Extreme poverty didn't stop Muluken Gebre of Shakisso, Ethiopia, from becoming an engineer. Now 22, he explains the role child sponsorship played in his success.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small town called Awash Melkassa. My mother and stepfather, who were desperately poor, raised me. We lived in a house that had two rooms but no ceilings. Its walls were made of wood and mud, and the floor was dusty. My mother sold tela and areqe (homemade liquors) and bread.

What was your school like?
As a child, I attended Awash Melkassa School. It was a very small school and did not have a library. World Vision expanded the school by building additional blocks and renovating the old ones. Around the time when I graduated, World Vision added a library as well.

Did World Vision help your community in other ways?
World Vision's most important contribution, which will be passed on to future generations, is the water supply system it constructed in our town. Previously, we shared the water from the Awash River with the cattle. The new water system meant the community could have a healthier life. I am so grateful to World Vision.

When did you become a sponsored child?
I was a sponsored child from 1993 to 2004. World Vision gave me school supplies and a school uniform once a year, as well as a blanket, sheets, and clothes. I liked that blanket so much that I have kept it! Being sponsored gave me hope as a child that someone would help me carry on my education.

How did child sponsorship help you and your family?
When I turned 13, I attended secondary school in Nazareth, a town 15 kilometres away. I lived in a rented house with a group of other students, but it was very difficult for my mother to keep me there because of the expense. World Vision paid my health expenses and provided me with educational materials. The organization also gave my mother a cow. She sold its milk and calves to help pay for my rent, food, and transportation. Had it not been for this help, it would have been hard for our family to make it through that difficult year.

What would you like to tell the Canadian who sponsored you?
God is doing great work in my life. I am now the engineer for Shakisso town, responsible for ensuring that any new construction project is carried out according to plan. I live in a four-room house with my wife, Eyerusalem Alelign, who is pregnant with our first child. I can feed my family and keep a roof over us. Occasionally, I send money and gifts to my mother.

What is your hope for the future?
My dream is to continue studying and become a professor in civil engineering. And I have hope that God will help me grow more and reach out to others in the future.

Click here to read an interview with Muluken's Canadian sponsor.
Click here to sponsor a child.