A hidden crisis: Children experiencing homelessness in Ethiopia

But families around the world are increasingly vulnerable. Poverty, armed conflict, climate-related disasters and other threats destabilize families. In Ethiopia, prolonged drought and protracted regional conflict have deepened levels of poverty and uprooted entire communities.   

Conflict has displaced more than 4.6 million people, and children remain the most vulnerable. Right now, an estimated 600,000 children are living on the streets of Ethiopia.  

No child should grow up alone, separated from their family and vulnerable to hunger, violence or other forms of exploitation from predatory people. 

That’s why SOS Children’s Villages created the Children in Street Situations (CiSS) program, so that children like Abel* can have the happy, healthy, protected and loved childhood that every child deserves.

When conflict takes everything: Abel’s story 

Abel was five years old when his world changed forever. 

Born with spinal complications that, even after surgery, left him unable to walk, Abel relied heavily on his parents, who dedicated themselves to his care. Although they didn’t earn much as a solider and restaurant worker, Abel’s parents committed every bit of their income to meeting his medical needs.  

Then armed conflict ripped through their town. 

“Our town became a war zone,” said Meron*, Abel’s mother. “We lost everything in days—our home, our jobs, our community.”  

With no time to gather their belongings and no safe place to stay, Meron and her husband carried Abel in their arms and ran for their lives.  

They arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, with no income, no home and no access to the medical care Abel urgently needed. Like the millions of families displaced by conflict across Ethiopia, they had nowhere to go and were forced into homelessness in Addis Ababa. 

Abel’s family reflects a pattern that SOS Children’s Villages has documented across the world: The Global Report on Children’s Care and Protection found that conflict and displacement are a key driver of family separation, often pushing vulnerable families into crisis, like homelessness.  

Finding safety, care and hope with CiSS  

Abel’s family connected with SOS Children’s Villages’ CiSS program, and—alongside local implementing partners—SOS staff moved quickly to provide safety and support. With safe shelter, access to hygiene facilities, hot meals and parenting support, Abel’s family finally had the stability they needed to begin rebuilding a sense of normalcy.  

At SOS, we believe every child deserves a happy, healthy childhood and access to all the resources they need to thrive. And with the support of local partners and friends like you, SOS helped deliver life-changing healthcare to Abel: a wheelchair.  

With a wheelchair and professional physiotherapy, Abel was able to sit up on his own—for the first time in his life.  

“Seeing him in a wheelchair, smiling, gave us hope again," Meron said with tears in her eyes. "After everything we lost, that moment was like light breaking through darkness.” 

This moment of light—a five-year-old boy receiving essential medical care and smiling at his mother—is what the CiSS program exists to create: not just survival, but the resources, dignity and hope families need to thrive.  

More than a program: How CiSS helps families rebuild—and prevent tragedy before it occurs 

More than just a response to crisis, the Children in Street Situations program exists to address the root causes that force children and families onto the streets in the first place.  

By targeting the underlying drivers of homelessness, including poverty, conflict and family separation, CiSS delivers holistic help that creates sustainable change for families in need. 

Through a combination of family strengthening, education, life skills training, psychosocial support and community reintegration, CiSS provides the immediate relief families need now—and the long-term tools, resources and support networks that will help them stay together and thrive long after the crisis has passed. 

Learn more about our work to keep families together. 

Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, loving family 

Behind every one of the 600,000 children living on the streets of Ethiopia is a family that has been pushed to a breaking point by forces beyond their control—conflict, poverty, displacement and loss.  

But, together, we can ensure these children are not forgotten.  

When you support SOS Children's Villages, you are investing in a family's chance to stay together, heal and build a future—one child, one family, one community at a time. 

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