Age: 10
Family members: 8
Grade 3
Jemila is the fourth child for her family. She has two sisters and one brother. She lives with both her parents, her grandmother (who is mentally ill) and her siblings. They live in a very small room rented from ‘Kebele’ 10 located in Kirikos sub city. The room is not big enough for the eight family members. They have two old beds and little household items. They share a traditional kitchen with 30 neighbors and a toilet with 5 families. Both places are not hygienic.
The family’s meager income is generated by Ato Sorbale Muktar (her father) who works as a daily laborer for the Consumers Association found in the ‘kebele’. The work is irregular and the pay is low. W/o Asma (her mother) used to wash clothes for others in order to get some money, but she stopped it because of her health condition.
W/o Asma said that there are lots of days when they go without food. She said she would store the food which she gets during the Muslim fasting seasons from rich Muslims to share with the family. But this collection would be finished before the next fasting season and the family is exposed to hunger.
Jemila has better health and physical condition compared with the other children and is also active in her education.
Je
milas’ teacher said that Jemila was not active in the class before the feeding program started by FKL with the food that food provided by the Feed the Children Ethiopia. She said that Jemila is one of the neediest students in her class. She used to come to school covering with dirt and lice on her hair and cloth.
The social committee of the school decided to provide cleaning materials for Jemila and students like her. Now Jemila is clean and active in the class. She is showing progress in her grades.