Portrait de Femme II by Pablo Picasso

The Help A Life Foundation was formed in 2007 with the goal of housing and educating adolescent orphaned girls and providing them with a secure and supportive environment. We currently house 52 girls in a building compound capable of accommodating 56 girls and managed with a local staff of nine. Four tutorial rooms are used daily with a staff of six tutors in a range of subjects from English to Biology. 44 girls have completed high school and are at different universities throughout Ethiopia with most studying to become doctors or engineers.

These girls are selected from the surrounding villages with the collaborative effort of the local community leaders where they are housed in a gated safe group home with all living necessities provided for.

In addition, life skills training is also provided to integrate them into society as productive citizens. We currently have three self-sustaining projects, where five of the girls are managing them full-time as their careers and will be paid an according salary that allows them to integrate back into society as a proven success of Project Blue.

Much of the success of this project is due to Help a Life working directly with the local government and businesses. All of the HALF staff on Project Blue in Debre Markos are Ethiopian, and decisions are made in tandem with the local government officials.