As Sister Medhin Tesfay speaks, the unusual sound of raindrops beats on the tin roof. “Rain is a good sign for us!” she says, smiling a smile that is rarely far from her face. “We have been without rain for so many months, so it’s a sign of blessing for you all who are visiting, and for us too.”
We are sitting in a neatly decorated room in a house run by a Catholic congregation called the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, or more commonly, Daughters of Charity, or DOC, in Mekelle, capital of the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia.
Tesfay heads this residence — one of two belonging to DOC in the city — where she lives with a group of sisters. She joined the congregation as soon as she finished school and had spent the last three decades dedicated to its aims. Calm and modest, she would never admit she played a key role in saving thousands of internally displaced people, or IDPs, from starvation during the region’s recent war. Nor take credit for enabling the current implementation of the region’s largest feeding program for school children.
About the author
Gabriella Jóźwiak@GabriellaJ
Gabriella Jóźwiak is an award-winning journalist based in London. Her work on issues and policies affecting children and young people in developing countries and the U.K. has been published in national newspapers and magazines. Having worked in-house for domestic and international development charities, Jóźwiak has a keen interest in organizational development, and has worked as a journalist in several countries across West Africa and South America.
