Family Background
Ajem was born in South Sudan. Her father died there during the war and soon after Ajem fled to Ethiopia together with her mother and her two older brothers. They lived in the Ethiopian countryside for a few years (with next to no education possibilities) before their aunt took Ajem and her two brothers to Gambella, where they now live. Her mother is still in the countryside but they have no contact.
Living situation
Ajem shares her mud hut with four of her cousins, They sleep on a thin mat on the floor. The aunt has 7 children of her own that she looks after, all by herself. Her income is small, which means that there is a shortage of everything (particularly school materials and food. In their compound there is no electricity and no toilet. Water has to be fetched from a nearby well.
Education and Ambition
Considering her difficult circumstances, Ajem’s results are fantastic and her spoken English is significantly better than that of her peers. She claims that this comes from listening to the radio a lot at her best friend’s house. She is an outgoing and quite confident young woman. We believe that, given the right kind of support, she has a fantastic future ahead of her.
Currently in grade 7, with a score of 81% she ranks first in a class of over 90 students.
Our Plan for Ajem
Ajem will join the EEF programme in summer 2020. During Grade 8 she will continue to live with her aunt as this provides the best level of security for her (she is the only female scholar this year).
We will also provide her with
- three meals per day: An egg, banana and bread (for breakfast), a traditional vegetable dish and occasionally meat (lunch) as well as their custom maze stew (dinner).
- Some new clothes each year
- Study materials throughout her time at school.
Our initial support will be for grades 8 – 12.
After grade 8 (last year of primary school) there will be a review, and based on her grades, we will decide if she will go to high school in Gambella, or if she will join our programme in Addis Ababa.
After grade 12 (last year of high school) she will go to university (our programme track record for university entrance is 100%) and we will continue to support her with a monthly allowance.
Sponsorship for Ajem is only £400 per year. Please support her if you can!
I WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR AJEM !!
During your sponsorship we will send you
- Her two report cards per year (March and July)
- Two short letters written by her each year (March and July)
- 1-2 short reports on her progress each year (March and July)
- 2-3 general EEF newsletters each year
- Lots of regular updates about our overall programme on our website and on Facebook.