Mercy Ministry Students

Mercy Ministry Happy Children’s Home (MMHCH) has 15 students in what we would consider an all-day kindergarten environment. It’s not really daycare because it’s not open to the public and it is education-based.

            These children are hand selected by Eyob and the Mercy Ministry staff. They solicit applicants from the Women and Children’s Welfare Department, where mothers apparently have registered for aid. I haven’t figured out if these are all single mothers. They are definitely all living below poverty level (but to be honest, I haven’t seen a standard of living here that we would consider comfortable. I’ve seen a BMW and a few 4WD trucks, men in business suits, but they live here … here where there are people urinating on the sidewalk, where there are weekly power outages, where there are open sewers, people lying on every sidewalk … what does money buy you?).

            The Mercy Ministry staff sort through applications each August to select candidates from the Asko area (all walk to school) for home interviews. Eyob explained that when they speak to the family, they take into consideration how many siblings there are (because selecting one child of many can cause tension in the family) and they try to determine the motivation of the mother: the Mercy staff need to sense that the parent(s) “get” the opportunity being presented and don’t essentially abandon their child to the Home. The selected child will receive three meals a day five days a week, a pair of shoes, and a school uniform (a T shirt and a pair of shorts handed down from year to year). Oh … and an education, or at least the beginnings of one. How do I say this … this is a big f'ing deal. They quiz mothers about their willingness to help at the home and try to determine if they value education for their children, as virtually none of the parents themselves have ever so much as stepped foot in a school, let alone opened a book.

            Fifteen children are entered into the program each September; MMHCH has aided 104 children since its inception in 2004. Their goal is for kids to have a basis of education that will prepare them for entry into primary school (which is technically now compulsory in Ethiopia, but not enforced), instill a value of education in the children, and hopefully give them an opportunity for a better life. Once through the kindergarten program, a school psychologist employed by the Home monitors the children for their entire school career. It is her job to communicate regularly with each child’s school, monitor academic progress, and continue home visits. The students and their families have an annual reunion at the Home and—as funds allow—continue to provide resources such as school materials in higher grades or to support the interest of an individual student has, such as art or music materials.

Class of 2024