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The Women of Laelay Weste

With International Woman’s Day on March 8th, we will be celebrating with the amazing accomplishments and achievements of women around the world. Today, we’d like to introduce to you the women of Laelay Weste and their incredible dedication to bring education to their young children.

With the amount of household work that a woman in rural Ethiopia is responsible for, such as caring for children, preparing meals and walking long distances to collect water and firewood (often with a child on her back), it is a little surprising to see such a strong female presence on the Laelay Weste construction site.

In our previous update, we introduced you to Ms. Mitselal Mengesha, an inspirational female leader in her community. True to her word, Ms. Mitselal is ever-present on the site, keeping an eye on the progress, making sure all the laborers are well taken care of and encouraging the students who are currently learning at the open air “dass” school.

Out of 35 laborers employed from the community, 10 are women. Their tasks include assisting the skilled laborers, bringing water for cement mixing and curing, carrying sand and small stones for the foundation floor, and preparing meals for the workers.

Alemnish Awitsachew first got involved with the Laelay Weste school-building project by helping her relatives with daily food preparation for the skilled laborers that came from outside the village. She is a 17-year old student from another village 200km away. Although she did not pass her senior exam by one point last year, she has remained dedicated to her work and education and will rewrite the exam in May.

Alemnish still prepares meals for the workers in the morning, and is now supplementing her income assisting them on the construction site. When asked if it is difficult to manage her regular household tasks, meal preparation and working onsite, she replies, “the labor work can be hard because I previously broke my hand and sometimes the pain comes back, but I was happy that the contractor was kind enough to give me a job. Now I can earn my keep and support my relatives.”

Even though Laelay Weste is not her home village, Alemnish imagines one day “when all the students have reached a good position in life: as doctors, teachers, or whatever they wish to become.” Her own personal vision is to become a doctor.

Click here to learn more about this amazing little community in Northern Ethiopia.