Program Background

Violence against women in Ethiopia takes many forms, including forced prostitution, female genital mutilation, and the abduction of women as a form of marriage, which is still widely practiced in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. In addition to persistent violence, Ethiopian women face social challenges to realizing their own independence and empowerment, which may contribute to their inability to remove themselves from situations of domestic violence. Providing women with mental health care and basic education and business skills can strengthen their social and economic autonomy and increase their self-confidence.

Program Summary

In Ethiopia, Heartland Alliance is working in partnership with a local organization - Bright Image Generation Association (BIGA) http://bigaethiopia.org/home.html to implement a two-year USAID-funded program - Women of Ethiopia - Community Advancement for Recovery and Empowerment (WE-CARE). WE-CARE is providing 1,800 women in the SNNPR with economic empowerment opportunities, and hundreds of women are receiving psychosocial support services.

WE–CARE organizes poor women into community led Self Help Groups (SHGs) that serve as a platform for economic and social empowerment activities. BIGA is establishing 120 SHGs, composed of 15 women each, aimed at providing vulnerable women with basic literacy and business management skills. Additionally, WE–CARE provides psychosocial support to women suffering from mental health issues caused by domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape or trauma and depression caused by other factors. WE–CARE is already helping meet the immediate protection and economic needs of vulnerable women and is providing critical emotional support to survivors of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).

Program Activities

To provide psychosocial and economic empowerment services, Heartland Alliance in partnership with BIGA is currently:

• Training psychosocial counselors to increase capacity and sustainability of psychosocial programming in Awassa.
• Conducting essential intake assessments (including screening for trauma and depression) and providing both individual and group counseling to clients.
• Expanding and strengthening a grassroots network of 120 SHGs.
• Providing business management, literacy and entrepreneurship training to SHG members.
• Providing seed grants to SHG members to start their own businesses using a cooperative model.