When Mekdes was 13 years old, she got up the courage to knock on Lelt’s community center gate to ask for something to eat. She had been going to school right down the road, but couldn’t concentrate in class because she was always hungry. When she heard other kids at Repi Elementary School talk about the daily lunches they received from Lelt, she came to ask for help. Mekdes's mother had died when she was a baby, and her father suffered from a chronic illness. When he was too ill to work, they went without basic necessities, like food and shelter. They had even spent some time homeless.
Because Mekdes is Abraham’s only child, her responsibilities at home are great. They have no access to clean water, and Mekdes is in charge of fetching water every day from a drainage ditch. She walks down the big hill in her neighborhood with empty jugs and their laundry. After she finishes washing the clothes, Mekdes carries the full jugs of murky water and the wet laundry back up to their rented room, at the top of the hill. This difficult work was nearly impossible when she wasn’t eating regularly, so she and Abraham applied for Lelt’s programs through the Ethiopian government.
Mekdes, now 17, comes to Lelt’s lunch room every day for a nutritious meal. Her father has medication for his illness, and he is working more regularly in construction. Mekdes wants to be a lawyer when she grows up to help children in crisis in Ethiopia. Her brighter focus on her future was all made possible through Lelt’s Child Sponsorship Program. A family in America has sponsored her family for the past four years for just a few dollars a month. To help another family in crisis, please sponsor a child today.
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