Safe & Responsible Volunteer Programs in Ethiopia

My wife and I spent two weeks with the EEF family in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Staying together with the students at the EEF hostel made everything even more intense and special. 

Once they were back from school, our daily sessions with the kids would begin. We had the opportunity to help them with English, as well as their homework in whatever subject they needed support. We also had great discussions about global affairs, financial planning and life in university, as well as exciting trivias about topics like Brazil and Africa, which they enjoyed a lot. We even had the chance to help some of the students with their application essays for university. Now our fingers are crossed for them. ;)

During the weekend we were invited to visit one of the kid’s home and get in touch with the family and local neighborhood. Another special occasion was the Ethiopian Christmas, celebrated on January 7th, which we had the opportunity to share with some of the kids. An unique celebration with traditional food, dance and coffee ceremony. Moments which we will never forget!

We thank both EEF and Iko Poran to have made it possible. Iko Poran team (Felipe in special) was very supportive since the very first contact. The EEF program managers in Addis (Alice and Giulio) made everything possible for us to get the most out of this experience. 

For me as a 14 years old high school kid, it was certainly one of the best experience in my life. The staff members at hostal are very committed in helping the students. In my opinion, the students are in a very good environment to study and achieve their careers considering the amount of money the community have. This 2 weeks have been such a pleasure as it reminded me of my selfishness (of thats a word) because I was used to waste water and time. The students in the hostal weren't fortunate enough to receive the same education which I had. However, their effort and interest in learning really suprised me. On the other hand a lot of my friends (including me) have so much better education but still never takes the oppertunity.
I think the hostel is just a wonderful oppertunity for the students to success in life. The EEF Community provides so much oppertunity to students. Furthermore, unlike other older volunteers, everyone was older then me so just from that, I could learn more about just general life. A lot of students had a clear path to their career and in comparison, a lot of people in my school never even thinks about it.
Honestly, these 2 weeks will not be forgetable as it made me grow up so much more. I think everyone on the world should be inspired by the students of EEF Community. I want to stay in contact with all students and truely wish the best of best of the best of the best luck to every students in their bright careers!😁 I thank everyone for this amazing oppertunity!!

I had a great experience volunteering and working with children of the Ethiopian Education Foundation (EEF). It was a grand experience coaching the youths on the basics of health and wellbeing lifestyle initiatives. Everyone involved learnt and practiced basic CPR and resuscitation techniques to save lives in emergency situations where there is no doctor. The students learned how to handle and respond to various forms of first aid treatments for common accidents. It was also a pleasant experience as various groups explored how to recognize and manage signs of worms, diarrhoea and dehydration in children. The youths loved it as much as I did as they also helped in showing me around the local places of relaxation at the weekends. Would relish an opportunity to work with the staff and organising team again as they made my experience a fantastic one.

I would recommend Iko Poran and EEF to anyone who would like to consider volunteering in Ethiopia.