Yeshework Adino

Yeshework Adino is a 17 years old girl and a grade 7 at Melkakole Primary School, one of the target schools located in the Amhara Region, which is supported by the EQIEP Project – funded by CBM-Italy. She was born at Woldia town in North Wolo Zone, Amhara Region. She lives with her mother and sisters. When she was 11 years old age and in grade 6, she suffered a medical condition on her spinal cord and got paralyzed; which made be physically impaired.

When this happened, her mother took her to the hospital. She has undergone surgery and ward for two years in the hospital, which made her drop out and spent four years without education.

Yeshiwork comes from a low-income family and rose by a single mother. Her mother’s financial circumstances and her impairment made her family came to the conclusion that Yeshiwork would not benefit from going to school and that they could not afford to send her to a special school, so they decided to keep her at home.

In September  2019 everything changed for Yeshiwork, she went back to school to continue her education, as her mother’s attitude changed after seeing other community members sending their children with disabilities to school. Her mother said,” I carry her when she goes to school and sometimes paying 25 birr per day for transportation fee”.

Many children with disabilities are supported to go to school by their families in Woldia town. Teachers in Melka Kole Primary School are now aware of the support of inclusive education for all children with disabilities to have equal access to education as a result of training provided by the EQIEP Project on disability, inclusive and special needs education. The existing wheelchair is very old and broken. It was challenging to travel easily to school.

Yeshiwork said, “At school, I am using a wheelchair with the help of an assistant. However, I am determined now to be independent, thanks to ECDD’s support of new wheelchair and constructed accessible ramps at my school”.