Mekides Muluye

2022 Age 16

Mekdes lives with her family in Shimsha, 23 Km. from Lalibela. She is expected to work on the farm and help her mother in the kitchen.

A year ago, she had a kidney removed and was advised not to do heavy work but her parents still expected her to work hard.

Our support means that she can concentrate on her education. She is in grade 10.

Selamawit Mareg

2022 Age 15

She was born out of wedlock and neither parent wanted her. When she was 8 years old, her mother forced her to work as a waitress and kept all the money.

Our support is letting her start an independent life.

She assures us that by investing in her we are investing in 100 girls as, in the future, she plans an organisation to help others in the same position! She has reached grade 8 by studying at night school.

Tigist Nega

2022 Age 19

Tigist is now in grade 12.

Her parents are divorced and she lives with her mother and 3 siblings. Tigist often has to miss school if there is an opportunity to work and earn money.

She gets good exam results and has an ambition to be a health professional.

Addis Birara

2018 Age 18

Addis is from a poor farming family in Galasot which is a small village about 35 Km from Lalibela. It is a family of 8 boys. The oldest 6 boys have not had education and all work as farmers. Addis is in grade 10 at secondary school in Lalibela.  He scored good marks in grade 9. His ambition is to study medicine.

It has been agreed to support him with 700 Birr per month.

Birhan Zewdu

2018 Aged 21

Birhan is from Bilbala, 30 Km. from Lalibela. He has 3 brothers and 3 sisters. He is the middle child. His parents divorced when he was 5 years old. The father gives no support and the mother doesn’t keep well and cannot work. Birhan had a year out of school due to financial problems. The school then offered support with uniform and school materials.

He has now reached Bahir Dar University and has completed first year of a degree in civil Engineering. He is struggling financially at University and is asking for help. He passed the school national exams with ‘great distinction’ and has passed his first exams at University ‘First class with distinction’.

It has been agreed to support him with 700 Birr per month.

Hana Bedru

2018 Age 20

Hana lived in Addis Ababa but when her father died, 6 years ago, the family moved to Lalibela. She has 1 brother and 2 sisters. All the children attend school. Her mother works as a daily labourer and struggles to support all the family. Often, they go to school without having had any food.

Hana has been finding it financially difficult at University. Hana is studying Textile Engineering at Bahir Dar University and is now in her second year.

She relies on her friends in the dormitory giving her old clothes and materials for University. It has been agreed to support her with 700 Birr per month.

Tadiso Fentaw

2018 Aged 20

Tadiso is from the village of Degosach and is disabled from the waist down. He started his education in the village and after grade 2 moved to Lalibela.

He passed his grade 10 national exams with ‘very great distinction’. He is now in grade 12 in the preparatory school and hopes to go to University next year. It has been agreed to support him with 700 Birr per month.

Yirga Habte

2018 Age 13

Yirka is the 4th. of 5 children. There are 8 people in the house—5 children +parents +grandfather. They had a farm in a village called Lewz, close to Lalibela. The government took a lot of the land and the farm is now too small to support the family.

They were given compensation, but this is now all gone. The older children have had no education. They work on the land and as daily labourers when the work is available. Yirka sometimes must miss school if work is available for him. He wants our help to stay in the education system.

He was ranked 2, in his class, in the grade 4 exams. He is now in grade 5. It has been agreed to support him with 700 Birr per month.

Zuriash Abebe

2018 Aged 15

Zuriash’s parents are divorced and the father gives the family no support. The mother works as a daily labourer. There are 9 staying in the house. Zuriash is obviously very clever and has an ambition to study medicine.

She is now in grade 9 at the High school in Lalibela.

It has been agreed to support her with 700 Birr per month.

Mulugeta Seteye

2017 Aged 20

Mulugeta is from a very poor family in the village of Dibuko. He is one of 8 children. His father is a farmer and, when young, he helped his father with the animals. There was no money to support his education and he moved to Lalibela in order to find work as a labourer. The money he made supported him and his education.

In the grade 10 national exams, he scored straight As and was awarded a certificate of very great distinction.  Teachers at the preparatory school helped him through grades 11 and 12 by giving him pens, paper and often buying him a cup of coffee or tea. He did well in the grade 12 national exams and is now studying engineering at Addis Ababa Institute of Technology.

It has been agreed to support him with 600 birr per month.

Mengistu Yiman

2017 Aged 17

Mengistu is from the village of Erfa, 35 Km from Lalibela. He is one of 7 children. His family are subsistence farmers. The reason I came to Ethiopia was to help start a school in the village of Erfa. Mengistu was a student in the very first grade 1. Without a school in the village, Mengistu probably wouldn’t have accessed any education and would have lived his life as a farmer. He is now in Lalibela, in grade 12, and hopes to go to university next year. He walks home every weekend and brings food back to keep him for the week.

He needs money to pay for a rent room while at school. It has been agreed to support him with 600 birr per month.

Birhanu Hailu Demissie

2017 Aged 18

Birhanu is from a small village called Debuko. His family are subsistence farmers and have no money to support him. He has gone through the school system by working as a labourer when not at school. In the grade 10 National exams, he scored straight ‘A’s and was awarded his certificate with ‘very Great Distinction’. He did exceptionally well in his grade 12 National exams and has now started studying Anaesthesia at Gonder University