One of the many challenges facing single mothers in Ethiopia is the lack of jobs which will allow them to bring their kids to work and a lack of resources to send their child to preschool. Some resort to begging, others to prostitution, as a way of putting food on the table. After seeing this desperate need, Fields of Hope opened a school called Yetesfa Mesk Academy in the fall of 2016.

This project was launched as a way to cover the educational and other needs of impoverished single mothers in the heart of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Through this school we provided high quality education within a loving atmosphere, nutritious food served 4 times a day, as well as an economic empowerment program for the parents. We have had the privilege of serving 30 families through this project and we saw an amazing amount of positive change in many of the families over the years.

After much consideration, the Board of Directors at Fields of Hope made the difficult call to Yetesfa Mesk Academy at the end of the 2019/20 school year.

We will remain connected to these families in various ways in the years to come, including through our ongoing Economic Empowerment Program (read more below).