Hope for Justice has welcomed a new Country Director to oversee our programmatic work in Ethiopia.
In this blog, we speak with Sosina Yirga about why she wanted to work at Hope for Justice, and the highlights and challenges she has faced since joining the team three months ago. We also look at some of the projects we will be working on in Ethiopia over the coming year as we continue our work to bring freedom from modern slavery and human trafficking.
“Being part of the restoration journey of survivors of human trafficking has been inspirational and rewarding”, she told us, “but there is much more to be done.”
Q: Why did you want to work at Hope for Justice?
Sosina Yirga: “I first heard about the job opening for a Country Director of the Ethiopia office in May 2024. The role felt action oriented and closer to the communities I hoped to serve, which is something I was looking for.
“I am excited to join Hope for Justice. The work we do to fight injustice, especially with children and youth, comes close to my heart.
“I believe my extensive background in youth engagement and development, advocacy, system strengthening, strategic partnership building and leadership, will add value to expand the effective work already being delivered. I am looking forward to working with the whole organisation to enhance our scale and impact.”
Q: How were the first few weeks in the role?
“Initially, I was meeting with country teams across different functions and specialities, visiting projects on the ground and talking to partners and key stakeholders, including donors. It was exciting to see the impact on the ground and the testimonies of the work from partners and donors. Meeting with mothers who were able to protect their children from human trafficking and modern slavery because of support from Hope for Justice, and their enhanced knowledge and resilience, was just remarkable.”
Sosina Yirga (front left), with staff from Hope for Justice and UNICEF, during their recent visit to one of our Lighthouses
Q: What are your hopes for the role and the future of our work in Ethiopia?
“The overall aim is to scale up the work and achieve greater impact. There is so much need and a lot that Hope for Justice can offer to fight injustice, create greater understanding around exploitation and trafficking and strengthen systems. Ultimately, we want to better identify victims, support them in their restoration journey and reform society to become resilient in this area.”
Q: How has the role been so far in relation to your expectations when you first started?
“It has been exciting to be part of a team that is working hard to achieve tangible outcomes in the lives of children and youth affected by exploitation and human trafficking. Being a part of the restoration journey of survivors has been inspirational and rewarding. I have met teams with diverse backgrounds, including psychologists, social workers, legal advisors, project managers and community facilitators, who bring the work to life. It has brought me closer to children, youth and vulnerable people who are most at need and to better understand their contexts. The work requires not only knowledge and skills, but also a humble heart to have empathy and commitment to make a difference.”
Sosina Yirga speaks at a meeting to launch a new project in the Wolaita Zone
Q: What have your main challenges and highlights been over the past three months?
“While there has been a lot of achievement already, our contribution alone cannot respond to the level of need on the ground. Due to environmental vulnerability, the impact of conflict, economic challenges, negative social norms and other factors, children and youth have continued to be most at risk of trafficking and exploitation. There is much more to be done. We are expanding our partnerships and collaborations to ensure we are making a collective impact and to influence key actors, including government, donors and educators. And this has not always been easy.”
Q: What are some of the projects and work you have planned for the year ahead?
“Looking ahead, I am excited in our boldness to design and deliver programmes that bring forth innovative ideas and holistic responses to the communities we want to serve. Through our research and analysis, we hope to better understand the intersectionality of our work with other themes, like environment, gender and social norms, and be capable to respond better and holistically to stop human trafficking and modern slavery.
“By adding further rigour in our tools and approaches we want to test scalable approaches in trauma-informed survivor support and prevention actions.
“I am also looking forward to scaling up our work in advocacy, and its contribution towards accessible and effective legal system that can provide justice to victims. And as usual, we will be putting survivors at the centre of all this action and will stay accountable to them.”
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family life
“I am married with three children (two daughters and a son). My children bring the energy I need at work and are an affirmation to me of the importance of raising children and youth in a safe, protected, and supportive environment. Social interactions and family development has always been an area of interest for me. I am engaged in several volunteering initiatives in my community, focusing on youth development, and running various youth-friendly activities. This helps me understand the emerging issues around adolescents and youth and the best approaches in response. When I have the time, I love to travel with my family and meet new people and have new experiences.”
Previous work and experience
Sosina led and implemented VSO‘s youth engagement strategy in over 20 countries. This required leading and working with teams across diverse cultures and designing relevant and adaptable approaches to be effective in different contexts.
She has presented abstracts and best practices in several global summits/conferences showcasing the importance of youth leadership, multisectoral approaches, system strengthening effective advocacy and policy influencing, active citizenship, and more.
She has supported the establishment and strengthening of different youth networks that have become active in advocacy across sectors like good governance and accountability, climate and resilience, gender, inclusion and beyond.
Sosina has also worked as Deputy Country Director at Girl Effect, a global NGO that connects girls to resources and support they need to overcome barriers. With this complex programme that required excellent leadership skills, she has worked with private sector, social entrepreneurs and others to contribute towards girls’ holistic development.
She has also worked with the Department for International Development (DFID), the former ministerial department of the UK Government. Here, her work included managing and overseeing programmes across different sectors, including government, multisector actors, UN and the private sector.
About our work in Ethiopia
Hope for Justice runs Lighthouses in Ethiopia where we provide short-term accommodation for children who have been exploited, or who are at risk of modern slavery. Children who need protection can join one of our Lighthouse shelters where they have access to holistic 24/7 support. We provide refuge, a bed to sleep on, washing facilities, nutritious food and medical care. Most importantly, we provide person-centred, trauma informed therapy and restoration services. In addition, children engage in life skills sessions, catch-up education as well as broader counselling and trauma-informed care.
We have teams of outreach workers who work closely with the police, other civil society organisation (CSO) partners, and conduct outreach to identify victims of human trafficking and modern slavery. They offer services, help and advice, and signpost them to support.
Whilst children are receiving care at our Lighthouses, we work to trace their families when possible and consider how best to safely return them back to their families, or to family-based care.
We also run community prevention programmes in Ethiopia which strengthen families, communities and systems to prevent children from being trafficked or exploited. We tackle the root causes, such as poverty, lack of knowledge about trafficking and unsafe migration, and attitudes where children are seen as economic assets. Examples of this work include: Self-Help Groups, Child Protection Clubs, awareness raising, Child Protection Committees, youth training and community conversations. You can find out more about our work in Ethiopia in our 2024 Annual Review.
