Selam Children's Village & Training Centres

Selam Children's Village & Training Centres is rated 3 out of 5 in the category nonprofit organization management. Read and write reviews about Selam Children's Village & Training Centres. Selam is an Amharic word and means peace. Selam is a Swiss/Ethiopian NGO with its headquarters in Pfungen (ZH) and Addis Ababa. The organisation started its activities back in 1986, with the opening of an orphanage in the Ethiopian capital. Through private initiative and funds, the “Selam Children Village” was created during the period of the big famine in the Horn of Africa. Soon after, schools, agricultural projects and a clinic were built up. In 1989 a vocational training centre for technical professions was created and soon after also for kitchen/restaurant. In 2007 another vocational training centre was established in Awassa, south of Addis Ababa, with training courses in metal construction and kitchen. Since 2018 there is also a metal construction training centre in Dire Dawa, in the East of Ethiopia. The mission of Selam is to assist and enable orphans and destitute community children to become responsible citizens by equipping them with physical, social and psychological competences. Through a holistic approach, all the children’s needs are being taken care of, a schooling system up to high school allows them to get a basic education. After their school education, they can either go to university or take a training in one of the vocational training centres. The centres offer training according to the dual Swiss training model in partnership with the private sector. In the following areas trainings are given: metal construction, machine mechanics, electrical installation, vehicle mechanics, wood processing, office management, computer science, kitchen and food processing, sewing and agriculture. The final goal of Selam is to give disadvantaged children and young people the knowledge and capacities to become employees, entrepreneurs and responsible citizens in their own country, while taking into consideration the local resources and economic development.