Miheret Teku-Jego: The Shift's First Success Story

Miheret Teku-Jego is a refugee from a small town in Ethiopia called Dilla.  She arrived in Toronto 6 years ago on an accounting scholarship for a program at George Brown College.  After her first year in the accounting program,  she was advised by a lawyer to apply for refugee status due to the increasingly unsafe state of Ethiopia at the time.  When she applied for refugee status, however, her student visa was terminated, and she was unable to complete her accounting program.  Since then, Miheret has been struggling to get by, working menial jobs for which she is over-qualified.  Recently, Miheret was granted landed immigrant status, and received a work permit.  

Here at the Shift, we were recently introduced to Miheret, and were touched by her story.  She is a kind and generous person, whose main goal in life is to give back to the community, and help in any way that she can.  Back in her home town of Dilla, she took part in community programs that focused on teaching mothers about birth control and family planning, and giving children an education.  She gives back to the community in Toronto as well, volunteering at Redwood Women's Shelter.  

We were able to connect Miheret with a scholarship for an Administrative Assistant's program at Willis College of Business, Health, and Technology.  Kristina LaRocca-Cerrone, the campus administrator at Willis College, was looking for someone just like Miheret, and she graciously and quickly accepted Miheret into the program. Miheret is enjoying her first week back in school, and feels as though, after years of conflict, her life is finally beginning to get back on track.  Miheret is looking forward to becoming a valuable part of the Canadian workforce, and her ultimate goal is to give back to those in need in Toronto, as well as back in Ethiopia.  


Miheret is a proud supporter of VikGedeo, an organization that focuses on educating girls in Dilla.  The goal of this organization is to build education facilities for girls who have been denied an education.  It is very common for girls to be taken out of school before reaching the 8th grade, due to accomodation issues, as well as costs.  VikGedeo believes that educating women is the key to creating positive changes for society as a whole.  They are in the midst of a project at the moment of building a dormitory that will house 80 female students.  Donations are still needed for this project, as well as for other projects in southern Ethiopia. You can easily donate to this organization by visiting their website: www.vikgedeo.com

-Angelica Rao