A visionary Girl

ORDA’s Ensuring Quality and Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities Program (EQIEP) has an objective of Ensuring Inclusive and quality education for Children with Disabilities in realizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal 4 target 4.5 ensuring equal access and quality inclusive education for children with disabilities. It is funded by CBM Italy and launched in 2019 and stays for 3 years, till 2021 in Kobo Woreda. It has been supporting in-kind and other schooling accommodations for 53 (F: 25) students with a disability that enrolled at Robit primary school of Kobo Woreda, Amhara Region. To prevent them from COVID-19 pandemic, students with disabilities leave the school and joined their family and the project supplied different sanitation materials & food items while they are at home.

Melisa Adinew is one of the beneficiaries of the CBM-Italy (EQIEP) project. She is 19 years old and a grade 5th student. She was born in Mito small villages, Robit Kebele of Kobo Woreda. She is the first child for her family, and she has 2 brothers and 3 sisters.

Melisa got hearing impairment in her infant stage for unknown reasons. Her father took her to be seen by a physician and to get a remedy for her hearing impairment, but no solution.
Tough Melisa was active, fast, and very eager to go to school; she could not get an education due to her family’s low living standard and absence of school in her area for persons with disabilities.

Before six years ago her father Ato Adinew heard about Robit school special needs education. She registered to start education at grade one. Even though the education office gave 200 birrs for students in special education, it is not enough to fulfill her expenses. Her families also could not afford Melisa’s food, sanitation, house rent, and her clothes and other material expenses. In this situation, she continued her education up to grade two. When CBM-Italy (EQIEP) project in collaboration with ORDA started work at Robit school, Melisa gots the chance to become a beneficiary of the project and continued her education. She is a clever student and gots the first rank from grades 1 to 4. Now, she is in grade 5th.

As she said about the project; “If CBM-Italy did not support me, I might be at home currently without education, without keeping personal hygiene, without hope for future and unable to read and write. If I had not gotten the chance to learn, I would not have been writing my name. Before I went to school, I was hopeless, aggressive, and make conflict with my siblings. But currently thanks to CBM /ORDA, it enables me to have a vision and think about my bright future. Because the nannies and teachers’ advice and guidance improved my behavior and interaction with my families.”

When Melisa was asked about the current situation after she reunified with her family due to COVID 19 said; “I and my families were in a very difficult situation without getting food inappropriate time. We didn't get nutritious food, and I did n’t get a bar of soap to wash my clothes as well as for bathing. The area where my families live was not comfortable reading and doing other activities concerning my education. But I don’t think and expect the food and sanitation material support from the project after the school was clothed and reunified with my families. But when the Robit staffs call us about the support, I and my families became very happy. Because my families are very poor and they are not able to fulfill these materials. But thanks to God, the project supports us in this difficult time to keep us from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her father Ato Adinew also expressed his feeling that he was faced problem to fulfill his daughter's expense. In addition, her father said; “May God gives you a lot. No other family supports me; I used to lead my life with my children in a difficult situation