Country facts as they pertain to young men and boys:
In 2019, Ethiopia’s estimated population is 112.08 million – up from 98.9 million in 2015. This makes it the second most populated country on the African continent, second only to Nigeria.
The median age in 17.9 years, and 60% of the population is under the age of 25.
Ethiopia’s population is expected to double to 210 million by 2060. Over the next 40-50 years, most of the world’s population growth is expected to come from Africa – much of that from Ethiopia.
Adama (AKA, Nazret) and it’s immediately outlying areas make up the second largest population in the country. Also, because of its close proximity to the capital of Addis Ababa, it is one of the fastest growing cities in Ethiopia. Though Adama proper has an estimated population of around 325,000, the nearby areas bring that number closer to 600,000.
Why is mentoring of boys so crucial?
49.8% of the current 2019 population is male(56,174,400 men). This means that there are approximately 33,700,500 men under the age of 25 - with the median age being less than 18. With the rapidly increasing birthrate, one can assume the majority of the 33.6 million are boys well under 18 years of age. If more of these young men do not get infused with the heart of Christ through prayer and discipleship, the future of the country is dismal. They will be discipled in one way or another – either into more darkness, or with an eye to Jesus.
The need for mentoring and discipleship of these boy cannot be overstated. Single mothers, fatherless children, high demand for prostitutes(10% of women in the cities are trapped in this lifestyle), crime, the spread of HIV/STD’s, abortions, corrupt government are all symptomatic of the lack of character in young men. This is due largely to the lack of healthy father-son relationships. It is estimated that 70-80% of households in non-rural areas(cities) have no father present.
What is Arukah Global is working on?
Arukah Global is beginning to work with partners to develop a mentoring/discipleship program for boys in Nazret. The long-term goal is to duplicate it in strategic locations.
One of these partners, the Child Development Training and Research Center(CDTRC) in the town of Sendafa(just outside of Addis Ababa) is the foremost child advocacy organization in Ethiopia. They focus on training adults (teachers, social workers, parents, church leadership) on how to effectively raise up the next generation. The organization is gospel-based, and initially was partially funded by Compassion International.
The CDTRC are experts not only child advocacy, but in developing curriculum that is used throughout Ethiopia and other African nations to assist in raising up young people in a manner that is holistically beneficial to the individual, their family, the community, their work, and the nation.
We are working with the CDTRC to develop curriculum that will be used to mentor boys. Mentors will also be trained accordingly.
Part of the solution is developing a Community Gather Place
A key element in “capturing” young boys/teens to engage in being mentored, will be developing a place that will draw them in – after school hours – to engage in community.
One of the great challenges for this happening in Ethiopia, is there are nearly no parks, playgrounds and/or community centers where children and teens can gather. It is simply not a priority, and spaces with grass cannot be sustained due to water issues.
What would this Community Gathering Place look like?
Arukah Global’s school partner, Birhan Academy, in Adama is prepared to be our first host location. The private school was founded by a local church and focuses on educating children in the most difficult situations. When Arukah began our partnership with Birhan Academy in 2015, there student capacity was at 400. Over the next several years, by building a 16 spigot water system with tanks, adding an 8 stall latrine, building new classroom, etc, Arukah Global has helped increase the school’s child capacity to almost 600.
On the school property there is about one acre of flat, very dusty ground (surrounded on 3 sides by classrooms). The plan is to lay a large slab of concrete over a good portion of this space and install basketball courts, soccer nets, and have space for other activities such as ping-pong table and badminton – all of which will be attractive to local youth. We also plan to build a tin roof structure with open sides that can be used not only for outdoor seating, but as a space for mentors to meet with the boys, as well as a place to serve food to needy kids – which will draw additional boys.
Of course, both boys and girls will show up, but we will focus on engaging with the boys in a manner that offers up mentoring(at some point in the future we may explore a similar program for girls). That said, it is obvious that all the children attending Birhan Academy would benefit as well. Initially, we expect the majority of the boys being mentored will come from Birhan Academy.
It is important to remember that though this Gathering Place is hosted at an existing school, it is primarily for the sake of the community as a “net” to capture the interest of boys who desperately need male role models.
The goal is to have as much one on one mentoring as possible (from older boys or men chosen from sources that are mentioned below). Mentoring will include such things as boys committing to go (with his mentor) visit a widow once a week to build a relationship with her. He might bring some sugar or raw coffee beans. This is teaching compassion and service. At an appropriate age, he would also spend one or two afternoons a week learning a trade like welding, auto mechanic, or agriculture. We are discussing ways to develop a “merit-based” discipleship track, based on Trail Life(similar to Boys Scouts). This will be very effective because children in the Ethiopian culture as a whole are not given recognition or positive affirmation. The possibilities here are endless.
The estimated cost
The concrete slab, basketball courts, soccer, other game equipment, accessories and tin-roofed gathering/feeding space is estimated at $20,000 - $25,000.
Once established, we will would look to other sources, both in the states and Ethiopia to help fund ongoing costs of maintaining the space.
Who will be involved?
1.The CDTRC is prepared to train mentors and develop curriculum.
2. Arukah Global’s Ethiopian leadership and in-country partners have relationship with seminaries, the Evangelical Student Fellowship(EVASU), Association of Christian Workers, former Compassion International children(now adults) local churches, and others. Each of these organizations will have young men willing to mentor boys.
3. Birhan Academy(our school partner in Nazret) is prepared to host the location of the proposed Community Gathering Space.
4. Additionally, there is a group of women called “alkashoch” – which means “those who cry”. They are also referred to as the “weeping women”. Though this is a foreign idea to the western mindset, this kind of "buy-in" from the community matriarchs carries much weight and will help the program gain credibility. Once the vision of mentoring boys is shared with them, they will pray passionately on an ongoing basis – literally crying out to God on behalf of the boys.
In 2019, Ethiopia’s estimated population is 112.08 million – up from 98.9 million in 2015. This makes it the second most populated country on the African continent, second only to Nigeria.
The median age in 17.9 years, and 60% of the population is under the age of 25.
Ethiopia’s population is expected to double to 210 million by 2060. Over the next 40-50 years, most of the world’s population growth is expected to come from Africa – much of that from Ethiopia.
Adama (AKA, Nazret) and it’s immediately outlying areas make up the second largest population in the country. Also, because of its close proximity to the capital of Addis Ababa, it is one of the fastest growing cities in Ethiopia. Though Adama proper has an estimated population of around 325,000, the nearby areas bring that number closer to 600,000.
Why is mentoring of boys so crucial?
49.8% of the current 2019 population is male(56,174,400 men). This means that there are approximately 33,700,500 men under the age of 25 - with the median age being less than 18. With the rapidly increasing birthrate, one can assume the majority of the 33.6 million are boys well under 18 years of age. If more of these young men do not get infused with the heart of Christ through prayer and discipleship, the future of the country is dismal. They will be discipled in one way or another – either into more darkness, or with an eye to Jesus.
The need for mentoring and discipleship of these boy cannot be overstated. Single mothers, fatherless children, high demand for prostitutes(10% of women in the cities are trapped in this lifestyle), crime, the spread of HIV/STD’s, abortions, corrupt government are all symptomatic of the lack of character in young men. This is due largely to the lack of healthy father-son relationships. It is estimated that 70-80% of households in non-rural areas(cities) have no father present.
What is Arukah Global is working on?
Arukah Global is beginning to work with partners to develop a mentoring/discipleship program for boys in Nazret. The long-term goal is to duplicate it in strategic locations.
One of these partners, the Child Development Training and Research Center(CDTRC) in the town of Sendafa(just outside of Addis Ababa) is the foremost child advocacy organization in Ethiopia. They focus on training adults (teachers, social workers, parents, church leadership) on how to effectively raise up the next generation. The organization is gospel-based, and initially was partially funded by Compassion International.
The CDTRC are experts not only child advocacy, but in developing curriculum that is used throughout Ethiopia and other African nations to assist in raising up young people in a manner that is holistically beneficial to the individual, their family, the community, their work, and the nation.
We are working with the CDTRC to develop curriculum that will be used to mentor boys. Mentors will also be trained accordingly.
Part of the solution is developing a Community Gather Place
A key element in “capturing” young boys/teens to engage in being mentored, will be developing a place that will draw them in – after school hours – to engage in community.
One of the great challenges for this happening in Ethiopia, is there are nearly no parks, playgrounds and/or community centers where children and teens can gather. It is simply not a priority, and spaces with grass cannot be sustained due to water issues.
What would this Community Gathering Place look like?
Arukah Global’s school partner, Birhan Academy, in Adama is prepared to be our first host location. The private school was founded by a local church and focuses on educating children in the most difficult situations. When Arukah began our partnership with Birhan Academy in 2015, there student capacity was at 400. Over the next several years, by building a 16 spigot water system with tanks, adding an 8 stall latrine, building new classroom, etc, Arukah Global has helped increase the school’s child capacity to almost 600.
On the school property there is about one acre of flat, very dusty ground (surrounded on 3 sides by classrooms). The plan is to lay a large slab of concrete over a good portion of this space and install basketball courts, soccer nets, and have space for other activities such as ping-pong table and badminton – all of which will be attractive to local youth. We also plan to build a tin roof structure with open sides that can be used not only for outdoor seating, but as a space for mentors to meet with the boys, as well as a place to serve food to needy kids – which will draw additional boys.
Of course, both boys and girls will show up, but we will focus on engaging with the boys in a manner that offers up mentoring(at some point in the future we may explore a similar program for girls). That said, it is obvious that all the children attending Birhan Academy would benefit as well. Initially, we expect the majority of the boys being mentored will come from Birhan Academy.
It is important to remember that though this Gathering Place is hosted at an existing school, it is primarily for the sake of the community as a “net” to capture the interest of boys who desperately need male role models.
The goal is to have as much one on one mentoring as possible (from older boys or men chosen from sources that are mentioned below). Mentoring will include such things as boys committing to go (with his mentor) visit a widow once a week to build a relationship with her. He might bring some sugar or raw coffee beans. This is teaching compassion and service. At an appropriate age, he would also spend one or two afternoons a week learning a trade like welding, auto mechanic, or agriculture. We are discussing ways to develop a “merit-based” discipleship track, based on Trail Life(similar to Boys Scouts). This will be very effective because children in the Ethiopian culture as a whole are not given recognition or positive affirmation. The possibilities here are endless.
The estimated cost
The concrete slab, basketball courts, soccer, other game equipment, accessories and tin-roofed gathering/feeding space is estimated at $20,000 - $25,000.
Once established, we will would look to other sources, both in the states and Ethiopia to help fund ongoing costs of maintaining the space.
Who will be involved?
1.The CDTRC is prepared to train mentors and develop curriculum.
2. Arukah Global’s Ethiopian leadership and in-country partners have relationship with seminaries, the Evangelical Student Fellowship(EVASU), Association of Christian Workers, former Compassion International children(now adults) local churches, and others. Each of these organizations will have young men willing to mentor boys.
3. Birhan Academy(our school partner in Nazret) is prepared to host the location of the proposed Community Gathering Space.
4. Additionally, there is a group of women called “alkashoch” – which means “those who cry”. They are also referred to as the “weeping women”. Though this is a foreign idea to the western mindset, this kind of "buy-in" from the community matriarchs carries much weight and will help the program gain credibility. Once the vision of mentoring boys is shared with them, they will pray passionately on an ongoing basis – literally crying out to God on behalf of the boys.