Busajo Campus — A Home for Volunteers
In Soddo, in southern Ethiopia, the Busajo Campus is a place that pulls children and young people off the streets. For it to work over time, it also needs people who come from outside to support the work. And those who come from outside need somewhere to stay.
Who they are
Busajo NGO ETS was founded in 2009 by Martino Montanarini and Lucia Giubbi. It operates in Soddo, south of Addis Ababa, in one of the world's still poorest countries. The work focuses on the most vulnerable children and young people: those at risk of dropping out of school, begging, petty crime, child prostitution. The Campus is their base: a compound with residential accommodation, vocational training workshops, sports facilities, vegetable gardens and a farm, able to welcome dozens of young people in residential and semi-residential programmes.
The project
One structure was still missing from the Campus: the Volunteers' House — five rooms around an internal courtyard, in a corner of the compound separated from the educational activities. A structure designed with three functions: welcoming donors, delegations and guests interested in the project; hosting travellers who choose to stay there, contributing to the Campus's economic sustainability; and offering the girls in the residential programme a real training space — learning to manage rooms, cook for guests, and acquire concrete skills to find work in hospitality.
How we supported it
Casa Costa Foundation ETS supported the construction of the Volunteers' House with a contribution of €5,000. An investment that is not just about the walls — it is about the long-term sustainability of the entire project.
