Esta noticia también está disponible en: 
Español
Meki, Ethiopia
“KIDIST MARIAM” VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE FOR WOMEN
Every year, the centre provides technical and vocational training to 450 young women in hospitality, dressmaking, hairdressing and IT. In addition to technical training, the centre provides career guidance, support with entering the workforce and support for women’s entrepreneurship. The project also incorporates a practical learning component and a focus on economic sustainability: students at the advanced levels run the centre’s restaurant and café, hairdressing salon, sewing workshop and shop selling handcrafted products made at the centre. The income generated is reinvested in the purchase of materials and equipment for the courses, thereby strengthening financial autonomy and practice-based learning.
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND FOOD SECURITY FOR WOMEN IN RURAL AREAS
The project aims to consolidate and expand the economic and social opportunities for 1,500 women in rural areas of Meki by strengthening community-based savings and loan groups, providing training in financial literacy and the setting up and management of small businesses, and promoting sustainable productive activities.
It also promotes climate resilience, food security and sustainable livelihoods for rural families through sustainable agricultural practices, the rearing of dairy goats for both personal consumption and the sale of surplus produce, and the creation of local economic networks based on solidarity and shared responsibility.
It also promotes climate resilience, food security and sustainable livelihoods for rural families through sustainable agricultural practices, the rearing of dairy goats for both personal consumption and the sale of surplus produce, and the creation of local economic networks based on solidarity and shared responsibility.
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE MEKI URBAN AREA
The project promotes gender equality by supporting the participation in public life of 2,100 women living in extreme poverty in Meki. These initiatives have led to the creation of 70 community savings groups, which help them access loans to set up micro-enterprises, build up their savings and increase their household income. The project helps to regularise the situation of women and to legalise the land on which the most vulnerable live, by building homes that enable them to live in dignified conditions. They also receive training in health and education, which is supplemented by the provision of healthcare kits and educational kits for their children. In addition, workshops and training sessions on financial management and entrepreneurship are held, where participants receive specific training to enable each of them to draw up their own business plan, and they are provided with seed capital to put it into action. The training sessions also address issues such as inequality and cultural, educational and health-related factors that hinder their social participation and contribute to their vulnerable situation. In this way, they are equipped with the tools and strategies needed to tackle gender inequalities in their communities.
CLASSROOMS FOR HEALTH AND EQUALITY
The project implements a comprehensive programme on health education and gender equality in four rural schools in the Meki area, benefiting a total of 3,813 pupils each year. In addition, teachers and pupils are trained in first aid to deal with minor injuries or infections at school. In addition, clubs for teenage girls have been set up to focus on self-esteem, leadership, the prevention of child marriage and female genital mutilation, and managing menstrual hygiene through the distribution of washable and reusable sanitary pads. The project is expected to help improve health knowledge and practices, increase participation in health and gender clubs, reduce the incidence of preventable diseases, reduce school absenteeism, and promote gender equality in schools and communities.
CONSTRUCTION AND FITTING OUT OF SCHOOL CLASSROOMS AND NURSERIES
The CSP has helped to build and equip a total of 17 classrooms in four primary schools and has built a nursery in the rural areas of Meki. School washbasins and drinking fountains have also been installed for the pupils and the school community. These new classrooms have ensured that a greater number of pupils in rural areas can access education. The government is responsible for paying the salaries of the teaching staff employed to teach in the new classrooms.
DAIRY GOATS TO BOOST WOMEN’S INCOME IN RURAL AREAS
300 women who are members of savings groups rear dairy goats to improve their families’ diet, earn money by selling the kids and secure a new source of income by selling the milk.
CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR OF CLASSROOMS AND ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER AT MELKA ODA PRIMARY SCHOOL AND KORKE ADI PRIMARY SCHOOL
This school project involves the construction, repair and fitting out of classrooms, as well as the installation of drinking water facilities in both schools. Estas mejoras propiciaron un aumento importante en la matrícula y asistencia de estudiantes.