Children's Village

Dr. Desta Meghoo trained as an attorney in the United States however her passion has always been Africa.  Originally from Jamaica, she moved to Ethiopia in September of 2005 leaving her job as managing director of the Bob Marley Foundation.  Dr. D, as the Children call her, established a business as a development consultant but as a human rights activist, she could not turn away from the destitute children in Addis Ababa who she saw living on the streets everyday begging, hungry, tired and in need of love and care.  She began taking food to a street corner on a regular basis not only to feed the children, but to talk with them. She promised she would find a way to help them and if they would hold on, have hope, stay out of trouble and give her an opportunity to help them, then one day she would provide a shelter,  an opportunity to go to school,  three warm meals a day and lots of love.  Dr. D. has done just that. After much time searching, she found an acre of land to rent and set up the Desta Y.Meghoo Children’s Village Project.  There are 110 children registered at this time in the Village.  This is the only project of it’s kind in Addis Ababa.   They are located in the Arat Kilo area of Addis Ababa.  The GOAL of the project is to eradicate homelessness amongst children in Addis Ababa and end the cycle of begging.  The AIM is to provide opportunities and access to love, encouragement and hope for sustainable change for these children who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS and other tragedies and discarded by society.  The village is in a grassy beautiful area where street children go to shower, rest, have a warm meal and learn about candle making, art, making food, growing agriculture and other sustainable skills.

From Dr. D.

“Our methodology varies; we are very natural with the children, emphasizing discussion and artistic expression.  We are very serious however about education and emphasize education as a major opportunity for transformation, particularly with the girls.  To that end we have enrolled over 50 children in Kedamawi Menelik Primary Public School.  We believe the children must be an active part of the process of transformation and encourage interactive forms of communication to engage the children fully in the process of positive change and development.

For more information please visit www.childrensvillagecenter.org