ASSESSING THE COMMUNITY BASED PROGRAMS IN ADDRESSING THE CHILDREN OF LEPROSY VICTIMS IN KORE AREA (THE CASE OF THE SALESIANS OF DON BOSCO)

Abstract

The situation of children whose parents are leprosy victims is very tough in Ethiopia. As a result of it children are brought to be vulnerable for multifaceted problems. This is role assessment study which intended to give a clear picture on the purpose of the agency called Salesians of Don Bosco Youth Center implementation of expanded and comprehensive intervention to reduce the poverty level and explains the differences made in the lives of the children whose parents are leprosy victims, serves for the purpose of informing and guiding poverty reduction program designers, policy makers, program implementers and researchers around Mekanissa Kore Area at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Salesians of Don Bosco Youth Center is a day-care center for vulnerable children, and most of them are from leprosy victim families. The main scope of the whole project is to prevent the children of the area of Mekanissa Kore from ending up in the streets. To get these achieved the project intends to offer them an integral support on health, education, recreational and psychological areas. The Don Bosco Youth Center belongs to and ruled by the Salesians of Don Bosco Congregation. The study used qualitative method of approach. The sampling techniques were purposive and convenience while the tools were retrospective review of documents, interview and focus group discussion. The study found that fund and transparency constraints in the organization hindered to address all the socioeconomic needs of clients. However, the other services helped most for the children whose parents are leprosy victim to see their future with hope.