Life stories*

You are hope

Tanja’s mother moved from the countryside to Addis Ababa to earn money for her family. Her dream of big city life and its job opportunities quickly became a nightmare: she could not find work, had no roof over her head and became pregnant by a man who left her soon afterwards. Shortly before Tanja’s birth, she finally found somewhere to stay: a corrugated iron hut with plastic sheeting for walls. Having lost all hope for herself, she gave her daughter a name meaning “you are hope” in Amharic, the local language.

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*all names have been changed