Demekech Meshesha was born in 2009 in a small town called Keyit, situated in Semen Shoa, 20 kilometers north of Debrebirihan Town. Demekech reported that she lost her sight at the age of six due to an accidental fall while playing with her peers. Her mother confirmed that she made efforts to bring her to a local clinic for treatment. However, even though her eye problem was worsening and the health officers at the clinic referred her to Addis for further ophthalmic treatment, Demekech’s mother was not able to take her for advanced medical care due to her poor economic status. Demekech’s mother was engaged in daily labor work to feed her extremely poor and hungry family. In fact, philanthropic individuals from the community contributed money to help Demekech access better medical treatment at Debrebirihan Referral Hospital and Minilik II Memorial Hospital in Addis.  

However, their efforts ended without success, as she was taken to those referral hospitals too late. Finally, her mother tried to use traditional treatments, mainly holy water, to cure the sight of her beloved daughter. This effort also ended without success. After these tiresome efforts to heal her daughter’s vision problem, Demekech’s mother moved to Debrebirihan Town in 2018 with the objective of admitting her daughter to Zerayakob Primary School, where a Special Needs Education unit is operational, so she could start her schooling. As Demekech’s mother is not educated and had no relatives in Debrebirihan Town, she engaged in daily labor work to support her family financially. Thanks to the collaborative engagement and facilitation of the management and Special Needs Education unit of Zerayakob Primary School with HPDO, Demekech was able to obtain holistic rehabilitation services, adaptive educational materials, assistive devices, a school uniform, and financial support from HPDO to cover the cost of her family’s rented residence.  

Besides, her mother was recruited to participate in the economic empowerment program of HPDO, considering the multiple challenges faced by Demekech’s family, to help sustain her daughter’s engagement in learning. The management and teaching staff of Zerayakob also paid due attention to the academic performance of Demekech, alongside the unreserved support of HPDO. Currently, Demekech is diligently attending her studies at the Grade 9 level with splendid academic success.