From Loss to Leadership: A Story of Unyielding Determination
From Loss to Leadership: A Story of Unyielding Determination
Dinsefa, a 33-year-old resident of Addis Ketema Sub-City in Addis Ababa, embodies resilience and transformation. Known today as “The Invincible”, his journey from adversity to ambition reflects the spirit of countless persons with disabilities striving to reclaim their purpose.
Even before acquiring his visual impairment, Dinsefa was a determined young man. From sixth grade, he took on various jobs to support his family, lightening the burden carried by his mother, who sold the traditional drink Borde to sustain them. His entrepreneurial spirit led him from studying auto mechanics at General Winget TVET to working in a traditional cloth ironing business. But it came at a cost—constant exposure to cloth particles and steam without medical attention eventually took his sight. By the age of 30, he was completely blind. The business was dismantled, and its assets sold in a desperate attempt to save his vision.
Heartbroken and isolated, Dinsefa spent months confined to his home, grappling with a future that suddenly seemed out of reach. “My mother’s only wish,” he recalls, “was to see me in the sunlight again, living an independent life.”
That moment of darkness began to lift when ECDD’s Tila Project identified and supported him. With vocational training in leather manufacturing, Dinsefa regained his confidence and crafted two pairs of shoes—one for himself and one for his mother—marking his rebirth into the business world. Starting with a modest capital of 1,200 ETB (1,000 ETB from the project and 200 from his savings), he soon received additional used machine and a 10,000 ETB boost through ECDD’s other project support.
The turning point came when the Tila Project facilitated a 150,000 ETB loan, empowering Dinsefa to scale his business. Today, his enterprise is valued at over 350,000 ETB, and he envisions it not only as a thriving business but a training hub for other persons with disabilities.
Dinsefa’s dream is bold: to expand his workshop, create jobs for vulnerable communities, especially persons with disabilities and build a model of inclusive entrepreneurship. His mother, once wishing only for his survival, now watches with pride as her son transforms lives—including his own.