In 1994, Serawit (Cherry) Teketel was confronted with the growing plight of impoverished women resorting to earning an income through the exploitation of their bodies on the streets of Addis Ababa. With the help of another woman, Cherry began meeting with these women, making friendships with them regularly, listening to their struggles, and offering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1996, SIM Ethiopia invited Cherry to work under its auspices, impressed by her grassroots approach to this growing social injustice. Currently, it is estimated that there are over 100,000 prostituted women in Ethiopia, with 30,000 of these women being found in the capital city. In 2003, Ellilta – Women at Risk Ethiopia (E-WAR) became a registered charity with the Ethiopian government. Since its inception, E-WAR has sought to reach out to exploited women being destroyed by the darkness of human-trafficking, and to offer them the light of transformation that a relationship with Jesus Christ brings. E-WAR’s strategy for transformation encompasses a wholistic approach that seeks to meet the psycho-social, physical, and spiritual needs of the women. Samaritan’s Purse Canada has partnered with E-WAR since 2005 because of the high regard we place on the approach, values, and high success rate of this ministry – 94% of the women complete the program and never return to the streets again. Over 200 have completed the program in the past 13 years.
How the Project Functions Recruitment The E-WAR staff build relationships with women on the streets of Addis Ababa through regular night outreach. Staff travel the streets when the women are working and offer them tea, cookies, and the opportunity for friendship. During the recruitment period, staff become acquainted with the stories of the women and tell them about the rehabilitation program that E-WAR offers. The counselors then enter into a process of screening the women, and offer placements to 20 women for the next 9-month project cycle.
Counseling During those 9 months, women are engaged in counseling, vocational-skills’ training, literacy, small-business training, and healthcare support. For the first 6 months of the program, women enter into an intensive counseling process, with a Christian counselor, that is specifically designed to help the women process the trauma, abuse, and negative thought-patterns they have incurred as a result of working on the streets. This is accomplished through: • Morning Devotions on Christian living • Group discussion based the Twelve-Step Recovery Program • One-on-one counseling • Arts and Crafts
The goal is to have the women confront and deal with some of the major areas of brokenness they have fallen prey to, and to equip them with tools that help them to deal with problems in a constructive rather than a destructive manner. Literacy and Vocational Training Women continue with counseling after the 6 month mark and then the vocational training and literacy components of the program are initiated, whereupon women are more able to multi-task and engage in other activities. Women who are illiterate learn how to read and write in Amharic. Skills-training opportunities include: pottery, cooking, baking, card and jewelry-making. While learning a skill, the women also participate in small-business training classes that equip them with practical knowledge of how to start a business. In addition, women take lessons on work ethic and personal goal setting that help them to build a solid foundation for their future employment. Health Care Support During the 9 month rehabilitation program, all women are offered free medical support by E-WAR through the payment of hospital bills, treatment, medication, and in some cases nutritional support. Women coming off of the streets are often in a fragile state of health due to the high likelihood of exposure to HIV and other diseases.
Prevention and Child Care While women participate in the rehabilitation program, their children are cared for by staff at E-WAR and are supported in their education so that the cycle of sexual exploitation does not continue into the next generation. The E-WAR staff help to facilitate discussion forums in schools in order that vulnerable youth are made aware of the realities and dangers of human-trafficking, and that the rate of young girls entering prostitution are reduced. E-WAR also regularly facilitates educational sessions with churches in order to raise awareness and increase compassion amongst the Christian community toward those being sexually exploited. All material is Biblically based.
E-WAR is an organization that has been on the ground for over ten years, staffed by a team of incredible Ethiopians who are wholeheartedly committed to realizing God’s desire for transformation in the ‘least of these.’ E-WAR’s success rate of 94% is a direct reflection of their commitment to bringing Christ into the lives of these women, for Cherry will always say “there is no hope for these women to stay off the streets apart from Christ.” The fact that so many have left the streets and have been able to provide for the needs of their family is a great testimony to the value of the wholistic approach E-WAR undertakes in the rehabilitation project.
The following video tells the story of one woman that was helped by Ellilta.
For more information on Ellilta-Women at Risk Ethiopia visit their website.
