Children in Ethiopia face a number of protection challenges including different forms of abuse, harmful traditional practices, living without family care and unsafe migration from to cities and from region to region due to economic and social reasons.

Child care, support, empowerment and protection at every level is one of the key priorities of Center of Concern. We work primarily with children, communities and government institutions and trying to address the structural causes of violence against children, which is rooted in the weak community and institutional structures and mechanisms to protect children against all forms of violence and promotes protection.

CoC is working to addresses the main child protection, care and support gaps through awareness creation campaigns, mobilize communities to provide appropriate care for vulnerable children, reduce harmful traditional practices, engage school community in protection works of the child, empower the children themselves to speak for themselves and voice heard,  making schools child friendly, create protection issue agendas of all, rehabilitate street children, empower and reintegrate with families/guardians through different options. 

To realize this program, Center of Concern has been implementing different projects in Hawassa City Administration and surrounding districts with the financial support technical supports of GOAL Ethiopia, Edget Baandinet Childrens Center and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs/World Bank and benefitted large number of vulnerable children.