In Ethiopian cultures marriage is considered the ultimate goal for girls and young women; it is often felt there is no need to invest in several years of formal education for them.
In addition, parents prefer to have girls work at home and assist mothers with domestic chores. This leaves the girls little time for school and homework. Even if a girl is in school, she may not compete well with the boys, who do not do housework and who have time to study. The spread of HIV/AIDS decreases the possibility of young girls staying in school, as they often drop out of school to take care of sickly parents and/or younger siblings.
In 2003, in the poorest 40% of Ethiopian households, only 6 % of girls age 15-19 had completed 4th grade.1
A. Y. Amoako has stated, "Getting more girls into school is the most effective investment to transform the vicious cycle of economic decline and poverty into a virtuous cycle of growth and opportunity."2
1 Cynthia Lloyd and Paul Hewett, Primary Schooling in Sub-Suharan Africa: Recent Trends and Current Challenges, 2003.
2 A.Y. Amoako, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, at the 7th Annual Conference of the Ethiopian Economy, 1997.
Soon after arriving in Ethiopia an American missionary was named to the board of a high school and two-year college operated by the church.
At his first meeting with the board the directors, scholarships were awarded to students for the academic year that would begin in the fall. The rookie missionary sat through the first meeting with little to contribute as the scholarships were awarded. He noted, however, that the one applicant who had the highest score on the eighth grade leaving-exam, a girl, was not given a scholarship. When he asked why, he was told that most of the graduates would be sent into the outlying villages as teachers. They could not send a single girl into those situations; therefore scholarships were not given to girls.
The missionary went home and discussed the girl's application with his wife. They decided they would provide funds for her scholarship if someone could vouch for her. A letter was written to another missionary serving near the girl's home, asking about her. A week before school started the girl appeared on their doorstep with a letter of reference from her Ethiopian pastor.
The girl spent four years at the high school and was graduated with honors--grades high enough to earn her a scholarship to the University of Addis Abeba. However, after one semester her father "suggested" that she quit and take a job to support her younger siblings who were ready for high school. She took a job as a stewardess with Ethiopian Airlines.
While working as a stewardess she caught the attention of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, and she became an attendant on his private jet. That position took her to many of the major world capitols. Within a period of six years she had gone from a poor village girl to a world traveler.
When she returned to work for Ethiopian Airlines she was assigned a position as a ticket agent. Then, she was promoted by the company to be a station manager in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emerites; and Ahidijan, Ivory Coast.
Prior to her retirement she returned to Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, with responsibilities for worldwide ticketing operations for the airline. Her younger brother and younger sister, whom she helped through school, are both medical doctors.
Her education cost the missionary and his wife $200 US dollars.
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