Fikir A.'s Family

Before the age of 10, Fikir was both orphaned and placed in an arranged marriage.

Fikir’s father died when she was little, and she was raised by her mother. Her childhood was soon stolen, as she became a child bride and lost her mother shortly after. By the time she was 15 years old, Fikir went back to her family home to help raise her siblings and niece. Fikir later remarried and settled in the countryside with her new husband. Together they worked the land and started a family. However, during a period of political instability, her husband was kidnapped, and Fikir has not heard from him since. Out of loneliness and desperation, Fikir took her children and niece to Addis. At first, they survived by begging for food, until a few kind church members gave Fikir some materials to start selling coffee & tea on the roadside. Even so, Fikir struggles to feed her family and often they live on bread and tea.

Unable to afford daycare, Fikir often must let her niece or son miss school to care for her baby while she runs her business. Although she feels hopeless about finding her husband, Fikir is determined to change her family’s life for the better and has many skills to build on, including basket weaving and small business ownership.

Monthly sponsorship will provide Fikir’s family with holistic support such as food, housing, medical care, spiritual care, counselling, education, health and life skills training, income generation and business development opportunities. Being part of HFK’s Family Empowerment Program will also give this family an opportunity to participate in many of our youth, education, and community programs.

CURRENT NEED per Month $260:  Sponsor $260 per mo. | $130 per mo.| $65 per mo.