With the money raised through our fundraising events and donations, LUCIA makes a contribution to Little Voice each year. Little Voice is a house in Addis Ababa that is a heaven for Street Children. Run by a remarkable young Canadian woman called Jenna, the organisation makes sure all the children who stay at the house are fed three meals a day, are clothed and attend school.

LUCIA felt this story went some way to illustrate why we – the LUCIA team - are doing what we do. Having made a couple of visits to the house myself to see Jenna and the children, I believe not one penny is wasted. When entering the compound I was immediately struck at how peaceful the enclosure was, with grass, trees and the sound of children laughing. The LUCIA team would like to do more as we believe every child in the world should live in such safety.

"GET TO KNOW OUR CHILDREN... DEGEFA"

Degefa’s life tells the story of family breakdown in rural Ethiopia, a phenomenon that, with frightening frequency, is forcing children to the streets of Addis in epidemic numbers.

At ten years of age Degefa was brought from a small village in Southern Ethiopia to the Black Lion Hospital in Addis by his stepfather with fractured arms and legs and a broken jaw. Moments after arriving his stepfather disappeared with out a trace leaving no information by which to contact the family. Degefa lived at the hospital for 10 weeks, recovering from his physical wounds but developing emotional scars that will no doubt last a lifetime. With no way of finding his family the hospital social worker contacted us to find a permanent place for Degefa to live.

Degefa had never been to school and also suffered from a minor developmental delay. He was unable to read or write and could not identify the name of his village or any distinguishing features. For the first two days at our Home he just cried in my arms and then one morning he got up and joined the others. He has now completed his first year of school; he loves football and giving hugs. His language and communication skills are improving and he is an enthusiastic student. We can never know how profoundly that level of abandonment has impacted him but we can be there to help re-build the foundation from which he can reach for a better future”.