Across Ethiopia, young people who grew up in alternative care are standing up to demand a future that recognizes their rights. At the heart of this movement is the National Care Leavers Association Coalition Ethiopia (NCLACE), the country’s first legally registered coalition of care leavers advocating for stronger systems in partnership with SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia.
The birth of a national movement
NCLACE’s current focus is the full implementation of the Minimum Standards for Preparation of Leaving Care and Aftercare Support, a significant step forward in supporting young people transitioning out of alternative care launched by the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs. These standards adopted in June 2025 outline essential preparations for young people transitioning out of alternative care and the types of support they must receive from alternative support and care service providers as well as key government sectors ranging from emotional and social assistance to practical help like housing, education, and employment opportunities.
“Care leavers helped draft the standard,” says Eyob Bekele, President of NCLACE and successful banker, who grew up in SOS Children’s Village Addis Ababa programme location “For the first time, we are not just being talked about, we are shaping the solutions.”
The standards define the roles and responsibilities of care providers, government bodies, and institutions, aiming to create a coordinated and supportive framework for all care leavers in Ethiopia. Since its launch, the standard has been rolled out in 10 regional states, reaching over 130 care service providers.
Yet, implementation is just beginning. SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia, alongside NCLACE, is advocating for dedicated government budgets and calling for the standard to be integrated into the licensing and renewal process of care institutions.
“Without an ID, You Feel Invisible”
When Eyob transitioned out of care, he had no national ID among the many other challenges he faced, making him ineligible for government services, higher education, or formal employment.
“Without an ID,” he recalls, “you feel invisible in the system.”
Many care leavers face such obstacles. But under the new standard, access to civil registration, residency, and identity services is now to become an obligation for both care providers and public institutions. The Ministry can now hold stakeholders accountable, making it a crucial shift toward inclusion and justice.
For Eyob and many others, the turning point came when care leavers began to organize, share experiences, and work together to discuss solutions. That gave birth to NCLACE, a movement offering strength, solidarity, and hope.
“Being part of NCLACE feels like having a family again,” Eyob says. “It’s a community that understands me and together, we’re fighting for care leavers across Ethiopia, and one day, across Africa.”
What began as small, local associations has grown into a national coalition of over 700 care leavers from SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia and other care institutions. Achieving legal registration in July 2024 was a major breakthrough in gaining legitimacy, credibility, and a seat at the decision-making table. With technical and financial support from SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia, NCLACE established its first office, hired staff, and began building a sustainable platform for long-term impact.
“We had the passion, but not the means,” Eyob remembers. “SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia believed in us and gave us the foundation to grow. Now, NCLACE is more than an association, it’s a force for systemic change.”
Real impact, national reach
Through relentless advocacy and grassroots action, NCLACE is already reshaping lives and influencing national policy. Key highlights include:
- High-level government engagement: NCLACE members have engaged 11 federal ministers in awareness raising, spoken at national youth forums, and presented at events like the 4th Civil Society Organizations Week (2024), elevating care leavers’ voices into policymaking spaces.
- Empowering over 300 care leavers through vocational training, entrepreneurship coaching, life skills workshops, mentorship, and financial literacy programmes, equipping them to lead, not just survive.
- Youth-led enterprises: Care leavers have launched businesses from salons and restaurants to dairy farms and mechanic shops that now employ other care-experienced youth, turning support into self-sufficiency.
- Mental health and healing: NCLACE launched counselling services, including the WHO-adapted Problem Management Plus (PM+) and peer support groups, addressing the trauma and isolation many face after leaving care.
- Crisis response: When conflict broke out in Tigray, NCLACE swiftly provided emergency shelter, food, and trauma support to more than 20 displaced care leavers.
The coalition continues to grow, expanding membership, building partnerships with financial institutions and youth organizations, and influencing national youth policy where care leavers are now explicitly recognized.
A call to action: let care leavers lead
The formation of the NCLACE is more than an organizational milestone. It is a movement built on resilience, shared pain, and shared purpose.
With support from SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia, care leavers are slowly shaping the systems that once failed them. This is what happens when protection leads to empowerment. When care is not just given but passed on. Care leavers in Ethiopia are not asking for sympathy. They are asking for structure, inclusion, and the right to shape their own futures.
Anketse Birhanu, National Project Coordinator for Youth Empowerment Projects, puts it simply:
“Collaborate with care leavers, don’t compete. Become partners. Invest in trust, legal recognition for networks, capacity building, and seed funding. Let care leavers own the process.”