Ethiopian Orphans, Street Children Share Dreams

Ethiopian Orphans, Street Children Share Their Dreams In Un Children’s Fund Book

Hundreds of street children, orphans of war and HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable youngsters all across Ethiopia talk about their devastating losses and their dreams of a future free from poverty in a new collection of stories by the United Nations Children’s Fund called “We Have A Dream.”

“The voices of vulnerable children are too often overlooked or ignored in Ethiopia and many other countries," UNICEF Country Representative Bjorn Ljungqvist said. “One of the main things that has stuck out is the huge appetite these children have for education. They are desperate to go to school. They see education as the main way of achieving their dreams.”

"Lots of us have also been struck by the many articulate descriptions of the experience of living as a child in Ethiopia – particularly the intense grief felt by orphans," he added.

The hard-hitting contributions in "We Have A Dream" form the first part of a three-part campaign to raise the profile of Ethiopia's most vulnerable children.

The second – "Run For Their Dreams" – has recruited hundreds of participants in this weekend's Great Ethiopian Run to raise sponsorship money for vulnerable children's projects.

The third part, entitled "Fulfil their Dreams," is designed to persuade local and national Ethiopian politicians to raise support and funding for vulnerable children. Parliamentarians will be asked to increase budgetary support for them through all state institutions, including the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

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