Demissie Shine, a member of our Ethiopian community, has recently been left disabled and homeless through a series of unforeseen tragedies. A small donation from a few people can provide a home and job security. Read his story, and we will tell you how you can help...
Demissie was barely a teenager when he left his birth place in the Oromia region of Ethiopia to join the army. After his service was finished, he moved back to his mother’s home in Hosanna, where he finished high school with honors, at the top of his class. In the middle of his senior year, however, terrible personal tragedy struck, and his mother passed away after a long illness. Despondent over his mother’s death, and with no remaining family to support him, he abandoned his dreams of going to college.
Demissie moved to Addis Ababa and trained as a carpenter. He was making a decent income as a professional, but in 2014, he suffered another tragedy. He fell from a roof, severely injuring his back and ending his career as a carpenter. Forced to take a low-paying job as a security guard, he struggled to support his wife and daughter.
Then, last June, tragedy struck Demissie a third time. “I was crossing our road and was hit by a truck,” he told Lelt. “I do not remember the impact but when I woke up in the gutter, I could not get up. Both of my legs were broken. No one heard my cries for help until many hours later. When an ambulance finally came, they took me to a public clinic, where the health care is very poor.”
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Demissie was hospitalized for two months. His legs were set badly. He could not work, and his wife and daughter went to live with her family. He was homeless, crippled and destitute. Boys in his neighborhood made him a shelter from scrap metal and plastic sheeting, cobbled together. The rainy season has just started, and Demissie’s shelter is wet and cold, making life even more difficult for him.
Lelt Foundation’s team learned of Demissie’s situation, and we took him to a reputable hospital in the city for further medical care. We contacted a carpenter to find the cost of building a home with 4 walls and a roof on Demissie’s small plot of land. Materials and labor are estimated at $735. We can do this with your help!
Here’s how we can all help Demissie...
If twenty people donate just $35, we can start building immediately, before the heavy rains come and make construction impossible. Lelt will also enroll Demissie in our Business Training Seminar, so he can learn money management skills and receive a micro-loan that will enable him to start his own small business. With these gifts of shelter and job security, Demissie can rejoin his community and take back his life.