Meet Jamanesh. We at Fuel Their Future have had the honor of informing our supporters of the wonderful private school in Ethiopia that truly cares about seeing children succeed. While many government-run schools fail at setting their students up for success by denying them the tools they need to exceed the 8th grade, Yadidiya ensures its students are fed, taught, and prepared to excel! So, while we love telling you about the school itself, we think it’s important for you to know how the school came to be.
Jamanesh and her late husbank started Yadidiya English school roughly twenty years ago. Jamanesh makes sure that the teachers are treated fairly, that students are excited to learn, and that everyone is getting a chance at life instead of falling through the cracks. Jamanesh is unlike other women; she has fought for and defended those who needed her and fought back against the chronic injustice of the world starting at a young age. Being the oldest of her siblings, after her parents’ and grandparents’ passing, she was young and charged with caring for them. She was forced to stand up against the grown men trying to take her land, take her body, and take her freedom. She showed up for women in corrupt courts facing similar issues and won women back their property and their bodies. She has shown up time and again when injustice rears its ugly head to grab it by the throat and fight back.
When Jamanesh opened Yadidiya, she approached the local government entities asking for students who needed aid getting an education. Instead of supplying her with names of children in her community whose families were truly struggling, they provided names of their own cousins, nieces, and nephews. Seeing this, Jamanesh turned away from the system and sought out families who could use her help alone. She approached the communities with open arms and a full heart.
Today, Jamanesh is seeing her students graduate as scientists and doctors. For decades she has fought for her own rights, for others’ rights, and for the rights of her students, and still she greets everyone with open arms and unrelenting positivity. While visiting Jamanesh, it was impossible to overlook how wide her sheltering wings spread. She housed, fed, and employed young women, like the cook, Tsehaynesh. Jamanesh provided meals and coffee ceremonies for us while in her care and went out of her way to give us unnecessary gifts of appreciation. She hosted us from classroom to classroom and allowed us to disrupt the school day in hopes that we saw the world she’s built. Jamanesh is a woman who has changed the lives of so many, one can only dream of having her gumption.
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