11-year-old freed from addiction and dangers of the street

An 11-year-old boy who became addicted to sniffing glue while living on the streets, vulnerable to human traffickers, is now safe and back at school.

Daniel* heard from some other children that he would find a well-paid and easy job if he ran away to a city in Ethiopia. He was eventually persuaded to agree to the plan. But Daniel didn’t find a job. He had no choice but to live on the street, and eat leftover food from hotels and restaurants.

To escape the cold nights and the frightening reality of his situation, Daniel started sniffing glue, and soon became addicted. After three weeks of hunger and worry, he was found by the police. Daniel was taken in by one of Hope for Justice’s Ethiopia Lighthouses after a stay with another organisation.

Our expert team worked with Daniel to free him of his addiction. We also offered him counselling to help him recover from his experiences, as well as catch-up lessons at the Lighthouse. Daniel was shy and insular at first. But after two weeks of constant support and care from our staff, he came out of his shell and became more confident.

We also worked hard to find Daniel’s family, who were extremely worried, and had been searching for him since he disappeared. They were delighted when we were able to reunite the family once again. Daniel is now well and is back at school.

*Name and image changed to protect survivor’s identity 

 

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