Mission Statement:   Lighting the Ethiopian Path seeks to transition young adults off the streets of Ethiopia and into meaningful, healthy, successful lives by fostering intellectual growth through vocational training in locally employable skills while nurturing emotional and spiritual growth in a supportive Christian environment.   We holistically approach both education and community development by partnering with the communities surrounding the schools to improve the community as a whole while educating the student as an individual.   

The first residential school will be named Adam Segged Vocational School (ASVS), named after an Ethiopian king of long ago. It will be located in a beautiful valley southwest of the capital.   We hope this school will be a model for future schools in other communities.   The land for the school and homes has already been acquired and can be seen in the pictures on this page.   This location is about 10 minutes off the main road to Addis Ababa and only about an hour and half drive from the capital city.   It will be helpful to be this close to Addis Ababa as many supplies will come from there and visiting volunteers will have an easy trip from the airport to the school.  

ASVS will eventually grow to the capacity of 500 students, but will start small.   There is already an electric line running across the land making the school's connection to an electrical source easy.   We are also excited about the potential of clean water and energy from the waterfall and wells dug on the land.   The structures will be made of indigenous materials, using sustainable, "green" plans, and built by the community providing jobs and training to the community as the school is being built.  

Families in the area will be working with us to provide traditional foods from their crops for the students from the rich farmland all around.     The local small town economy will be strengthened by the increase in business provided by the school's population.   The local farmers will benefit from new job opportunities and improved farming techniques boosting their harvest.   Area families will be welcomed at the school's community and recreation center, adult education workshops, and health clinic.             

The school itself will be a residential vocational academy targeting teenagers living on the streets.   Classes will also be open at a sliding scale cost to community teens and young adults.   The programs of study will include areas such as mechanics, carpentry, clothing design and tailoring, computer studies, plumbing, and many other skill sets that are employable within the current economy of Ethiopia.   These vocational programs are meant to allow these homeless teens to learn a trade in a relatively short period of time that would allow them to support themselves while attending free public academic schools in the area after leaving ASVS if they so choose.   Even the small fees and supplies required to attend public schools are not something these young adults could afford unless they have some job that will allow them to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves while paying the small fees of area schools.

The vocational skills learned at ASVS will allow them to get a job and continue their academic courses of study and then possibly go on to college.   And for those not interested in pursuing a college career, the vocational studies along with small business training will help them become entrepreneurs.   While pursuing the course of study of their choice at ASVS, all students will be able to take advantage of literacy classes in Amharic and English, rotating workshops in resume building, communication skills, marketing for small businesses, advertising, personal finance, and other compatible areas of study.  

To best provide the environment needed for homeless teens to focus on school, they will move off the streets to safe, residential homes on the campus.   Students will live in dorm style settings with Ethiopian, Christian "parents" living on site.   Students will have access to weekly chapel services and bible classes, health clinic services and preventative health and nutrition classes, as well as periodic counseling services and mentoring support groups.  

As a faith-based non-profit, we hope to offer a Christian environment to these students, but will not require a specific religion in order to attend.   Students will be encouraged to get involved in at least one weekly physical activity / sports group.   Students will also be able to apply for work study jobs on campus which will provide some on the job training and start a personal savings to be used upon graduation.   All students will be required to complete community service hours before graduation from their program which encourage a philosophy of service while giving back to the surrounding community.

All house parents, teachers, and staff working at the school will be required to go through periodic and surprise evaluations to ensure the safety of all children.   Required workshop trainings for staff and faculty will also be provided in parenting skills, teaching skills, counseling techniques, and safety training.   The physical and emotional safety of the children will be our top priority.