FINISHED PROJECTS
TESEJAYET
To speak about Tesejayet is to speak about one of the key reasons why VPA was founded. In 2010, we met Tesejayet, a 28 year old woman with two chilren: Mikas (8 months old) and Tigist (3 years old). They lived 10 meters away from our acommodation at the time, on the street (and I mean literally on the street). As you might expect, Tesejayet and her children suffered from malnutrition, illness and extreme solitude.
Wd tried to help them from the start, taking them to the doctor, giving them clothes and food… but in order to really help them we needed a more permanent and sustainable solution. The sporadic help we could provide them with would be of little significance once we returned to Spain.
So we contacted Feti (our link in Addis Abeba) to monitor Tesejayet closely. We gave them a roof and enrolled her older daughter in school. Laboral reinsertion was impossible though, for the mother was iliterate.
The first couple of years they were completely dependent on our help, but as time went by, they started to stabilize and became somewhat independent. We provide scolarship and medical atention for the children.
To this day, Tesejayet is still with us (living independently), and since 2017 she has been working directly for VPA in project Hirmee, helping families sheltered in the same conditions they once were.
In our last trip, Tesejayet let us know that after all this wonderful years living with us she wishes to go back to Addis with her children to start a new life without our support. To speak about Tesejayet is to speak about a strong woman living in Addis, with resources and means to live proudly.