Located in the easternmost portion of Africa, Ethiopia is ecologically diverse, comprising desert steppes, highland plateaus, towering mountains and tropical rainforest. Archeological evidence suggests that people have called this land home for tens of thousands of years. With one of the first known alphabet systems, Ethiopia is truly a cradle of civilization.

Today, it is the world’s most populous landlocked nation. Its wealth of natural resources lends itself to Ethiopia’s primarily agriculture-based economy. Coffee is its primary export. However, in a land already susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and droughts, the turmoil brought about by political instability, lack of adequate medical services and a general deficiency in human rights have plunged much of the nation into abject poverty. About 610,000 Ethiopians are living with HIV/AIDS (2018 est.), and diseases such as malaria, typhoid and dengue fever are tragically common. Lack of education serves as both a result of and contributing factor to the widespread poverty plaguing Ethiopia.

These maladies are, perhaps, most evident in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. For this reason, the Rainbow “Erdata” Center serves as a beacon of hope. Founded in 2000, the center’s mission is to provide much-needed assistance to children and their families living in two of the city’s most impoverished slum areas. Here, parents struggle to provide their children with even one or two meals a day. The Rainbow Center and Children Incorporated have joined together to provide not only these basic needs, but also education — the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and allowing these children to rise above the difficult socioeconomic circumstances from which they come.