Startup

The village will be constructed on a 72 acre plot of land located in Aira, Oromiyaa. The village will include:

·         Two dormitories housing 40 orphans total

·         A schoolhouse with capacity for 32 students at a time

·         A guard house

·         Housing for the village manager and voluntours

·         A freshwater well

·         A community library focusing on

o    Agriculture techniques

o    Environmentalism

o    Business

o    Sex education

·         Land set aside for sustenance farming and for a play area

·         Offices for Domi

The total expected investment for the village (excluding Domi offices, covered in the next section) is roughly $120,000 USD. Diagrams and a cost break-down can be found in the section discussing financials and in the appendix. The entirety of the village’s operating expenses will be covered with income from Domi Farms.

Operations & Lift Kids - Domi Community Development Program

The program targets the academically capable but economically poor youths and orphaned children, forgotten in the pockets of the community and deprived of the opportunity to attend school. The program provides equal opportunity for all districts and peasant associations of the zone. The youth will benefit from the provision of school, school materials, clothing, dormitory, psycho-social support and more. The youth considered for support will be those who are at school age and do not need any caretaker. Each year a total of 80 youth will supported to attend school in the nearby school in Aira town through the scholarship program, 40 orphans selected to live in the orphanage, and 64 students selected to attend the on-site vocational school (as a 2-year program, each graduating class will be 32 students).

The program will screen candidate children in collaboration with local government administration and community elders. There will be a clearly defined criterion for the selection of the youth to be supported by the program and these criteria will be set jointly with all the stakeholders. In addition, the youth need to meet all the requirements of the school and those who do not fulfill the school requirement in Aira will not be considered for the program. There will be a serious consideration of gender issues when selecting the target beneficiaries.

The village size, 40 orphans, was chosen in order to create a “family-like” environment and try to avoid the institutional feel created in some orphanages. In keeping with this idea, it is important that there be a mix of genders, as stated above, along with a mix of ages. Orphans will be expected to help-out around the village, doing chores, assisting with village improvements, and helping support each other emotionally. While it is important that the children learn responsibility and obtain schooling, space will be set aside to provide play areas as well, so that all parts of the child’s psyche are served.

Community Involvement

Youth will also be selected to participate in various environmental protection efforts through the formation of community and school environmental clubs that address environmental conservation and environmental hygiene. Through this it would be possible to mobilize the in-school community and the out-of-school community to vigorously work on the rehabilitation and conservation of the natural biodiversity. The organization will avail the necessary farm tools, seedlings and other materials for the clubs and community. The following are some of the activities deemed to be done in the program.

Environmental Hygiene: The program mobilizes the in-school and out-of-school youths in the club to embark on the education and campaign of environmental hygiene. That is, the youth will prepare discussion sessions on the issues with their peers in the community and in the school. Moreover, the club members shall prepare a venue for the community to teach on environmental hygiene, or use the village’s school during after-school hours. Above all, the youth in collaboration with Kebele and woreda administration will mobilize a community to clean their surrounding in the towns and their village on a regular basis.

Environmental Conservation: The program also initiates the youth both in-school and out-of-school to engage in the reforestation of the degraded area and their surroundings. This is done by planting tree seedlings, flowers and other plants for a better biodiversity­.

Cleaning Caped Springs: Similarly, in order to promote the health of the youth and their parents through avoidance of water born diseases, the club members will engage in cleaning and building around the caped spring from where the community gets potable water.

Community Development: Youth of the club members in collaboration with non-club members shall participate in the promotion of the different community development programs like bridge maintenance, rural road maintenance, soil and water conservation measures and other more that the local government, FBOs and NGOs implement in the locality.