Get to know a little bit more about the woman behind the daycare…
Her name is Zebenay Bezawerk, born in 1971 (Ethiopian Calendar, they are seven or eight years behind.) Both of her parents were from different parts of Ethiopia and both came to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia’s capital) to get treatment for leprosy in Alert Hospital which is located close by a rubbish dump.
In order to survive they each had to make a living off of collecting recycled materials from the dump and carrying firewood from far away to sell. At the time her mother did all of this work because her father was sick. Growing up life did not get easier for her, she did the same work her mother did for half of the day and then attended classes close to the dump throughout her spare time.
Because of her commitment to her handicapped father and caring for her family, after her 12th grade exams she was not able to study and get a college entrance.
One day a boy came by knocking on her door offering her a course at a cooking school. After attending the cooking school Zebenay worked for different families for three long years. She got married and gave birth to two kids a boy and a girl, after the birth of her little girl her father passed away, he died in 1988 EC (Ethiopian calendar). After the passing of her father she gave birth to twins.
In 2015 the first day she worked for my family and I her mother passed away. So she was left with four kids, no parents, no husband, and she lived next to the rubbish dump. During the time she worked for our family she also studied at Joftah International College located in Ayet Tena, Addis Ababa. In the year of 2018 she got a social work and society development degree.
Zebenay is resilient and trustworthy. Now she runs this daycare and she takes care of 130+ kids daily, and she is dedicated to helping the families at the dump by providing a safe place for the families kids to stay throughout the day as the mothers look for work.
This is not our project, this is hers. We only support. Your support is needed to keep the Day Care running as the price of food dramatically increases and internal conflicts have caused many families to move to the dump area for shelter.
