Kota Ganate
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The Kota Ganate agriculture project aims to financially support Children’s Home Ethiopia from within Ethiopia, build the community, and heal the land making Kota Ganate and Children’s Home Ethiopia a model of sustainability for Ethiopia.
Location: Chencha, Ethiopia
Project Details:
God has opened a door in a poor, farming community in the highlands of southern Ethiopia. The local government has granted us the use of 10 hectares (about 25 acres) of land. By investing in this community we will be able to improve poor farmers’ ability to financially support their families and at the same time provide a sustainable funding source for New Hope for Children.
This project will be a working farm. We intend to implement proven sustainable farming practices to increase the productivity of the land. Through demonstration, training, and technical assistance we will transfer these practices to the farmers in the area. The farmers will then be able to increase the productivity and profitability of their land without having to assume the risks involved with developing new techniques. Profits generated from the operation of the farm will be used to fund the work of New Hope for Children.
Project Potential:
This is a very ambitious project and it has the potential to positively impact a broad range of children throughout Ethiopia.
An expected outcome of having a productive working farm is income. By using this income to maintain the work of New Hope for Children we will ensure the long term success of the project, which directly impacts the lives of the street children in Addis Ababa.
Many poor families from Chencha and surrounding areas send their children to Addis Ababa on the false promise of better opportunity. These kids are forced to work in “sweat shops” under slave labor conditions. They eventually escape or are released only to find themselves trapped on the streets of the city. By helping people in rural communities find better ways to support their families we can actually stop the flow of children to the streets of Addis Ababa.
By providing jobs this project will have an immediate impact on the community. Studies have shown that providing economic opportunities for women has the largest positive impact on the lives of children. However, gender equality has made little progress in the developing world and this is certainly true in Ethiopia. By giving priority for employing women on this project we hope to provide immediate benefits to the children in the community.
Long term benefits will come to the community as crop yields increase. It will mean economic opportunity, which will enable parents to pay for school, clothes, and food. It will mean better nutrition for the family. It will mean that kids need to work less and will have time to learn and to just be kids.
Farming is still an essential part of the communities of rural Ethiopia. Culture, religion, politics, economics, all parts of life in Ethiopia are tied to agriculture. By investing in an agriculture project we beleive that we can have a huge impact in the lives of the children.
