The Oasis Foundation
Grace Village
Ethiopia

History

In 2000 Sr. Catharina van den Bosch, a nurse manager, came to Shire to help in the new Medre Genet Hospital. The work at the said health institution was just starting. Sr. Catharina was living in Shire town and abandoned children were being brought to her. These were taken to Adwa to the Missionaries of Charity, as there were no closer residential childcare facilities.

It was then that Sr. Catharina felt that childcare for abandoned and orphaned children in Shire would be beneficial to both the community and to the children thus affected. Through keeping the children in their own community they would grow up having a sense of belonging to their birth place and in the event that any family member might suggest themselves the potential of family ties that are so beneficial to the child’s psychological make up.

Government Authorities were pleased at this initiative taken and encouraged Sr. Catharina to continue along this line, and they promised to support her by giving any assistance that was in their power to provide. They carried through on this by giving Sr. Catharina a tract of land measuring 24 hectares in Tahtay Koraro on the land area known today as Grace Village.

In 2005 Sr. Catharina was able to build five houses for children with housemothers who would provide the care of up to eight children in each house, which are solid built stone houses with two large bedrooms, a kitchen, toilets and a large living area. The site is named Grace Village and had a playground and playing field for the children.

The children start with a small residential kindergarten school. They then go on to either a local school, which is walking distance away or attend school in Shire town where they are taken by mini bus. This way the children learn to interact with their peers in the community.

Description of The Oasis Foundation

The Oasis Foundation is a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) (Registration No. 3137) at the Ministry of Justice of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It is the Ethiopia Branch of the Netherlands based NGO, (Registration No. 30219021). Both of these agencies provide monitoring of the said NGO through receipt of reports and accounts at designated times.

Problem Statement

The Oasis Foundation has identified various vulnerable and marginalized people groups in Tahtay Koraro Woreda. The initial plan was to concentrate on one specific vulnerable group, that of abandoned and orphaned children. However, it became increasing apparent that though this was a very valuable work, there were still many other groups needing attention. It was with this in view that the vision was widened to include other vulnerable and marginalized people groups. These are defined below:

Target Groups

The following have been identified as the planned target groups:

• Abandoned and orphaned children
• Handicapped and chronically sick, including People Living With AIDS (PLWA)
• Females
• Other groups or communities identified by the local authorities

Annual Report 2007-08 report - Aug 2008

1st Quarter 2008 report - May 2008