“I am in a different world now”: Hear the story of Gebiya from our Educate a Child Program

14-year-old Gebiya became visually impaired at the age of three. Her parents, who considered her visual impairment a curse, did not send her to school. They also did not allow her to leave the house and play with other children until last year.

In September 2015, during the mapping of out-of-school children Keleb, a Special Needs Education teacher at Seleket School in Debia District of North Gonder Zone in Amhara region, identified Gebiya.

Keleb then convinced Gebiya’s parents to send her to school and she joined first grade in October 2015. Save the Children’s Educate a Child Program provided her counseling and learning aid materials including Braille, Braille paper, Slate and a Cane.

Today, Gebiya can read and write. She is also happy to be in school and meet children of her age. She says “My parents considered me hopeless and did not send me to school. Now, I feel like I am in a different world. I am grateful for this opportunity”

Save the Children in Ethiopia, through a fund obtained from Educate a Child, has been implementing a three- year National Program : “Ethiopia: Increasing Access to Education for Marginalized Children in Ethiopia” since July 2015. The program targets children who are not enrolled in school for various reasons. The goal of the project is to contribute to equitable access to quality primary education for children in Ethiopia. It also aims at increasing enrollment and retention of out -of -school children by improving the learning environment and enhancing local capacity to support children’s learning.

Since the program started, it has supported 22,035 out-of-school children to start school. The students are provided with learning materials. 1,190 teachers also received training on Special Needs Education. The program also developed 1,242 income generating activities for vulnerable children and provided technical assistance to create enabling environment for children with disability. It also works on behavior change and provided training to 74,688 parents and Clan Leaders on the value of education.

Educate a Child has contributed to bring improved access and quality of education services for children; learning outcomes for primary school; and education management and community participation.