Welcome to 'Bete’ - My Home

‘Bete’ meaning ‘My Home’ in Amharic language, is a programme initiative in education designed to provide a safe space for boys and girls in the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia by integrating accelerated learning, child protection and skills development.

‘Bete’ initiative has been supported in seven regions of Ethiopia reaching close to 194,000 children (50 per cent girls), with a focus on out-of-school children displaced and living in host communities in Woredas (districts) severely affected by emergencies.

With support from the Government of Canada, this initiative has been implemented in the Afar region to help around 5,000 children who are both internally displaced and host communities to access learning opportunities in safe spaces linked with child protection services.

This is achieved through a partnership between UNICEF and EDUKANS Foundation. The partnership has mobilized the support of 92 facilitators and other education and child protection stakeholders, such as teachers, facilitators, social workers, community service workers, and community members themselves, with the guidance and support of local authorities.

The project has also supported sensitization on psychosocial issues and capacity-strengthening of psychosocial support services, such as psychological first aid for children who have experienced trauma and displacement, and referrals of child protection cases from educators to protection actors, through teachers and social workers.

Ahmed Jemal (7) has been raised by a single mother and is an only child. Ahmed used to live in Kebena kebele (sub-district) but he and his whole family have been displaced to Rifoda kebele because of the flood that occurred in 2020.

Thanks to the support from the Canadian Government, UNICEF, and its partner Edukans Foundation implementation through the 'Bete’ project in the Afar Region, he is now enrolled in grade one and Ahmed enjoys attending classes every day.

“He loves school so much that he sleeps with his exercise book,” said his mother. His teachers also think that Ahmed has a bright future ahead as he is one of the most active students in class.

The school provides Ahmed with opportunities to facilitate interactions among classmates and encourages him to share his knowledge with his classmates.

“We learn the alphabet so that we can read and write in English and count numbers. My favourite subjects are Mathematics, English, and the Afari language. My uncle helps me study and do my housework at home. In the future, I want to become a teacher and share my knowledge with my students,” says Ahmed.

Ahmed spends his leisure time supporting his mother to do different household chores, such as doing the dishes and cleaning the house. He hopes to continue his education and dreams of becoming a teacher.