Faith Nyasuguta
An Ethiopian university student who carried firewood during his graduation in honour of his hardworking mother’s painful sacrifice to help him attain higher-education has been lauded globally.
The good gesture has also landed the lad a job offer to enable him support his family.
Images of Ephrem Belete, a graduate of computer science at Addis Ababa University, paying tribute to his mother went viral as right after his graduation, he put his cap and gown on his mother while he carried a bunch of firewood – signifying the work she did for years to be able to get him to school.
Efrem’s mother was visibly emotional as he reflected on her support for his education since childhood despite their economic circumstances.
Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian women nationwide are known to carry such heavy bundles of firewood daily to put food on the table and also provide cooking power & heat for their families.
Efrem’s commendable act during his university graduation ceremony put a spotlight and recognized both his mother and hardworking mothers around the country.
It is something that made her cry, which Ephrem said were “tears of happiness”.
“I did this to give credit to my mother. My life is just one among millions of Ethiopians,” he said to reporters.
With the trending images, he got a job offer from Ethiopia’s Information Network Security Agency on Monday, but turned it down as he will be doing something else for the youth in Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa mayor Adanech Abiebie also offered both a job to Ephrem’s mother and a two-bedroom house.
Ephrem believes what he did to honour his mother will be a lesson for many young Ethiopians who might overlook helping their families.
