By Alan O'Keeffe

AN Irish minister was visibly moved when he met street children in Addis Ababa who benefit from Irish help.

Several children who had spent the night sleeping on the streets of the Ethiopian city gathered around Minister Peter Power as he promised them that Ireland will continue to offer a helping hand.

The Overseas Development Minister was surrounded by dozens of teenagers at a day centre where they get a respite from their daily struggle for survival on the capital's bustling streets.

He spoke gently to teenage rape victims as they sat nursing their babies. He got down on his hunkers to listen to their stories. He told them he had young children back in Ireland the same age as their own infants.

In a heart-felt address to the homeless boys and girls, he urged them quietly: "Protect each other."

The teenagers get education, medical attention, and the chance of a shower to wash away the grime of the streets during their daily visits to the centre.

The day centre is run by the Irish humanitarian agency GOAL and is co-funded by Irish Aid, the official overseas development agency of the Irish Government.

STREETS

Among the homeless teenagers greeting the minister was a girl named Saba, who told the Herald that she slept every night on the hard ground of the city streets.

She said she lived in a distant town but ran away from home at the age of 10 when her parents tried to force her to marry someone she did not like. She has lived a difficult and dangerous existence on the streets of Addis Ababa for the past eight years. At the day centre, she now receives education, training, medical care, counselling and encouragement to improve her life.

The minister told the Herald: "I could not help feeling really moved meeting the young people. It affected me as a father who has children the same age as some of the children I saw today.

"My own children have a secure environment in which to grow, but here these children, by contrast, have had to deal with some shocking conditions; They face colossal challenges.

"It was very sad meeting girls who had been raped. I think it's important that young men who know them protect them as much as they can," he said.

Minister Power is visiting a number of projects in Ethiopia this week that are funded by the Irish taxpayer.

Last year, GOAL helped 1,673 street children in Ethiopia.