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Habiba's Story

Updated: May 30, 2022


Habiba Seid is not your typical 11th grader. She placed second in her class at her AP high school and is one of the most accomplished students in her advanced technology club Girls Who Code. Also a talented musician and active in her Mosque, Habiba is a gifted and well-rounded young woman with a bright future ahead of her. She wants to work in the finance sector when she graduates from college.


Despite Habiba’s impressive academic achievements, her parents were concerned she wouldn’t make it through high school. As the only girl in a family of 4 children, she was at constant risk of being pulled out of school when the family experienced intense financial hardship.

Girls in Ethiopia today are still at serious risk of never completing school because of the financial necessities imposed by cyclical poverty.

Even after relocating to the outskirts of Addis Ababa nine years ago, Habiba’s father could only find occasional manual labor jobs that paid very little. The family then applied for Lelt’s assistance programs, and Habiba was sponsored in Lelt's Child Sponsorship Program. She received tutoring and daily nutritious meals, and was enrolled in a rigorously academic private school.


Habiba's mother, Rahmet, completed Lelt’s Business Creation Program, and obtained a Lelt micro-loan to start her own food kiosk. She reinvested profits from the food sales to start a clothing shop at the local market. With this income now coming to the family, Habiba can devote herself to her studies and pursue her dreams of attending college.


Older brother Awel, Habiba, and mother Rahmet

Girls in Ethiopia today are still at serious risk of never completing school because of the financial necessities imposed by cyclical poverty. Over 50 percent of girls in Habiba’s region drop out of school by age 12. Sponsorship for Lelt’s programs can help them break the cycle of poverty. Sponsor a child today.

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