Elias’s Story.

When we were in Ethiopia in January of 2020, I got to sit down with one of our social workers, Elias, and learn more about him.

I was incredibly moved by his story and asked him if he would share it with our sponsors and Out of the Ashes, Inc. family. It was another full-circle moment for me when I learned about how Sponsorship had also changed his life.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
~ Stacy

This is Elias’s Story: 

“My name is Eliyas Tegenu I was born in Adama Ethiopia, 100 km away from Addis Ababa, east direction, in August 1991 A.D. My mother’s name is Tsige Biruse and she lived in Adama a rural village near Debrezeit. She lived there because she did not have good relationship with her step- mother. For that reason, she escaped to Adama and was working as a maid. At that time she was fourteen years old.  In one home there was a young son and she was continually raped by him. Because of this situation, one child came into this world and that child was me. She was in that home until I was six months old. 

Shortly after that she left that home and went back to her father’s home and was living there for two years. She had many life challenges and she decided to leave me in my grandfather’s home and go to Debrezeit to work as a maid again.  In my grandfather’s home life was challenging and they did not have the capacity to send me school. 

But God is good and he had a great plan for my life. 

The new chapter and a new story of my life happened in 2001 A.D. That was the year that I got the opportunity to join Compassion International, a child sponsorship program. I finally got a chance to go to school just like the other children, and my mom got to take me to from the village to Debrezeit with her.  At this time my mother was working at a market,  a simple business, like selling cereal for survival life, and she had also gotten married and she had given birth to a new child, my sister. They still could not afford basic things for the family. 

Compassion International Ethiopia is the major part of my life story because more than anything they know Christ and I accepted him as my savior. They also work on holistic development: psychosocial, cognitive, spiritual and economic developments.

I got the opportunity to develop a biblical worldview for a purposeful life. I was able to join University and got the opportunity to work in the fifth dimension growth area  with leadership development and that was a great chance for me in all dimensions of my life to sustain and thrive in holistic growth.

So in all of this I want to praise the almighty God that has done a great thing for me and who gave a merciful compassionate heart for my sponsor and next I want to say thank you and God bless you for my sponsor, Compassion International and all of my project staff workers and LDP facilitator for their undeniable positive impact in my life.

God saw in my life by means of compassion. “Now the time has come, the time of reaping and harvesting” because I am their fruit, God has given me an opportunity as a social worker at Out of the Ashes, to equip a child’s mind, heart and life that is also passing through the challenging life like me. I am glad and praise the lord for he has given me an opportunity to serve this generation and the issues that have a great place in his heart. “

~Elias