"During the war between Ethiopia and Somalia, my parents decided I needed to get out of the country. I was 17 years old, and I walked across Ethiopia to the Somalian border. I spent two years in Somalia and six months in Djibouti before I went to Italy. Once I made it to Italy, I got a job and started sending money back home to my parents. Then in 1989, I was able to come to the U.S. My whole family is here now, but my mother goes back to Ethiopia whenever she has a chance. We beg her to stay here, but she says, 'No, there are a lot of poor people there who need my help. I need to go.' She wants to help wherever she can. That's something both of my parents taught me: to be kind to people and to help those who are in need."
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