An Encouraging Story from Ethiopia: Meet Abreham

As a young boy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Abreham Gashaw lost his father in an automobile accident. Now widowed, his mother struggled to keep various jobs in order to make ends meet. Abreham describes this time in his life: “The time that I had lost my father, that was the worst time I have ever seen… when he died, the condition for my mother was very hard. She worked different [jobs] to feed me, to send me to school.”

We met Abreham and his mother when he was seven years old, and enrolled him in the Sponsorship Program. In the years to come, his mother suffered from numerous health issues. Because of Abreham’s Covenant Mercies sponsors, he and his mother experienced the help and support they needed to persevere, and to keep Abreham in school. He quickly proved himself to be a diligent and enthusiastic student, rising near the top of his class and developing a passion for the sciences. Abreham excelled in secondary school and his college entrance exams, and earned a full government scholarship for his achievements.

Abreham graduated from the Sponsorship Program in 2017. Today, he is studying Computer Science at Wachemo University in Ethiopia. During his school breaks, he often spends time volunteering at the Covenant Mercies offices. On a recent trip to our Addis Ababa program, I had the opportunity to visit with him and capture the sweet photo below.

To our Covenant Mercies sponsors, donors, and partners: thank you for joining indigenous local churches as they stand in the gap for the orphaned and the vulnerable. You are there to help children stay in school, and to provide essential living supplies and healthcare. You say to the widow facing the trials of life in the developing world, “You are not alone.” You come alongside mothers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents to help them care for their little ones– and to help a young child like Abreham cultivate the gifts and skills God has given to him.

Thank you for partnering with us in this good work.