A Young Girl with Big Dreams A Travel Story by Mihireteab Abraham My recent travel which I made to an indigenous local community in southern Ethiopia is one of the unique travel experiences I had. I made the travel last December 2019. It was great in many ways since I have met some unique people and made great conversation with them about the environment they are living in particular and their world views in general. The Travel which I made from the city I live, Hawassa, to the destination, Hossaina, is found at some 225kms distance. It is located in the southern direction of Addis Ababa, the Capital City of Ethiopia. As compared with the City I live, the Town I traveled to is smaller one. The purpose of my Travel was to conduct a needs assessment to find out the most pressing problems of the local community living in the area. I was assigned by a charity and development Organization for which I work as a Project Coordinator. I used public transportation to travel to there. It was about 5:30 hours drive. Though it is an asphalt road, the road is not in a good condition due to long-time service. Although I started the journey alone, I met a young girl who was sitting next to me. After traveling some two hours on a bus crowded by passengers, we stopped in a small town called Halaba Kulito for breakfast. It is a small, but currently developing Town in Southern Ethiopia. Its area is known for its special Pepper production. There, we had our breakfast in a small restaurant. I had my breakfast with a young girl whom I met on the bus who is a friendly person. Thus, we became easily familiar. As she told me, she is returning back to her home town, Hossaina, after visiting her uncle who lives in Halaba. While on the bus, I and the young girl had a lovely conversation which helped us to understand each other’s experience. She is a grade 12 student and preparing to sit for the National University Entrance Examination at the end of May 2020 which determines students’ fate. Thus, as she told me, she is studying hard and planned to succeed joining university and studying Law. When I asked her why she wants to study Law, she told me that she wants to fight the injustice and corruption that prevailed in the current justice system of the Country. Besides, I asked her what she thinks about marriage with regard to her family’s and community’s expectation. As she said it, it is very common in her community to let girls get married before they complete high school. As she added, it is not that much common in her community to see many girls completing high school and joining university both in the previous times and now due to various factors. When I asked her to explain me the reason behind girls’ experience of dropping school and getting married at early age, she explained that currently many of the young men from her community live either in a foreign country(mostly in South Africa) or returned back to their home land from there and want to marry young girls irrespective of their educational status, but focusing on those who are younger. Being impressed by the story the young girl was telling me, I asked her to know what her feeling or attitude is towards such experience prevailed in her community. She openly replied, “No, I never think of such things; I do not want to go to a foreign country, particularly South Africa, to marry a man whom I do not know in person dropping my school”. I kept asking her to know her plan regarding her education and possible future marriage. Thus, I asked her to let me know whether she would keep committed to progress in her education until she graduates in Law before getting married. She boldly replied to me saying, “Sure, I will keep studying until I become a Lawyer; it is after that I may consider marriage. I have already told my parents that this is my plan and I do not want to consider marriage now unlike many of other families and girls in my community.” I did not expect to meet such kind of girl in my travel who is with a big dream and unique commitment unlike her fellow girls in her community.