Enanu: A Year in the Life

April 10, 2019

Enanu was one of the four families we followed in 2018. Throughout the year, we gathered updates on her and her family. Take a look into a year in the life of Enanu!

April 2018:

The Ethiopian government referred Enanu and her four out-of-school children to Ethiopia ACT in the hopes of getting all four children back in school knowing it would be detrimental to the children to have to wait another year to be enrolled. Ethiopia ACT stepped in and pleaded to the school’s administration to allow the children entrance. They compassionately agreed to make adjustments to enroll all four children in school! The project provided all materials and fees for their education. Enanu was also provided with basic need assistance which allowed the children to go to school instead of being forced to work and earn income for the family. Enanu’s dream finally came true and all her children joined school! In her own words, Enanu joyfully reported “I am really happy my children joined school. The support of ACT was a turning point for my family. My children are very happy, and they are looking ahead toward a bright future.”

July 2018:

Enanu is doing well and is very happy that her children have done well in their academic year (that just ended in Ethiopia). They all scored great marks and passed to the next grade. This summer they all attended VBS (Vacation Bible School) at Ethiopia ACT’s Suki Community Center along with many other children in the project. They enjoyed VBS very much and learned a lot from it. Her children will continue their education for the next academic year and will collect their uniforms, shoes, and school materials at the end of August.

Recently, Enanu changed her housing and has rented a better house, since she receives house rent subsidy provision from Ethiopia ACT. Enanu also started in a nearby factory as a cleaner. She has begun saving up a little money from job. She says that she plans to continue doing the job until she can start a small business of her own with the help of Ethiopia ACT’s Income Generating Activity (IGA) program where she will learn how to run a successful small business. This will provide her with the proper steps and tools and be successful and one day be able to provide for herself and her family!

September 2018:

Enanu and her children are doing very well! She is so thankful her children are back in school after receiving all their school supplies and uniforms last week. Prior to joining Ethiopia Act, it was an incredible financial burden for Enanu to send her four children to school. However, with the help of the Project, it is now a great relief knowing her children can attend school.

Enanu is still working as a cleaner in a beverage factory nearby the Suki community. Recently, Enanu has joined Ethiopia ACT’s support group program where she discusses and shares her story with other beneficiaries in the Project. The support group has brought tremendous emotional healing in her life and enables her to happily live and interact with people in her community!

December 2018:

Once a struggling mother, Enanu and her children are now leading the better life they always sought after. Her four children are enrolled in school and performing very well. Enanu reports that she is extremely happy that she is finally able to support herself and her family with both the aid received from Ethiopia ACT and her earnings from her job as a cleaner.

Last month, Enanu received training on Income Generating Activities (IGA). This will enable her to start a small business in the future. After this training, she went to her local government administration office to apply for a spot in the neighborhood where she will be allowed to operate her new small business.

Enanu plans to simultaneously continue in her cleaning job while gradually starting her small business. She has developed a great sense of courage to take steps to one day be a self-supporting woman. She reports that it gives her great happiness that she is now able to care for her children like other mothers in her neighborhood.

SUPPORT
We will continue to support the hard work of Enanu as she takes steps toward her goal of starting her small business with the hope that one day she can graduate from the program being fully self-supporting!