intervention of the Welkite Mekane Yesus CSP, she would have died.
Alem and Sara attend the CSP regularly and Sara is now a happy, healthy two-year-old. At the center, Alem enjoys fellowship with the other mothers and has learned a lot from her interactions with them.
“CSP has helped me to realize the importance of fellowship. I learned plenty of things – among them are; the importance of trusting people and working in harmony. I have so many things to teach to my kids about my life experience so that they won’t repeat my mistakes.”