The following is an interview conducted by students at the Youth Center with their English and computer teacher, Tsedale. (Tsedale is now the head of Sponsorship at HFC-Ethiopia.)
Q: What challenges have you faced as a teacher at the Youth Center?
A: When I started teaching, the students did not know very much English, but they are very eager to learn. Sometimes, they are very shy. I have to work on more than just teaching them English and computers; I have to help them with their confidence.
Q: What kind of influence do you hope to have on the lives of your students?
A: When I came to the Youth Center for the first time, I felt sorrow. I had lived a better life than they had. They had lost many things, such as love from their families. I promised myself that I would be more than a teacher. I would be an older sister. Sometimes the students make me so proud I feel like I am their mother. I hope to teach them that they can change their lives. I tell them that they can do anything if they have dreams.
Q: What do you think the Youth Center gives to the kids that school does not?
A: The Youth Center is very different from the government schools. At school, the classes are so big. The teacher cannot monitor the students and cannot become their friend. At Hope for Children, the students talk to us. At the Youth Center, we are ready to share the problems of the students and we are ready to help them. We are not just teachers, we are sisters and brothers.
