The Lelt Foundation had an exciting year of growth and program strengthening, thanks to support from our generous and loyal donors!
"When we have a healthy community, we can focus on advanced educational opportunities. Lelt Foundation provides tutoring courses to not only our children, but also to their parents. We have after-school tutoring sessions 5 days a week for children, and offer adult education classes and arts/humanities programs for our entire community every Saturday."
Lelt provides complete daily assistance to more than 200 families. Each family receives aid centered around 3 main components:
HERE'S HOW: Children like Beimnet and Hiwot (featured in December’s newsletter) come to our Community Center every day for a nutritious lunch.
Both of our Community Centers are a 5 minute walk from school. Over 200 children come to us midday for a balanced meal, helping them stay healthy and focused on their schoolwork. Parents also take home food rations every month so our families are eating well at home.
We also provide all medical care needed to keep our families happy and healthy.
When we have a healthy community, we can focus on advanced educational opportunities. Lelt Foundation provides tutoring courses to not only our children, but also to their parents. We have after-school tutoring sessions 5 days a week for children, and offer adult education classes and arts/humanities programs for our entire community every Saturday.
BALAMI & FREHIWOT In our region of Ethiopia, girls like Balami and Frehiwot typically drop out of school. Over 60% of girls over 12 leave their education early to work or marry. Lelt’s programs keep kids in school and preparing for college.
ETAFERAW
It’s common for children to have frequent absences from school when they are kept home to help their parents, and many children never learn to read and write. Girls who struggled under these circumstances, like Etaferaw, receive tailored tutoring sessions at Lelt’s Community Center, which help her to get back on track and focus on her future college preparatory classes.
YOSEF
Yosef was named Lelt’s Student of the Year for the 2016-17 school year. When he joined our program 4 years ago, his mother was ill. He was staying home from school to take care of her. Now that they receive assistance from Lelt, she is healthy and Yosef attends a private school in his neighborhood. He ranked #2 in his class and won academic awards from his school. He wants to be a scientist when he grows up.
MUSIC
Twice a week, students take music lessons at Lelt’s Community Center. These classes explore the history, technique, and musical styles of Ethiopian traditional instruments, along with Western instruments like the piano and guitar.
CARRIE'S HOME FOR BOYS
All of the complications that accompany extreme poverty affect our community. Whether it's a lack of clean drinking water, no access to electricity, or a shortage of food, the struggle is profound. Our region has one of the highest rates of homeless children in sub-Saharan Africa. Lelt Foundation has created two Family Homes for orphaned boys and girls. They provide shelter, an advanced education, and a loving family to homeless children. Our Home for Boys was named after co-founder Carrie Neel-Parker. When Lelt Foundation was formed in 2011, it was her vision to create this refuge for vulnerable children.
BATISO, THE WEAVER
We struggle with unemployment in our poverty-stricken neighborhood of Kara Kore. Young women and men in our community can enroll in Lelt’s Business Creation Program. Participants take a week-long seminar that teaches money and business management skills, and trade skills. When they are ready to launch their own small business, Lelt provides a micro-loan for start up funding, and monitors progress through the first year to help ensure success. Batiso, a weaver in Lelt's community, expanded his textiles business through our program. He now makes a 30% higher salary than he did before he came to Lelt for help.
EYERUS
Lelt also launched our Vocational Program in October. Community members apply to this program and go through a series of interviews. Selected applicants receive a full scholarship to an accredited vocational school in our region. Eyerus studied cosmetology in November, and is now a hair stylist at a local salon.
Lelt continues to expand and strengthen our programs into 2018. We are currently building a computer lab, to teach IT and programming skills to our best and brightest students. Addis Ababa is a bustling city and computer science experts are in high demand. Lelt Foundation envisions our children growing into the next generation of computer professionals!
Thank you for your support of the Lelt Foundation!