Becoming pregnant out of wedlock, even if through rape, is shameful in many parts of Ethiopia. Many girls and young women who find themselves pregnant, no matter how, are forced to leave their family homes to raise their babies on the streets, or worse feel forced to abandon them. Meseret for Women supports single mothers to stay with their babies, gain skills and build self-esteem and not feel forced into putting them up for adoption or abandoning them.

Meseret for Women run Meseret House, a sanctuary in Addis Ababa which rehabilitates and provides a loving, nourishing space for vulnerable single mothers, to recover from the trauma of abandonment, sexual assault and birth, bond with their baby, learn, develop skills and build a future for themselves.

Food costs are doubling monthly in Addis Ababa and fundraising becomes harder and harder - our 8 women and their babies urgently need your help to be able to stay in the refuge, safe, loved and off the streets.