A boy who, at the age of three, fled the civil war in Ethiopia by walking with his mother and brother to a Sudanese refugee camp. Although the family was sponsored to go to America as part of the World Relief Christian outreach organization, the challenges they faced would not end there.
poverty was one of the biggest challenges facing the family, as opportunities were limited for a new immigrant without a formal education. Mawi’s father was a firm believer in the power of education and stressed to his children the importance of studying hard and getting scholarships to college. Although the family was poor, Mawi’s parents frequently stressed the importance of helping others less fortunate than them. Mawi’s father related a parable to his children of how angels are frequently mistreated, because they take the form of vagrants and beggars to see how people react to them.
