1) In Addis Ababa, more than 30 % of girls aged 10-14 are not living with their parents. 20% of these 30 percent have run away from child marriages.

2) In the Amhara region, the average age of marriage for girls is 14 while at the national level the average age for marriage is 17.

3) Multiple cultural and societal factors contribute to low school enrollment rates for girls in Ethiopia. Traditions such as early marriage reinforce attitudes that decry the importance of girl’s education.

4) Lacking a vital support system as well as the means to secure an education, these children often face constant danger on the streets and are often forced into lives of begging and prostitution to survive. 

Help A Life Foundation believes adolescent girls are the answer to the changing developing world. An adolescent girl who gets an education, stays healthy, gains life skills, will marry when she is ready, have fewer and healthier children and earn an income that she will invest back into her society. With little to no education she will miss the opportunity to reach her full human potential. Girls who do not advance to University level are trained in business enterprise and prepared for many of the service jobs available in local government, education and healthcare.

We realize that these girls are the key to breaking this cycle of poverty throughout the developing world. With the collaborative efforts of the international community, we hope to change it through educating and empowering her where she will do the rest.