Mekides is 5 years old and in Kindergarten at Hidase Primary School in Karakore, Ethiopia. She loves to play "hide and seek" and she wants to be an engineer when she grows up.

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Mekides lives with her mother, father, and 3 siblings. Her father works as a day laborer, which is back breaking work for very little income. Her mother, Getnet, never attended school, so finding work is very difficult for her without job skills. This family is living in crisis. If Mekides is sponsored for $35/month, she will receive daily meals and after school tutoring. If her family is sponsored for $15 additional a month, they will all receive monthly food rations and medical care, and her parents will receive priority to enroll in our Family Business Program, where she will be empowered to start her own small business.