Afia is originally from the southern part of Ethiopia called Bale. Afia’s husband died eight years ago and she is raising her children alone. She used to work at one of the factories nearby but was laid-off. She now lives on selling a local drink called Tella to earn some income.
She and her family live in an area far from the inner city of Addis Ababa. She chose to live at the periphery because she could not afford to rent a house that has water and electricity. She washes the family’s clothes by a nearby river, fetches water for home use from a stream, and fetches drinking water that is about 10-15 minutes away through a shared tap.
Afia is so happy to receive the water barrel from Addis Jemari this past January that helped her improve the family’s access to a clean and adequate water supply. Having a water barrel avoided the need to travel every day to get water, as it allows her to store enough for a few days.
Afia’s oldest son, Lemma, is a 4th-grade dropout and is now over 20 years-old. He supports his mother working as a day laborer. Her other two children, Kidist and Gemechu, are attending school and are in grades 5th and 9th respectively. Both love coming to the FEP center.
Afia says, “After joining this organization, I’ve benefited a lot. Because I receive a monthly stipend, which I can use to pay house rent, I am able to use the money I earn from selling Tella to cover my other expenses. I am also happy that I can save some money from the monthly stipend.”
Afia also said, “The training we received on money management was good. I’m by nature very good at properly managing money, but the training helped me to strengthen my skills and get a good knowledge of planning. I am also grateful for the support I received so far including the COVID-19 food and hygiene aid. The income I make from selling Tella was affected because customers stopped coming due to COVID. It would have been hard for me if I did not receive all the support”
Mothers like Afia depend on the support of Addis Jemari’s monthly Family Empowerment Sponsors. For $60/month (that’s only $2/day), you can make a REAL difference in the life of a family in Ethiopia! We’d love for you to prayerfully come alongside us in this way! www.addisjemari.org/sponsorship