My name is Hewet Mengestu. I'm female and I'm six years old. I live with my parents. I have a brother and two sisters. I was born in Debrezeit town in Kuriftu village. My family lives on daily labor work. My father is a guard in a private dairy farm and earns 30 Euro per month. And my mom works in garden and she sells certain flowers and tree seedlings. Both of them did not go to school. But my father can read and write in Amharic.

I'm learning in Bishoftu MTE School. I'm in grade one this year. I like my school very much. We do have good teachers and good play grounds, neat classrooms. We get school lunch every school day. I usually go to school and we start classes at 8:30 in the morning. My dream is to be a teacher and help my needy family.

My name is Alemu Mekonnen. I'm twelve years old and I'm living with my parents. I have three brothers. I'm the fourth and the youngest child of my parents. I was born in Debrezeit in Kuriftu village. My father is a retired soldier. He lost his right arm during the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia before I was born. He is paid 30 Euro. The entire family lives with this monthly income. And my mom is a housewife. She does not have any employment. And with my father’s small monthly pension payment, my family lives in scarcity. My father is semi-literate. My mom did not go to school. We live in our own two-room house which is very old. When someone from our home get sick, we do not have easy access to hospitals as my father's pension is too small. Having enough food and clothes to change are some other problems in our family. I go to Bishoftu MTE School. It takes half an hour walk to reach my school. I get school lunch every school day. When I grow up, I want to be an Engineer and want to support my family.

My name is Kidist Tesema. I'm female and I'm eleven years old. I'm in grade five. I live with my parents. I'm the only child for my parents. I was born in Debrezeit town in Kuriftu village. My family lives on daily labor work. My father is a Gardener in a private farm and earns about 34 Euro per month. And my mom is unemployed housewife. Both of them are semi literate and can read and write in Amharic.

I'm learning in Bishoftu MTE School. I like my school very much. Our school has very nice trees and beautiful compound. In school, I am involved in drama and our school children's choir. I get school lunch every school day. After school, I help my mother at home. I clean our house and make coffee for my parents. They give me time to do my home work. I want to be a researcher in HIV/AIDS as it is one of the known killer diseases in Ethiopia. I want to find a healing drug for this virus. Moreover, I want to support my family.

I am Selam Dawit. I'm female and I'm thirteen years old. I'm in grade two. I'm half an orphan. I live with my mother and my two sisters and my brother. I was born in Awash town. I'm the second child in my family. My father died when I was nine years old. He died of a disease which I did not know yet. My mom is a daily laborer and she earns very small income on daily basis which is less than 25 Euro per month. We live in a rented house and my mom pays about 9 Euro for house rent only. We are struggling for life.

I'm learning in Bishoftu MTE School. I do not pay for my school as this school is opened for poor family children. I get school lunch on every school day. Every morning, I walk at least for 45 minutes to come to my school. As my mom's income is very small my family has very serious need for food, house rent payment, clothes, and so on. As we cannot afford it, we do not go to hospitals if we get sick. But I hope this problem will be solved when our school clinic starts its free medical service to all school children and their families. In the future, I want to be a teacher and want to help my poor mother. I like English more than other subjects.

My name is Yonas Beraket. I'm the second child in my family. I have an older sister and a younger brother. I'm eleven years old. I live with my mother. My mother has told us that our father is alive but we do not know his whereabouts./p>

My mom is a daily labor worker and she earns very little on daily basis. Her job is cutting and shaping rocks and it is very tough job for a woman. If I could, I would have helped my mom. Her total monthly income is about 27 euro. She pays 7 euro for house rent as we do not own a house.

My older sister, my younger brother, and I go to Bishoftu MTE School. I'm third grade student. I like mathematics more than other subjects. Had it not been for this school's assistance, we would stay home without chance to learn. Thanks to God, we do not pay for our education. We get school lunch on every school day. But still we lack many things in our home. We do not get enough food, cloth, medication, and pure water. I'm one of the clever students in my class, and I want to be a teacher and want to assist my poor mother.

My name is Yihune Yosef. ). I'm a boy and 13 years old. I do have two brothers and two sisters. My parents are alive but as there is no school where they live, my younger sister and I moved to Debrezeit where my older brother get daily work employment. I live with him. He is not married. After school my sister and I help him at home.

My older brother, my sister, and I sleep in a very small rented room. We do not have a bed; we share one blanket. We do not have enough water for washing. We lack food at home; and clothing is another serious problem in my family.

I go to Bishoftu MTE School. I'm in grade five in this academic year; and every year I stood first in my class. God has given this school to us and it is a school for poor children. We get school lunch, school uniform, and supply of educational materials. But there are lots of needs in our school as well. In the future, I want to be a medical doctor and work for my country Ethiopia, especially to help my poor mom.