Hagos, Ashenafi (PhD)Degefa, Genet2019-03-062023-11-042019-03-062023-11-042014-05http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/16571The stud y was conducted on individuals who we re raised up in Kechene orphanage and reinte grated to the socie ty of Addi s Ababa. The purpose of this st ud y is to explore and describe the integra tion c hallen ges after they left the in st ituti on and integrated to the wider society of Addis Ababa. Kechene o rph a nage is hom e onl y for girl s so that all the st udy participants were female s. Qualitative approach has been employed so that it is explo ratory and descriptive by nature. Purpo sive sa mpling technique was employed to se lect informants. A total of ten respondents were involved in th e stud y. Primary and secondary data co lle cti o n method was used. Primary data was collected fi'om th e stud y participants throu g h in- dept h interview and focus gro up di sc uss ion. Secondary data was co ll ected fi'om published and unpubli shed journals, books and documents. The findi ng of this stud y showed that death of bot h or eith er of parents is the main reason for in stitutionalization of the orphan s. Orphan age life imp acts the life of orphans by isol ating them fr o m the society and lead s th em to be str ange r for the soc ietal life. By th e time they leave the orphanage, th ey suffer from lack of skill s to int eg rat e to the society and encounter cultural conflicts. KEY WORDSIPHRASES: In stitutionali zat ion , Orphan age, Orphans, Social integrationenInstitutionalizationOrphanageOrphansSocial integrationThesis