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The birth of his Father
In 1934, Haileab, Mawi's father was born. After loosing both his mother and father, Haileab moved to a monastery with Coptic Christian monks and lived there until he was 9. He then wandered to a family home. -
Halieab leaves his relatives and heads to Ethiopia.
After suffering abuse and neglect at the hands of his family member, Halieab worried for his life. Unable to return home to his sick mother, He traveled to the providence of Tigray in Ethiopia. -
Haileab becomes a doctor.
Around 1950, despite not going to high school and self educating, Haileab took and passed the exam to become an Advanced Dresser. This was the equivalent of doctor as they were hard to come by. -
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Sudanese Refugee Camp
Selamawi and his family lived in Umsagata, at the Sundanese Refugee Camp -
Selamawi's Sister comes back
After meeting with world relief, Selamwi and his family are cleared to leave for the USA. Days before they are scheduled to leave, their sister arrives at the camp. Their father refuses to leave for America without her. This delays their departure 1 year. -
Depart for America! After several months of travel they settle in Chicago, IL.
After waiting 1 year, They depart for America.
Tweolde 9 years old.
Selamawi alomost 7 years old.
Mehert 5 years old. -
Selamawi has a new home and a new baby brother.
After spending 9 weeks in motels, they family moves to a house in Wheaton, IL. They are in disbelief of how big it is! The family rents out the upstairs to help pay for rent.
2 months after moving Selamawi's mother has a baby boy. -
Their World Relief finds a sponsor. The family moves to Wheaton IL.
After arriving in Chicago, the family meets Beth, their World Relief sponsor. Beth searches for a church to sponsor a family of 6. Bethel Presbyterian Church agrees and the family moves to Wheaton, IL. -
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The Chinese Brothers
When Selamawi and his brother were in elementary school, they would tell stories about the 5 Chinese brothers. In these stories the brothers were always able to fight and defend each other, Tackling any enemy that came their way. Selmamwi believes these stories helped them cope with the unfriendly world they were living in. -
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Elementary school success
Mawi loved to read. He spent hour reading 1000's of pages. This help him graduate the ESL program by the end of 2nd grade and by 6th grade he was making the honor roll. He was ever dedicated to his studies. -
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Bullies & Cheerleaders
Mawi was a Victim of bulling through out Elementary and middle school. His Brother helped him overcome it by encouraging him. -
The Parking meter
Selamawi and his brother steal a parking meter from Triangle Park. They bring it down to a drain tunnel and attempt to break it open, dreaming of how much money is inside. They were unsuccessful and were almost caught by the police. -
The fighting must stop.
Over time the school told the boys that if they fought anymore the would be expelled from school. Selamawi's father told the boys that they could no longer fight, not even defend themselves. The boys did not understand why they could not defend themselves. Out of fear for their father, they obeyed. -
Enemies become friends
Selamawi and his older brother beat up 2 other immigrant boys in their neighborhood. The boys felt proud until they realized they would be caught. The parents of the other boys came and talked to the Selamawi's parents. The altercation connected the families and they became friends. -
The Sandwiches
Mawi and his brother choose to share their sandwiches with a homeless name outside of the library. As time went on Mawi's brother help this man find a home and get a job. Mawi had no idea his brother had been helping him. -
Track Team
At the encouragement of his former Basketball coach, Mawi joins the Track team. His coach helps provide the gear and even sometimes school clothing, that his family could not afford. In his senior year he earned All-Confrence Honors. -
Class President
Mawi was voted president of the national honor society -
You are accepted!!
Mawi is accepted to ALL 8 of the schools he applied to! including Duke, Yale, and Harvard. -
Applying for College
Mawi planned to stay close to home and so to Taylor University in Indiana. But at the encouragement of his counselor, teachers and closet parent figures, he choose to apply to Harvard. -
The Loss of a brother
Midway through Tewolde's senior year he was killed by a drunk driver. -
A brothers legacy
When looking thru his room, Mawi finds a card of a child that he sponsored. Mawi reflects on how his brother touched that lives of all those around him.