STORY OF CHILDREN

MINTESNOT

Mintesinot is living with his mother and his older brother. He is 7 years old and a Kindergarten student. His mother used to work selling tea and bread in the street to survive. Unfortunately, the place/roads were under construction and while she was carrying out her small business to help provide for her family, she became paralyzed after a loose rock fell on her. She is physically disabled now and stays at home. Her husband abandoned her and the children after the accident, leaving them to struggle both financially and emotionally. Mintesnot’s mother considered taking him out of school to beg for their daily needs.

With the intervention of CCELA’s sponsorship program in March 2015, Mintesnot was able to continue with his schooling. His mother is now very supportive and assists his education. She is in a wheelchair and able to now take care of her children as a single mother.

YINEBEBE

Yinebebe is now 18 years old and a grade 8 student. His father is deceased and his mother is a street beggar who couldn’t support herself. Yinebeb himself turned to begging for his survival, and slept on the street. He also suffers from eyesight difficulties that were hindering his progress in school.

Yinebeb’s mother was not supportive of him and they have little contact. Regardless of all these hardships, Yinebeb was, and still is, a top ranked student in our sponsorship program. He joined CCELA’s sponsorship program in August 2013, receiving monthly financial support for basic needs such as rent and food, as well as medical treatment and glasses for his eye condition.

Yinebebe is a very hard working student and strives for a better future.

SURAFEL

Surafel was 8 years old when his father passed away from HIV/AIDS. He and his mother are also both living with the virus, medicated with the ART medicines. His mother doesn’t have a permanent income and lives in such poor conditions that she had to choose between education or food for her children.

Surafel, due to his medical condition, was bullied and socially ostracised. He hated school and was severely malnourished. At some point he even stopped taking his ART medicine because he could not take it on an empty stomach.

Since joining CCELA’s sponsorship program in February 2013, Surafel has been provided with the daily nutrition, medical needs and counselling support to enable him to attend school. He is now 11 years old and a grade 4 student at school.