imagine1day is a growing, global community of people making passionate contributions to ensure every child in Ethiopia receives a quality education.

 

Nigus Hagos Kahsay

Nigus is excited to go to high school because, “my friends are my books so when I go to high school I think there will be a big library, therefore I will have many friends! Because I won’t be at home I will have more free time to study and read. When I do experiments now I have to use locally available materials. At high school I will be able to use real chemicals and equipment.”

 

Name: Nigus Hagos Kahsay

What his name means in Tigrigna (local language): “King”

Gender: Male

Age: 14

Birthday: (DMY: 19/10/1989 EC)

Hometown: Siheet, Tigray, Ethiopia

Former elementary school: Siheet Grade 1-8 Community School

Distance between hometown and nearest high school: 28 km

High school he is attending: Adigudom Senior Secondary School

Academic record: Nigus was one of the top three students from Grade 2 to Grade 8. In Grade 8, Nigus was second in his class and had an academic average of 93.5%.

Favorite subject(s): Biology and English

Extracurricular activities and leadership positions in Grade 8: member of Anti-HIV/AIDS Club, member of Literature and Culture Club, Chairperson of Information Communication Technology Club, Chairperson of Science Lab Club.

Challenges encountered during elementary school: “When I was in Grade 2 I got very sick and had to drop out of school. My family supported me though and I was abe to write the end of year exam and pass into Grade 3. We struggle to have enough money in my family so I often have to work hard to make money to purchase a pen and exercise book for school.”

In 10 years Nigus wants to be a doctor because, “I learned in my class that HIV/AIDS affects many people in Africa. There is no cure yet but I believe that if I work hard and study hard that I can cure this epidemic.”

Favorite quote: “Live and let live.”

Role model: “My aunt because she supports me going to school by giving me pens and paper as gifts. She says my education is the most important thing and always encourages me to keep on going.”

Favorite celeb: Keneneesa – famous Ethiopian runner

Hobbies and interests: studying hard, writing poems, making new experiments in the science lab, reading the dictionary to learn new English words.

Family: “I have four brothers and one sister. I am the oldest and I will be the first person in my family to go to high school since my parents didn’t go to school when they were younger. Four of my brothers go to school here at Siheet and will hopefully also go to high school one day. We plow and plant our ½ hectare of farmland. We depend on the summer rain for our crops to grow because it can be difficult to get water close to our home.”

Family’s skills for potential income generation activities: animal fattening, beekeeping, raising chickens.

What his father, Hagos, thinks about Nigus having the opportunity to go to high school: “I hope that all of my children will have the same opportunity to continue their education. He will be the example for our family. He will have success as he continues to grow. This is a very important event for our family – we are very happy.”

What his homeroom teacher, Rezena, is saying about him: “Nigus is a young man with a great vision for his life. He absorbs everything we teach him like a sponge and never forgets anything. Teaching never goes to waste with Nigus. I have taught him for four years now and have seen him grow. I know he will succeed in high school.”