Goah – Sunrise, an association supporting street children, was founded in June 2017 and is based in Bahir Dar in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. It supports disadvantaged Ethiopian street children and helps them participate in part-time community work related to environmental protection. Goah is registered and licensed in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, and in Vienna, Austria. At the time described on the original website, Goah had registered more than 13 vulnerable street children from Bahir Dar. I, Worknesh Minayie, founded Goah to help children without parents or relatives able to care for them. The Goah Centre in Bahir Dar aims to provide a small orphanage project offering food, a home, education and support to 13 children throughout their childhood.
About the project Goah-Sunrise
Ethiopia is a young country with 45% of the population under the age of 15 and 71% under the age of 30. Despite strong progress in reducing the birth rate, the population of Ethiopia continues to grow. More than 80% of the Ethiopian population lives in rural areas. Poverty, drought, conflict and resettlement have fueled Ethiopia's internal and external migration. Internal and international trade in women and children for housework and prostitution is a growing problem. Goah firmly believes that investing in children and adolescents will be the foundation for Ethiopia's future.
Most organizations and humanitarian initiatives that help the Ethiopian people settle in and around the capital, Addis Ababa. As a result, many of the foreign aid and ministries that come to Ethiopia will not draw attention to the majority of the Ethiopian population living outside of Addis Ababa. Goah Children's Aid Center is located in Bahir Dar, 566 km from Addis Ababa.
The city of Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of nearby attractions, such as the Tana Lake and the Nile. The city is known for its wide avenues of palm trees and a variety of colorful flowers. Tana Lake, Ethiopia's largest lake and the source of the Blue Nile, is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
In the city of Bahir Dar, there is a growing number of orphaned and homeless street children with no parents or relatives who can take care of them. Some of these street children are often left by their families without finding their family members. The Goah Children's Center in Bahir Dar was founded with the aim of helping these children and enabling them to focus on their education in a safe environment and to strengthen them through education and training.
Children of the Goah Project in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
”My efforts seem to be small, but I'm sure it's worth it - not to mention the 13 children. Even if I can change the life of just one child, that's good enough for me.