Gender, Disability Inclusion and Youth Employment Program
Gender inequality is a deep-rooted social challenge in Ethiopia. Especially, in the Amhara region, it is a generation's problem that is affecting the lives of girls and women. It seems only affecting women's and girls' life separately. But, it directly or indirectly affects the society economically, socially, and politically. Gender inequality is an interlinked challenge even for the nation.
Gender inequality and inaccessible environment in the region manifested itself through deepening the poverty of women and persons with a disability which is emanated from lack of education, means of production inaccessibility (the land, labor), and incorrect community attitude towards women, girls and persons with a disability. Women are in a subordinate position at household decision making, resource controlling and benefit-sharing. Though they shouldered lions share of household chores, their productive work is not recognized as women role. Early child marriage is one of the harmful traditional practices in which the region seriously challenged. It is one of the reasons for girls dropout from school among others and also major reason for serious health (fistula) issues in the region.
ORDA Ethiopia, as a development practitioner in the region, works on gender equality and women empowerment, persons with a disability, and HIV/AIDS prevention in its intervention areas. Poverty reduction in the region couldn't be realized without reducing deepens poverty of marginalized groups. Also, full-fledged development is unthinkable without ensuring inclusiveness in the organizational structure and in its intervention areas.
Taking into consideration these rationales, ORDA Ethiopia has organized Gender, Disability, and Culture Unit in its structure with 3 functions (Gender mainstreaming, Disability inclusiveness, and HIV/AIDS prevention). Now, the unit is working on Gender & Disability mainstreaming and HIV/AIDS prevention activities under four pillar programs of ORDA Ethiopia. Specifically, Gender equality and women empowerment at organizational level and implementing gender and disability-inclusive stand-alone projects with different donors are done well. It has been working with different community transformation activities to change community attitudes.
In general, ORDA Ethiopia is able to reach more than 1.1million men, women, boys and girls through Village Economic and Social Association (VESA) through its dialogue, participatory theaters, comic books, image boxes, Radio messages, TV discussions, public gatherings, training, orientations, experience sharing, public demonstrations, and school clubs and significant changes are achieved in the community.
Youth Job lessness has already become huge problem at international, continental, national and regional levels. In Ethiopia 2 million new youth enter the labor market as job seekers annually. The private sector is found at infant stagein the region. If the sector is to be developed, obstacles that hurdle its growth should be lifted. These two pronged problems will not be solved by government efforts only, so it seeks the involvement of the private and NGO sector.
ORDA Ethiopia in the aim to address these two pronged problems of the region has been making efforts by establishing Youth Enterprises and Private Sector Development. The aims of the program are creating permanent and temporary jobs for the youth and implement actions that will help to lift up hurdles that hamper the growth of the private sector.