Teyiba’s Story

At 25, Teyiba Hassen lives in a quiet community in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. She is raising three children with a gentleness born of hardship and resilience, holding on to hope for a better future and discovering a strength she never knew she had.

Teyiba was just 12 when her life changed. Still in 5th grade, dreaming of finishing school, she was pressured into marriage. “I didn’t want to get married. I wanted to study,” she recalls, her voice heavy with lost childhood. By 13, she was cradling her first baby, unprepared and already struggling to meet her child’s needs.

Her first pregnancy nearly cost her life. Her body swelled, and malnutrition led to congestive heart failure. She recalls walking to the health post, weak and afraid, receiving only Oral Rehydration Solution and water treatment; relief for the swelling but not the hunger at home. Often, she ate just once a day, saving what little she had for her unborn child. “I was always tired… I could feel my body giving up,” she says.

Her first child also struggled to survive. Severely malnourished, he was admitted for treatment and given medication and Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, a turning point that saved his fragile life.

Slowly, things began to change.

When her family began receiving cash support from the Child Grant, it was more than financial help, it was a lifeline. “Before, we ate once a day. Now we eat twice. I learned that during pregnancy I must eat three times and include different foods,” she says with quiet relief. 

The programme did not just help Teyiba’s family buy food. It offered hygiene sessions, health guidance, and opened doors she never imagined. She attended all her antenatal and postnatal care appointments, learning how to protect her health, services she once went without. Then came a moment that made her child feel seen, an official birth certificate.

For Teyiba, it was more than a document. It was a symbol of dignity, belonging, and hope. “I felt proud, like my child was finally recognized. It gave me peace,” she says, her eyes brightening. 

Today, Teyiba dreams fiercely, not for herself, but for the children she has fought so hard to protect.

“I want my children to be educated and self-sufficient. I don’t want my daughter to marry as early as I did. I want her to finish school.” Her journey, from child bride battling malnutrition to mother building a safer future, is a testament to the power of support, knowledge, and a mother’s love. With every meal she prepares, every lesson she teaches, and every hope she holds, Teyiba is rewriting her story so her children can someday write their own.

With support from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Child Grant programme reached 302 households with pregnant women and children under one in Oromia. Over 12 months, each household received bi-monthly cash support of 8,000 ETB (about USD 52), helping families meet essential needs. Social workers also connected caregivers to vital services, including healthcare, nutrition counselling, birth registration, and case management. Evidence from the programme will inform advocacy for child- and nutrition-sensitive social protection through integrated Cash Plus approaches.