Mahlet lives in Addis Ketema, a sub city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Most people say that this is one of the most entrepreneurial areas of Addis as most residents run one or another micro-business. It is also home to Merkato, the largest open market in Africa. It is no wonder that a girl who lives in this neighbourhood also grows to have an entrepreneurial spirit. And with what she learns in the Aflatoun programme at May Day Primary School, her dreams and ambitions go beyond just making a living, but extend to making a life for herself.

One of the many dreams of this 14-year old is to someday visit China and find her way around speaking English and Mandarin. Why China? “Because it’s the country that is probably most different from us,” she says. After China, she wants to travel to as many countries as she can, and learn as many languages as she can. For this, she intends to save money to enrol in a summer language course. The first language she wants to learn is English, then Chinese.

Through the Aflatoun programme rolled out by World Learning in this Ethiopian school, she has learned to systematically outline steps in achieving her dreams. She’s made a financial plan to save enough money so that she can learn languages and travel the world when she is older, granted that she “doesn’t encounter a problem along the way that will force her to use her savings”.

No dream is too big for this Ethiopian girl who’s discovered, through Aflatoun, that by continuously putting aside a few coins for her saving, she is giving herself the opportunity to take on the world. We hope to hear more from Mahlet in the future – through postcards from faraway lands.