For Abaynesh and thousands of students like her throughout Ethiopia, 12th grade was supposed to be a year filled with preparing for graduation and studying for the national university entrance exam. Instead, it was cut short when schools were abruptly closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19 and students were told to return to their villages without knowing how they would finish the school year.

We all have dreams. They breathe life into what we do, inspire us to think big, and allow our heart to guide the way. For Zelalem Beyene, his dream was to attend university to study medicine and become a doctor.

Every fall, Project Ethiopia provides support packages valued at $200 to aspiring young adults who have successfully passed the university entrance exam. All past awards have been provided to 50 students each year; the 20 top highest scoring girls, the 20 top highest scoring boys, and 10 students who have passed the exam and have special needs or represent the most economically disadvantaged. This year, we are delighted to report that we expanded our awards to 80 students by increasing the number of neediest student awards to a total of 40.