Meresa's Family

Meresa is a single mother who was abandoned by her husband and left to raise her children alone.

She  grew up in northern Ethiopia with her mother and siblings, and was young when her father passed away. With her mother’s support, Meresa attended school and was a good student, finishing Grade 12 and passing the national entrance exam for university, a huge accomplishment for a young woman in Ethiopia. However, Meresa struggled during her second year and unfortunately had to drop out. Ashamed, she could not face her mother and at this point things began to change for Meresa. While working as a hairdresser at a salon, she became sick with asthma and had to switch to a manual day labor job. Later, after meeting her husband, Meresa dreamt of going back to her hometown to open her own hair salon, but instead, she became pregnant with their first child. In the beginning, he was supportive and paid for the household expenses, but after their second baby was born, he left the family.

With her mother and siblings still living in a war-torn area of the country and struggling to survive themselves, Meresa has nowhere to turn. Providing for herself and her children on her own in Korah is very hard, and she often skips meals to feed them. Currently she sells vegetables for a meager income. 

Monthly sponsorship will provide Meresa’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 $130: Sponsor $130 per mo.| $65 per mo.