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On his way home from the market, Birhane noticed a group of younger kids kicking a piece of scrap metal. He recognised them from when they had gone to school together before COVID-19. That was also before the devastating armed conflict between the Ethiopian defence forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front shattered his hopes of getting a complete education.
Overcoming the disappointment of quitting school early, the 16-year-old turned to helping his father run the family’s farm and sell produce at the market. He was still determined to realise his ambition of “improving…
