I belong with my family
“I am very fortunate to have found a loving home with a lot of children around me. I love my family, I belong with my family. I just love when we sit around our beautiful table to share a meal, it is my best moment,” says Mimi, a 12-year-old girl who lives at the SOS Children’s Villages Harar in Ethiopia.
Mimi was born into a family of herders in Adessa, the driest part of southern Ethiopia. Households living in the area endure hunger caused by prolonged periods of drought. Shepard’s have to walk long distances in search of grasslands for the few animals that survived the previous drought.
Growing up, Mimi had to tolerate the harsh terrain she called home. Sadly three years into her life, she had to endure the unbearable pain of losing their parents. Her father died in conflict and her mother passed on a year later from malaria. Mimi and her baby brother, Tesgay, moved in with their paternal aunt, who had four children of her own that she was struggling to feed. The children largely survived on porridge and milk.
The children’s poor state of health forced local authorities to intervene and look for an alternative home for Mimi and her brother. When she was four years old, the two siblings were embraced by a new family in SOS Children’s Village Harar.
“I am a different girl now and I am living a different life – a life of happiness, affection and with great prospects for the future.”
Mimi’s favourite thing to do after school is to carry her six-month-old baby sister – the latest addition to the family. She was found abandoned in a nearby bush. Mimi cuddles her, speaks and sings to her. “I am her big sister and I have to protect her. My mother says we have to look out for one another,” she says.
She is in grade five at SOS Primary School. “Science is my favourite subject. I like reading about animals and plants, about their mannerisms and habitat,” says Mimi. “I know I have a bright future because I have all the support I need here at home and in school. I will study hard and be a doctor one day.”
Canadian's wishing to support SOS Children's Villages are encouraged to sponsor a child, sponsor a village or to make a direct donation. Your support ensures that SOS Children's Villages can continue to provide a safe and loving home to orphan and abandoned children worldwide.