we are empowering women to thrive, not just survive.
photos by Janice Lee Photography and Emelia Kim Creative
Our Beginning
Ellilta Products was established in February, 2012 as an income-generating branch of Ellilta Women at Risk (EWAR) which is a local Ethiopian NGO that helps women find gainful job opportunities after leaving a life of prostitution. Ellilta Products was started to create job opportunities for women while simultaneously generating income for EWAR by producing scarves and various styles of jewelry. Now, Ellilta Products is the producer/supplier of scarves and jewelry for different clients around the world. All profit goes back into EWAR to help rehabilitate more women as well as grow their outreach to bring more women into the workforce.
“To us, success means that a woman never returns to the streets – never.
1000 Women, 500 Children = 90% Success”
Since 1996, Ellilta Women at Risk has helped to restore over 1000 women from a life of prostitution at a 90% success rate. Now, the word success gets thrown around often on websites – but what success means to us is: a woman never returns to the streets – never.
In addition, Ellilta has provided support and assistance to over 500 children of the women in the program. These children have received education, healing from the trauma, and hope for the future.
The Women We Support
Ellilta works with both the women and their children so the generational cycle of prostitution can be broken. And so a new generation of Ethiopian young people are no longer bound by the trauma of sexual exploitation. They have options. These holistic alternatives transform lives, whole families, and communities.
1000
women restored from a life of prostitution
90%
success rate (of women who never return to the streets)
500
children supported through the program
Our Mission
Ellilta International is a non-profit, religious/charitable organization which seeks to provide holistic alternatives for exploited individuals through relationship-based recovery that leads to freedom and restoration in all areas of life.
International Impact
Ellilta has been sought out by others doing similar work because the success rate is so striking. Ellilta has mentored, developed curriculum for, and consulted with Christian ministries from over a dozen African countries.
Ellilta is a ministry not only committed to seeing the sex-trade ended in Ethiopia: it is also a ministry that desires to share what it has learned, to equip, to train, and to stand with other ministries across Africa so that more women caught in the darkness of sexual exploitation are brought into the light and living hope that only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring.