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Providing a safe space

Zusiash Mersha  lives in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Every day, she participates in Biruh Tesfa, a United Nations Foundation funded project that provides girls with informal education and training for two hours a day. Through this program, Zusiash also has access to essential health check-ups to ensure that she is healthy and growing and protected against disease. The program also makes it possible for her and other young women to obtain an official identification card, which helps to ensure that they are counted and recognized by their government.

When the UN Foundation visited the Biruh Tesfa program, Zusiash stood out to us. We asked if any of the girls were willing to share a description of her normal day. Twelve-year-old Zusiash was one of the only girls willing to stand up and speak to us about her life. She told us that she wakes up at 5:30 every morning to start work at 6 a.m. She provides breakfast for her employer and then cleans until 2:30 in the afternoon. From there, she is allowed to go to the Biruh Tesfa center to learn and play with other girls. As a big smile came across her face, she told us that this is the best part of her day. At the center, Zusiash finds people who care about her, make sure she is being treated well, and teach her important skills like reading and writing.

At 5 p.m. she returns to work to clean her employer’s bus station motel until 1:30 in the morning. She then told us that when she gets home at 2 a.m., she tries to read as much as she can to educate herself before she falls asleep. As we stood in front of this twelve-year-old girl, not even a teenager, we were in awe of her world. Zusiash is a reminder of the potential and drive of adolescent girls. Programs like Biruh Tesfa help ensure that girls like her are given the opportunity to learn, grow, and be supported, and have the chance to just be a girl.