Displaced children receive school uniforms

School uniforms make children look the same. For many children from displaced families in the city of Debre Berhan, this means protection from exclusion. Thanks to the support of Menschen für Menschen, 1,721 children can now go to school with confidence – and feel like a natural part of their class.

School uniforms are mandatory in Ethiopia. They serve an important social function: they protect children from particularly poor families from having to go to school in their tattered everyday clothes.

In Debre Berhan, a town two hours north of the capital Addis Ababa by car, local tailors produce a simple school uniform made of synthetic fiber for 835 Birr, the equivalent of about four Swiss francs.

But even this sum is unaffordable for many internally displaced families in the city. Therefore, the city council decreed that the children could attend school in their everyday clothes.

But this measure, intended as a relief, came at a price for the children. "Many of us were ashamed of our old clothes," says 15-year-old Dawit. Children from displaced families often own only the clothes they are wearing. The textiles are frequently faded, worn thin, and torn. "We were immediately recognized as displaced by everyone," says Dawit. "This made us outsiders, and we were often subjected to hostility."

“During a monitoring visit to Debre Berhan, we learned about the suffering of the refugee children,” reports Claudio Capaul, co-director of the Swiss aid organization Menschen für Menschen. “So we allocated a budget. Because school is an anchor for the children, a place to arrive and integrate into their new surroundings.”

Local tailors came to the Tebase Medahnialem primary school, took the children's measurements, and noted their sizes and names. "Supporting the local economy was a welcome side effect," says Claudio Capaul. The tailors from Debre Berhan have their workshops on street corners under plastic tarpaulins or in the cramped living room of a mud house. Fabric was cut, hems were sewn, and buttons were attached. The foot-operated sewing machines ran for days on end. Now, 1,721 children have received their uniforms at a celebratory handover ceremony. "Finally, I feel equal to the others," says Erehima, a 14-year-old girl.

Debre Berhan is home to numerous internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled violence and insecurity in their home regions. Three official camps are registered in the city, currently housing 25,608 people. An additional 11,822 people are sheltering in private homes, meaning that approximately ten percent of the city's residents are IDPs. Many of these families come from various parts of the Oromia region, where protracted conflicts have forced them to flee.

Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state with over 80 ethnic groups, where local and regional tensions repeatedly lead to violent clashes. For several years – especially since the war in the northern region of Tigray – around two million people have been internally displaced. In addition, around one million people are seeking refuge from conflicts in neighboring countries.