What’s At Stake
70% of the population in Ethiopia is under 35 years old. And they’re up against a lot. Legacies of famine, civil strife, loss and disenfranchisement are real. Through our programs and the community built there, we’re co-creating a new reality for our generation with art, with aikido, and generative ways of working through conflict.
We’ve built a አውጫጭኝ / አፈርሳታ
— the place where the conflict resolution process happens in traditional Ethiopian culture.
Meaningful purpose and individuality
Following the devastating aftermath of the famine during the mid-1980’s, a consistent 3% annual rate of growth has resulted in two-thirds of the current 105 million people being less than 25 years old. These children, adolescents, and young adults represent an otherwise disenfranchised population vulnerable to the physical abuse, emotional stress, and disruptive anxiety that comes with poverty and its associated loss of meaningful purpose and individuality.
Our teachers and program mentors recognize the potential in each student. We aim to support them through the provision of constructive, creative and educational outlets, activities and events. Our programs provide not only opportunities and education, but a community that builds the values of discipline, respect, perseverance, vision, teamwork and hope in the youth we work with. This energy is contagious and positively impacts their health and wellness both at the center, and out in the rest of their lives.
The opportunity
አውጫጭኝ / አፈርሳታ The place in a community where the conflict resolution process takes place. ISA built such a place in Hawassa. Our Peace Center opened in January 2024 and serves as a permanent home for our programs in the arts, for aikido, for the Leadership Academy. In other words, for healing of all kinds. Our hope is that it can be a refuge, a place where students can safely practice, find support for walking their own path, and cultivate purpose in their lives.
Context of our work
Massacre in the mountains
CNN | March 22, 2021
Conflict is a part of life. Violence doesn’t have to be. We’re helping Ethiopia’s younger generations chart a better path forward for our country.
