Poverty and lack of opportunity to better herself pushed Yerom, a new mother, to leave Ethiopia and migrate to the Middle East leaving behind her husband and child.
After paying the 20,000 ETB fee to an agent with money she borrowed from friends and family, Yerom started her journey seeking stability, a steady income, and more importantly, hope. From Beruit to Dubai, she went from one abusive employer to another, hoping to find respite.
After four years of desperation, Yerom returned to Ethiopia, broken and with meager savings.
She was not about to give up hope. By this time Yerom was a mother of three. She registered as a job seeker at the government Labour Enterprise Industry Development Office and became a member of the Solid Waste Collectors Cooperative. For the first time in a long time, Yerom saw hope of a better future.
But soon things became difficult again.
“We were given orientation and learned how to create an administration structure for our cooperative. After paying for start-up costs, my first month’s salary was just 600 ETB. It was so frustrating. I was about to give up but that’s when Amref stepped in,” she says.
Amref provided the team with seed money and skill training so young people like Yerom could provide sanitation services and make a dignified living from WASH businesses. The training covered risks of irregular migration, entrepreneurship, financial management, business plan development, and health and safety—an especially crucial subject for sanitation workers.
“Amref gave us 200,000.00 ETB which helped us secure transportation and safety materials,” says Yerom.
Working in close collaboration with Addis Ababa cleaning management agency office, Amref also linked the team to a micro finance institution which helped them buy their own truck, a savings of 65,000 ETB a month in truck rental fees.
“Our monthly income started to soar. I now earn 3,500 ETB per month. I am putting my training in entrepreneurship, financial management, business development, and life skills to good use. I am raising my children in my country. My dream is to be an entrepreneur because now I have hope.”
Welcome home.
