There is a saying one hears in Africa: “If you educate a man, you educate a man. But if you educate a woman, you educate a generation”. I think this is precisely what the Mother and Child Rehabilitation Center (MCRC) is intending to do; to educate a new generation.
The MCRC (www.mcrc-addisababa.org ) was founded by Jutta De Muynck who had moved to Addis with her businessman husband in 2002. She had been a teacher for 25 years in Germany, working primarily with children who had suffered social, psychological or medical trauma. Her heart went out to the many homeless children and she opened up her home' turning her garage into a classroom, then building dormitories until there was no more room. When she counted 64 children living with her, she knew she needed to make other arrangements. She requested NGO (non-government organization) status and received a large tract of land from her husband’s company on which she built her center.
Upon entering the expansive facility I heard a boom box hammering out “Zumba” style exercise music and saw a dozen or more little kids whipping thru jumping jacks, somersaults, backbends and push-ups.The air of utter happiness was infective and I quickly shed my sweater and joined in with the young Ethiopian “coach”. By the time I had worked up a good sweat and been thoroughly outdone by this pack of 4-6 year olds, Jutta invited me into her office.
At this time she houses 80 orphans (20 of whom are HIV+/AIDS) 40-45 mothers plus their children/infants, as well as the 12-14 kids who still reside at her own home (total count: approx.200). She spoke at length about the difficulties in establishing and maintaining such an ambitious project but she is clearly dedicated to this cause and has made it her life’s work.
All the children are driven to private schools with a warm breakfast in their tummies and a bagged lunch in their hand. They return at 4PM for snacks, tutoring and a hot evening meal before its time for “lights out”. She works hard at the re-unification of families, and has set up 28 mothers and babies in small individual furnished apartments while her foundation teaches the dad a profitable trade so that he can eventually assume responsibility for his family.
All the children are driven to private schools with a warm breakfast in their tummies and a bagged lunch in their hand. They return at 4PM for snacks, tutoring and a hot evening meal before its time for “lights out”. She works hard at the re-unification of families, and has set up 28 mothers and babies in small individual furnished apartments while her foundation teaches the dad a profitable trade so that he can eventually assume responsibility for his family.
In 2011 the Ethiopian government closed down its orphanages and halted almost all adoptions due to reports of child-trafficking and baby-selling. Jutta is very circumspect and suspicious of those around her (including me, she freely admitted), almost to a point of paranoia, thinking anyone could be a government “spy”. She maintains immaculate record-keeping and is always prepared for the week long bureaucratic audits that take place every 4 months. She states that the government assumes all NGO’s harbor a secret political agenda and would have no qualms about closing them all down, regardless of the fine work they do for the Ethiopian people.
All children/moms who come to her must have a “poverty” card, issued by the government to certify they are truly destitute and without any means. That is one of the conditions under which she is forced to operate (ie, making it almost impossible to bring in street children) and failure to do so would close her establishment. I think many of her residents live here for years. She provides an astounding array of services besides free room and board: 13 teachers/physio-therapists, 3 nurses, 2x weekly visits by a pediatrician, all medical care including private hospitalization for staff and residents, job training, parenting classes and music, craft and exercise sessions. Her facility is spotless, modern and functions superbly.
However, all this comes at a very high cost. Her monthly budget, funded by corporate donations as well as the Rotary Club and the U.N. Population Fund is an astronomical 20,000 Euros ($26,000) a month. I repeated that figure to her just to make sure I had heard it correctly.
Another major concern she has is staff retention. She said that to find Ethiopian people who are literate and qualified is very difficult, and not infrequently one NGO will “poach” staff from another, offering higher wages and better conditions. She is required by law to pay taxes and retirement benefits to the government on all of her employees, and since she actually “pays” most of the women living off-site to come in for parenting and job-training classes, they must also be included in her payroll taxes. I asked her why she needs to “pay” these women when she provides them with such unimaginable benefits. She replies that they are illiterate and don't understand the value of investing in their family.
Her focus is on the child and she clearly states that whatever it takes to raise a new generation of strong, healthy and educated children, it is worth it. She said she currently has enough funding for the next several months, which is the way it usually is, but more money always seems to come thru just in time.
I'd say she's been pretty lucky so far-
Her focus is on the child and she clearly states that whatever it takes to raise a new generation of strong, healthy and educated children, it is worth it. She said she currently has enough funding for the next several months, which is the way it usually is, but more money always seems to come thru just in time.
I'd say she's been pretty lucky so far-
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| The charming office building, one of many quite similar that house classrooms, dormitories, infirmary, dining areas, nursery, craft areas, music rooms etc. |
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| Toddler play-time session. Children are always supervised by therapists but moms participate to encourage bonding.Children are well-clothed, well-fed and clean, as are all the residents. |
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| Sewing class where moms learn tailoring skills as a future livelihood. |
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| The pristine nursery where order and tideness reign. All personal hygiene area were sparkling and immaculate. |
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| Lunch time for many happy toddlers. Older children are sent to private schools, the younger ones are taught by certified teachers on premise. |
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| Aerobics class, 30 minutes daily. The kids love every moment and are loaded with energy. Note the kind donation of T-shirts from Germany. ************************************************************************** |
