Tigist Dejene: Student Profile

April 17, 2018

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Tigist Dejene is a KG1 student of Fregenet Kidan Lehitsanat School. Tigist was born in Bahirdar. Her father passed away before she was born. Now Tigist is five years old. After Tigist’s father died life became very challenging for her mother who stayed in Bahirdar until Tigist reached the age of three.  Life for the widow and her daughter continued to worsen. The mother could not find even menial work to provide her child and herself the bare essentials of life including shelter, food and clothing.

Lacking any support from any individual or organization in the community, and feeling desperate, Tigist’s mother decided to move to Addis Ababa hoping to get better opportunities for herself and her child.  After arriving in Addis Ababa things did not get any easier and in fact got even worse for some time. They were forced to live on the street for 6 weeks before they finally found a flimsy shelter in a crowded slum.  Eventually they were forced to give up even this small comfort.

Tigist mother was frustrated by the situation but she did not give up, and she did not transfer her fear to her daughter. She started washing clothes by going house to house and after some time managed to save a little from her meager earnings to buy a small sleeping shelter made of tin (corrugated iron sheet) and they started living there.

Once they were settled, Tigist’s Mother decided that her daughter should go to school and took her to a public school. Tigist started her education, but it soon became clear to her mother that they could not afford the incidental costs of education related expenses such as a uniform, notebooks and pencils, nor provide breakfast and lunch. So Tigist could not continue with her education and had to drop out. That was when Tigist’s mother heard about Fregenet Kidan Lehitsanat School.

She came to us and told us her story. After completing the admission process and screening by the admission committee, Tigist registered for KG1 class and got full support from the school including uniform, paper and notebooks, breakfast, lunch and health check-ups, all for free. Now Tigist is very happy to be able to develop her bright mind and become a disciplined and active participant in the classroom. Tigist wants to be a Doctor in the future.

Tigist’s Mother has a message for The Fregenet Foundation and its supporters: “You shared my burden and brightened my future. Now I keep hoping that our life can get even better for I can work freely thanks to Fregenet Kidan Lehitsanat School.”

Fregenet Kidan Lehitsanat