History

2007

After a lot of preparation, Ruth and Klaus Betz moved to Addis Ababa to build a children’s charity in January 2007. Neither rich nor famous, they followed their hearts and with much dedication opened the first Ethiopia Arise children’s home in Addis Ababa in the March of 2008.

2008

In March 2008, the dream of Ruth and Klaus Betz came true and Ethiopia Arise opened its doors to the first needy children in Addis Ababa. The beginning was very modest, only supporting eight children. But a well of hope was dug and began to bubble up. Many more should still drink from it.

2009

Rapidly a sizable group formed from the initial eight children, reflects the claim of Ethiopia Arise (EA), to provide an alternative for poor, needy mothers and their children, as well as to provide high-quality nursery care and later good education to give the children a better life in the long run.

2010

The old kindergarten perimeters were too small. That is why from September 2010 we rented a 1,800 square meter site. Building and grounds weren’t in great condition, however we managed to turn them into a “paradise” for the children.

Concurrently, we were able to set up a restaurant for 16 mothers from the project and were able to train mothers to earn a better income for themselves.

2011

More and more children could go to a private partner school and receive quality classes in English and the local language Amharic. The children’s spiritual, Christian, and social character development is also very important to us.

2012

More children were admitted. The variety of different colors of childrens clothing represent the individual groups of kindergarten children and partner schools to find the best possible support for each child. Saturday classes for all EA schoolchildren were introduced.

2013

The year 2013 was lead by the motto “expanding and improving deals for mothers and children.” And so, more thoroughly trained kindergarten teachers were hired and we introduced a six-month training program for EA mothers in the fields of tailoring and barbering. 300 km south of Addis Ababa, the village Kocho started with the construction of a new kindergarten.

2014

Also in 2014 we have taken on new disadvantaged children and have grown both numerically and in terms of performance. The kindergarten in Kocho is done and has started operating in early November with 100 kids.