TESTIMONIALS

Habtamu Bekele’s wrote a handwritten testimonial letter in Amharic.  We provide below a brief background information on Habtamu Bekele and some highlights of his testimonials.

Habtamu Bekele is a 28-year old Ethiopian born in Azezo, Gonder.  He was raised by a single mother who passed when he was in grade 11.  Soon after his mother’s death, Habtamu was forced to drop out of school due to financial difficulties.  To make ends meet, he started working for an individual who was providing transportation service for passengers traveling between Bahr Dar and neighboring cities.  During one of these trips, he sustained a serious auto accident that resulted in loss of mobility of both of his legs.  He received medical assistance in hospitals at Bahr Dar.  Unfortunately, however, Habtamu was not able to regain the mobility of his legs. Later, he traveled to Addis Ababa and sought the assistance of Dr. Rick Hodes, a renowned American physician specializing in spinal surgery.  Dr.  Hodes was based at ABET Hospital and Trauma Center in Addis Ababa. Despite the best efforts of Dr. Hodes and his team, Habtamu’s dream of regaining the mobility of his legs remained shattered.

While he was at ABET Hospital in 2019, Habtamu met two members of Inspire Ethiopia team--Mrs. Hibst Melesse Nitkin and her daughter Emma Nitkin--who were volunteering at the hospital during that time.  Before Hibst and Emma left Addis for the US, they asked Habtamu what Inspire Ethiopia (IE) could do to assist him. He told them he would appreciate getting a wheelchair so he can get around with greater ease.  In cooperation with Bessere Zukunft E.v.,  IE members raised Birr 90,000 (about US$3000 at that time) and purchased an electric motorcycle wheelchair for Habtamu.  In his handwritten letter, Habtamu expresses gratitude and states that the wheelchair has become an invaluable resource that increased his mobility and greatly improved his quality of life.   

Habtamu is an amazing and highly driven young man with great aspirations. Taking advantage of his increased mobility, he enrolled in a mobile phone repair training program and is now a certified mobile phone maintenance technician. Building on his newly acquired skill and credentials, he started a small mobile phone repair shop near ABET Hospital that has enabled him to become financially independent. 

Well Done, Habtamu!