Abstract:
Children lost their parents due to poverty, war, HIV/AIDS, and the deaths of family
members. The care provided by their parent or grandparents was not sufficient to address the
needs of those children. To address the complex problem of vulnerable children both
Government and Non-Government organizations engaged in assisting children. To this end
Nehemia child development project is one of the non for profit organizations involved and
engaged in caring for OVC. The purpose of this research is therefore, to uncover the practice
and challenge of Nehemiah child development Project in addressing the needs of vulnerable
children in Ambo town. A qualitative case study was employed. Participants of the study were
recruited via a non-probability purposive sampling technique and data was collected through the
use of an in-depth interview, FGD, Key informant interview, and document review. Data was
collected from children, project coordinator, religious/ community leader parents and staff
members. Totally, 30 participants were participated in the research. The project offers a range
of services to support its clients and children who are at risk. A number of service components
are involved in this project: food and nutrition provision, clothing, housing and care, health
services, educational support, psychosocial counseling, and family economic strengthening
through the self-help group. The finding of the research showed that project inflation, selection
criteria, human resource ineffectiveness, budget utilization of the project were identified as
major challenges of the project. In addition, the research identified Financial and Housing
supports are the major support required or needed by the families of children to survive the
family member. Furthermore, the researcher recommends that hiring of skilled manpower can
increase the outcome of the project.
