“I wasn’t in a position to afford our daily meals let alone cover my kid’s school expenses as a daily laborer and a single mom. The sheep imagine1day has provided my daughter as one of the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) has equipped me with the ability to keep her in school. I thank EAC and imagine1day for everything they have done for my family,” says Askale Tola, Nibret Mengistu 12-year-old, grade five student’s mother.
Askale’s husband left her with Nibret and her elder brother right after Nibret’s birth. She has been all alone through the thick and thin of life raising her kids. Keeping them in school means the world to her; as a ninth-grade dropout, she knows the value of education.
However, she had reached a time when she could no longer sustain herself on such a low income. EAC’s Leaders Educators and Parents (LEAP) project and OVC support have saved her daughter from being out of school.
Nibret says, “imagine1day had provided me a sheep and it gave birth. My mom sold both and she bought me a cow. I was so sad that I was about to quit my education because my mom had failed to afford to buy the necessary scholastic materials for me before imagine1day’s intervention. I am very grateful to imagine1day and EAC for supporting me.”
Nibret is one of the top five students in her class. Math is her favorite subject.
“I now have no worry about being out of school. I have focused on my education, and I have performed better than anytime else this year. I am studying hard to be one of the top three students. I want to be an engineer and I want to give a better life to my mom,” says Nibret firmly.