Gelete gets her chance

Gelete was always looking for ways to help her family climb out of poverty. But she was never viewed as being anything more than a wife and a mother because of traditional views about men and women in her community in Ethiopia. Husbands and wives were locked into separate roles and as a result, her ambition and skills were going to waste. Her choices taken from her.

“It was very difficult for me to earn a living,” Gelete says. “Lack of knowledge was our biggest problem.”

But life for Gelete and her family changed for the better when she joined a savings group created by RATSON, a Children Believe partner to help people start small businesses, manage finances and increase their net worth.

“At first, only the women were taking training and men spent money going to the bar,” Engida explains.

But after learning what his wife was being taught, her husband Engida joined in. He had some serious doubts at first — cultural norms discouraged husbands and wives from working together — but Gelete and the program changed his mind.

Life partners, business partners

As a team, they started a new business refurbishing stoves and have also found ways to improve their farm’s productivity.

“We used to live a poor life and it was difficult to educate our children,” Engida says. “I used to have only one plow for agriculture work, but now I have two and we have chickens and sheep. We are doing much better.”

Gelete and Engida are now shining examples of the positive change that is possible in their community. Together, their entrepreneurial spirit has increased and diversified their income and empowered Gelete to break societal barriers, attend meetings and assume leadership roles in community associations that were once dominated by men.

Where once their children would have faced the same challenges with their life choices stolen from them due to illiteracy and poverty, now they too have hope for the future. The skills included managing finances effectively, together.

“Self-help savings and loans (lessons) developed our financial habits and changed our lives,” Engida says. “I have educated my children, seen some of them get married and now we have grandchildren. It has changed our lives.”

The program Gelete and Engida participated in is just one of the community development benefits funded through child sponsorship. Income-generation for parents empowers them to pull themselves out of poverty and removes other barriers to education like malnutrition, child labour and child marriage.

Explore more inspiring stories like this in the latest edition of ChildVoice!

About Children Believe

Children Believe works globally to empower children to dream fearlessly, stand up for what they believe in — and be heard. For 60+ years, we’ve brought together brave young dreamers, caring supporters and partners, and unabashed idealists. Together, we’re driven by a common belief: creating access to education — inside and outside of classrooms — is the most powerful tool children can use to change their world.

About Childfund Alliance

A member of ChildFund Alliance, Children Believe is part of a global network of child-focused development organizations working to create opportunities for children and youth, their families and communities. ChildFund helps nearly 23-million children and their families in 70 countries overcome poverty and underlying conditions that prevent children from achieving their full potential. We work to end violence against children; provide expertise in emergencies and disasters to ease the harmful impact on children and their communities; and engage children and youth to create lasting change and elevate their voices in decisions that affect their lives.