In Babile, eastern Ethiopia, lanky herdsmen drive camels and cows past thorny bushes. Barefoot girls and women drag themselves along stony paths, bent double under the weight of bundles of firewood. In their efforts they are reminiscent of biblical figures. In point of fact, life in Ethiopia sometimes reflects the hardship of the Old Testament – but also magnanimity, as the story of Muhmad Abdi shows.

As a small child Muhmad fell sick with polio; his knee joints became stiff. The school was a half-hour’s trek away. “You can’t go there,” said his mother. But one morning Muhmad set out nevertheless. On his hands. He propped himself up and pulled his crippled legs to the front. It took him two hours to drag himself to the school. From then onwards he attended daily, his fingers – wounded from the arduous trail – constantly up in the air in response to the teacher’s questions.

When Karlheinz Böhm met the then 13-year-old youngster, he sensed the boy’s despair over his unjust destiny, but also his enthusiasm. “I want to make something of myself,” said Muhmad. “I would so much like to walk and continue learning. It’s my dream to become a doctor.” Böhm answered: “Let’s give it a try.” Three weeks later, employees of Menschen für Menschen came and took Muhmad to the capital city of Addis Ababa, where he underwent an operation. He was in hospital for six months, after which he slowly learnt to walk with the aid of crutches. When he returned home, he worked hard, his sights set on being accepted to the secondary school in Babile. Because the school is too far from his village Derer Arba, he has moved into a students’ hostel constructed by Menschen für Menschen. “It’s wonderful. We sleep six to a room. Each of us has a real bed! We also have a table and even electric light,” exclaims Muhmad. His classmates are the sons and daughters of poor farmers who live somewhere far out in the savannah. The students’ hostel is their only chance to attend the secondary school.

Menschen für Menschen sponsors Muhmad with € 12 per month. This money enables him to buy food, schoolbooks and pencils. “We learn and cook together,” says Muhmad and smiles. The happiness and expectations of the meanwhile 16-year-old are warming to the heart: “I stand a good chance of becoming a doctor. Then I will be the one who helps other people."