Our Vision

Rescuing Street Kids and giving them Hope

There are over 1,000 boys, some as young as six years of age, living 24/7 on the streets of Shashemene, Ethiopia. Some are orphans, others are there as the result of trafficking, or extreme poverty.

Our mission begins with rescuing them from the streets, giving them shelter and safety. Next, we set about finding the best long-term solution for each individual – we know that these children have their own stories, circumstances and individual needs that must be met, so we spend time working out the best step for each child as we move forward with them.

Our Origin

Hope365 began in 2015, after our founder, Michael Holmes returned from a trip to Shashemene struck by the sheer poverty children were facing there. The reality of children sleeping on cardboard and discarded food sacks inspired Michael, and he returned to Northern Ireland determined to make a difference. He founded Hope365 in 2015 and rescued the first Street Kid, Debiyso. You can read Debiyso’s Story here.

Since then we have continued to grow! Through the “Tesfa Manoriya Bota” Assessment Centre, three Group Homes and the Hope365 Academy thousands of lives have been changed. Check out our projects below to see just how much of an impact we are having!

Our Core Values

CHILD-FOCUSED - We believe all children should have the opportunity to mature and develop to reach their full potential.
 

ACCEPTANCE - Hope365 is guided and inspired by the teaching and life of Jesus, so we care for all children equally regardless of ethnicity, religion or social status.
 

COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE - We seek to be known for the quality of our care for children and the integrity of our communications and relationships with the children, staff, local authorities and supporters.
 

FAMILY CENTRED - We believe in the nurturing power of the family and wherever possible try to reunite children with their biological families. Where this isn’t possible we recreate as far as possible, family style homes for the children.
 

PARTNERSHIP - We endeavour to forge good working relationships with local government, community groups, churches and other NGO’s for the benefit of the children.

Where We Work

Shashemene, Ethiopia is a large sprawling town of around 250,000 situated approximately 4 hours by road south west of Addis Ababa on the main route to Kenya. While there are cobbled streets and a few cars in the somewhat developed town centre, for the most part the town is made up of intersecting dirt roads where horses and donkeys abound and the vast majority of people travel on foot, or in little three wheeled taxis called Bajajs.

Statistically it has the third highest number of HIV sufferers in Ethiopia, but in practice many are completely unaware of their HIV status. A large proportion of the town live in poverty with the worst regions a squalid mess of narrow, muddy heavily populated alleys.

There is little employment in the region, with most people trying to sell whatever they can grow or make from roadside stalls.