Transcript of 2023 Awardee Meaza Light-Orr Video

2023 Awardee Meaza Light-Orr Video

Transcript

Kids for Kololo started with a dream. As an Ethiopian-American adoptee, I understand how important literacy and access to education is. In my birth village, students had to travel hours each day on foot just to receive a formal education. I had a dream of raising $100,000 to build a middle school. I got friends and family members and community members engaged, and all of these efforts culminated in a beautiful fundraiser where we raised over $120,000.

Going to Ethiopia for the first time since when I was three, was incredibly moving. To see the school thriving, to see the students so happy and engaged was just so touching. The Kololo School is not simply a school, it is a central pillar in this community. It will empower the success of their next generation.

My last name means light in Hebrew, and it has been an absolute joy to bring light and opportunity to those in Kololo, Ethiopia.