Demissie Fino, a 27-year-old graduate from Kotebe Teachers College, grew up in rural Ethiopia. In 2014, he moved to Addis Ababa in search of better job prospects. However, without any connections in the city, he says he faced numerous challenges.
Despite his college education, Demissie now finds himself working as a shoe shiner, a job typically held by much younger boys who have dropped out of school or fled rural areas in search of better living. Reflecting on his situation, he shared his struggles, saying, “I spent years in college aiming for a better job to support my family, but now I am struggling. My parents, who currently reside in Wolaita, had high expectations for my success, but I am unable to even take care of myself.
” Another individual, whose name has been changed to protect their identity, shares a similar story. Yared Habtamu, a 27-year-old civil engineering graduate from a public university, says the challenges he has encountered in search of a job has pushed him to seek assistance from his family to meet his daily needs. “This choice was a departure from their long-standing expectation for me to find a better job and support them,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this shift in dynamics created an uncomfortable environment for both myself and my family, even to the point of going into an argument with my father.” According to him, he has applied to more than 15 job openings.“They all rejected me due to my lack of experience,” he said, inquiring,“How.
