VZCZCXRO3253
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #2472 2191021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071021Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7348
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002472 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/E, DRL:SJOSEPH, G/TIP:RYOUSEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ECON ELAB ET KWMN SOCI
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: GIRLS LEAVING ORPHANAGES: A VULNERABLE 
POPULATION 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: A conversation with girls in a government-run 
children's home in Addis Ababa indicates limited economic 
options exist for this vulnerable population.  Government 
support after age 18 is minimal, and the girls are not 
prepared for an independent life.  One of the potential 
livelihoods mentioned, moving to an Arab country to work as a 
domestic, is particularly worrisome in light of Ethiopia's 
Tier 2 trafficking in persons status.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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TIME RUNNING OUT-- NO PLACE TO GO 
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¶2. Econoff met with the director and a group of residents of 
the Kechene Children's Home in Addis Ababa.  Kechene is a 
GOE-run home that houses approximately 165 children from 
infancy through age 18, most of whom are girls.  At age 18, 
children must leave the shelter.  The director stated that 
there are GOE-sponsored &re-integration8 programs for 
children approaching 18.  Nearly all children who &age out8 
are female, so the programs are geared towards occupations 
traditionally held by women in Ethiopia such as hairdressing 
and cooking.  In addition to re-integration training, the 
children receive a lump sum of 4,400 birr (about USD 487) 
from the GOE upon exiting the home. 
 
¶3. The director stated that 32 children aged out of Kechene 
in 2006, and 26 (all girls) will age out in 2007.  When asked 
how well the current program served the girls, he said that 
there were several problems.  First, the re-integration 
program focused solely on vocational skills, not life-skills 
training such as personal finance, job-hunting or household 
management.  Because of the institutional nature of Kechene, 
the director stated that the children do not learn basics 
such as shopping, budgeting, or cooking.  He said the lack of 
financial knowledge leads to the children squandering the 
cash they receive from the government.  The director also 
said that an additional problem is a complete lack of 
follow-up from the GOE after children exit the shelter. 
 
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&MAYBE I'LL GO TO AN ARAB COUNTRY8 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. When asked what they planned to do after leaving Kechene, 
few of the female residents aged 14-18 had formed any plans. 
One girl stated that because of their lack of education, they 
would be dependent on men either as a wife or a girlfriend. 
Another stated that, although she would prefer to stay in 
Ethiopia, she was considering going to an Arab country to 
work.  Several others agreed with her that this was their 
best option economically, although they did not know details 
of the process to migrate legally. 
 
¶5. Almost none of the girls leaving Kechene complete 12th 
grade.  When asked why they were no longer in school, all the 
girls who answered indicated they had not scored high enough 
on government-administered exams to continue and that they 
lacked money for matriculation fees at private schools. 
(NOTE: Ethiopia's public education system requires an exam at 
the 10th grade level.  Only those students scoring high 
enough may remain in government schools for additional free 
education.  Fees at private vocational/technical schools are 
about 200 birr, or USD 22, per month.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶6. Lack of education and eagerness to migrate (legally or 
illegally) to Arab countries presents a trafficking concern. 
As the 2007 TIP report states: 8Ethiopia is a source country 
for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of 
forced labor and sexual exploitation...Ethiopian women are 
trafficked primarily to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia for domestic 
servitude...Small percentages of these women are trafficked 
into the sex trade after arriving at their destinations.8 
 
¶7. COMMENT: While the number of Ethiopian orphans being 
adopted by Americans and other foreigners is growing, 
adoption is doing little to mitigate Ethiopia's orphan 
problem.  Ethiopia has over 5 million orphans, and many of 
them will grow up in institutions like Kechene.  While the 
GOE does provide some services and resources to those 
children leaving institutional care, they (especially girls) 
are among the most vulnerable populations.  Facing high 
unemployment and little opportunity in Ethiopia, they are at 
risk of trafficking.  END COMMENT. 
YAMAMOTO