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These photos by David Levene offer a small glimpse into the lives of children who are separated from their families and living on the streets of Ethiopia...
Vulnerable and alone
Official figures estimate that 60,000 children live on the city streets, although actual figures are almost certainly closer to 150,000.
Internal migration, caused by droughts, food shortages, the death of HIV+ parents and even the simple hope of a better life, leads to increasing numbers of children living a dangerous life on the streets. Sadly the cycle often repeats itself: it is not uncommon to see second and third generation street children in some towns and cities.
Forced to work to survive
Fourteen year old Abraham works on a street stall in Nazret, Ethiopia. He has been living on the streets since he was nine years old.
He faces an uncertain future and is particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
No chance of an education
A young boy living on the streets of Addis Ababa stares intently into a child's painting displayed outside a local school.
Street children have little or no access to education. Without these basic skills, they have little hope of ever fighting their way out of poverty.
Protecting vulnerable children
The Child Protection Unit in Nazret is a safe place for children where they can seek help and guidance.
A safe haven
The Drop-in-Centre, run by EveryChild's local partner: Forum for Street Children-Ethiopia (FSCE), is a 24-hour safe haven for girls living and working on the street. It offers them a safe place to sleep, wash, cook and eat.
Many of the girls have engaged in sex work - but they do not see themselves as prostitutes...for them it is simply a matter of surviving on the streets.
Hope out of adversity
Once engaged by the Drop-in-Centre staff, the girls are offered a place in a Safe Home. 16 year old Hayat has been living at the Safe-Home for girls in Nazret for about a year. Kidnapped by the man her parents arranged for her to marry against her will, circumcised and then raped she was eventually rescued after her father fled and her mother was arrested.
Now, in the Safe Home, she will have access to a series of training programmes to help her into regular employment and eventually into a home of her own.
Education - the best weapon against poverty
EveryChild and FSCE provide alternative, flexible education
so that out-of-school and working children can benefit from primary education. The centres offer flexible hours that acknowledge the children's out-of-school commitments, provide them with basic education and a chance to be reintegrated back into the formal school system.
Importantly, these centres offer a safe-haven where street children - who are vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and trafficking in their daily lives - can be protected and their presence monitored by the local community.
A success story
To the girls at the Safe Home and Drop-in-Centre, Kalkidan is an inspiration – demonstrating how they might also be able to support themselves with jobs and homes of their own. Kalkidan says that in the future she would like to care for orphaned children in Addis Ababa herself.