InnerCHANGE Ethiopia

A Gospel-Centered Mission for Women Leaving Prostitution

Empowering Women through Proclamation and Practical Demonstration of Christ’s Love

The InnerCHANGE Ethiopia team exists to help women who have been trapped in prostitution to find freedom in Christ and from the extreme poverty that has forced them to use prostitution to survive. We do this through a holistic approach both proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ in word and matching it with practical hands-on service among the women, their children and the surrounding community of Sholla market in Addis Ababa. 

In Sholla, there are approximately 250 women involved in commercial sex work. The IC Team works with over 100 of them through our program. Most of the women have been forced into this kind of life by poverty, low level trafficking, or by being tricked by local "brokers" with promises of sustainable income only to find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of increased poverty and ever deepening dependence. 

InnerCHANGE Ethiopia helps bring freedom to the women spiritually by sharing the love of Christ in word and deed; helping them find new community in savings groups, discipleship groups and local church communities. 

We also help them find financial and physical freedom by helping them replace the meager income of prostitution with constructive microfinance efforts which then lead them into micro enterprise endeavours and eventually helps them to build small thriving businesses. This process not only raises their standard of living, but also gives them marketable skills to sustain themselves and their children. We have helped create over 24 viable micro businesses with this process.

For the women who need extra help or transformation after years of prostitution and addiction, which often happens as a by product of the sex work, InnerCHANGE Ethiopia has a Restoration Center. It is located outside of the city and currently allows for 3 women-headed families a minimum of 1 year of transitional housing, mental health counseling, medical help, school for their children and employment and job training in their Chicken Farm Project. The Chicken Project raises 1000 chickens and sells over 850 eggs per day, employing not only the women of the Restoration house, but 8 other small businesses selling the eggs. 

Finally, the team also seeks to prevent at-risk women from being trapped into prostitution in the first place by employing vulnerable women with the In His Hands Daycare. Not only has this trained and employed over 13 women and cared for over 30 kids per school season. It has provided them with a real resume for them to continue working in the childcare industry and diverting them from the life of prostitution some of them were heading toward, thus breaking the cycle.

Each week we see more people come to Christ and escape prostitution. There are some exciting things developing and we'd love to share more. If you would like to connect and hear more please contact our team leader, Abiyot Lemma at or Michael Philip at .