That evening, in addition to my peers, I had the opportunity to meet several dynamic young Ethiopian professionals in the field of economics, finance, medicine and pharmacy, to name a few of the sectors represented.

As parents, we want our best for our children and that evening, I wondered how wonderful it would be if our teenagers of high school age had the opportunity to sit at a round table with these same young professionals.

What a great opportunity, I thought, for planting the seed of success…

They could ask questions about college and different fields of studies. They could hear, directly from those who were older and yet still young enough to relate to, about the dos and donts of carving the way onwards to higher education and ultimately successful careers.

What a great opportunity, I thought, for planting the seed of success by letting high school teens relate to those closer to their own age; those who reflect their own image and more importantly, those with whom they shared culture, community and familial experiences as diaspora kids just like them.

That evening led to Youths Mentoring Youths and 18 events concluded so far and over 750 young high school and college students have been able to benefit from early mentorship. Likewise, young professionals in the community have also been able to guide the next generation of professionals and serve as important community leaders.

Melakou Guirbo

Founder