Abebu Deress Woldie is a 28-year-old young woman from Kimir Dingay in the center of the Guna Mountain in northwest Ethiopia.
Abebu, once a Global Platform (GP) leader in Guna, is one of the young women activists in the area and a founder of the Rama Voluntary Youth Association (RVYA). RVYA is a local Global Platform that currently has currently 24 active youth members, most of who are young women, working in Guna district and the surrounding areas on youth-led spaces, climate justice, good governance, and humanitarian crisis issues. Rama Voluntary Youth Association embraces a network of basic youth groups in four kebeles.
Like many graduates in Guna, she faced a discouraging job market, with public sector opportunities dominated by older people and marred by nepotism and discrimination.
Before joining RVYA, Abebu decided to migrate to an Arab country. This is because despite earning a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Gondar, she struggled to find a professional job. Like many graduates in Guna, she faced a discouraging job market, with public sector opportunities dominated by older people and marred by nepotism and discrimination.
She says, “There are many young people in the Guna like me who have finished their degrees; All they hoped for government’s jobs; But there was no government job, and if they had, it was not fair. This has been discouraging many young people and forced them to make dangerous choices like migration.”
However, her migration experience proved difficult and disillusioning.
“I did not like the migration and decided to come back to my country. But when I came back, my thinking and behavior had almost changed. Because the reason why I left my country was not because of a lack of resources, but because of a fear of social norms and stigma. I made a decision that if it is possible to make struggle and change my community's negative attitude, we have enough resources. I believe that most of the young people leave the country because they hate this backward attitude of their community, but not because they hate the country land.”
SPA II programs and Global Platforms capacity building such as Safe Space and Active Citizenship training have contributed to her knowledge and skills as a leader.
Upon her return, Abebu then joined the Rama Voluntary Youth Association which is supported by ActionAid Ethiopia and the SPA II program. In November 2022, Abebu was elected chairperson of RVYA when elections were held to elect the leaders of the Rama Voluntary Youth Association.
She and her colleagues introduced new bylaws, established a formal office, and recruited new members, particularly young women members. Previously, they had a total of 10 members, but with her leadership and inspiration, the number of members got to 28. They also initiated influential projects focused on public service accountability, environmental protection, and inclusive education. She states that SPA II programs and Global Platforms capacity building such as Safe Space and Active Citizenship training have contributed to her knowledge and skills as a leader. She was able to exercise effective networking and partnership skills with government stakeholders, CSOs, and other youth associations to achieve the the local GP’s advocacy efforts in various platforms.
Equal Work and Pay for Both Sexes social movement in Guna
During her leadership period, she gave priority and greater emphasis to young women and girls.
Together with her co-members, they started the “Equal Work and Pay for Both Sexes” social movement in Guna. The campaign, rooted in safe space dialogues with young women, tackled wage inequality, and pushed for local legislation. After conducting research and mobilizing support, the movement succeeded: On July 12, 2024, the local council passed a proclamation on gender pay equity.
In Guna, systemic barriers persist.
Gender and social norms often hinder women and girls from seeking leadership positions. As such, women and young people are often relegated to passive roles. Abebu recalls how community proverbs reinforce exclusion, “A child's/young’s prepared food is not enough for dinner.... If a son runs, he will not defeat his father... woman after education, she will reach nowhere" As such, very few young people, especially women, get the opportunity to be in leadership positions without being required to have other ties.
Shadow Leadership
Rama Voluntary Youth Association, led by Abebu, designed a strategy to get formal and informal leadership opportunities in Guna and to engage directly in decision-making processes that have been affecting young people. They called this strategy “Shadow Leadership” where young people exercise leadership shoulder-to-shoulder with the local government by being embedded in government offices to gain real-world leadership experience. The first step in this strategy was to convince the local duty bearers (Cabinet) to give them internship opportunities.
Abebu was then selected for the first internship opportunity and assigned to the Guna District Revenue and Tax Administration Office.
Although a local conflict disrupted their initial progress, their efforts resumed when relative peace later ensued in the district. Abebu was then selected for the first internship opportunity and assigned to the Guna District Revenue and Tax Administration Office. Over six months, she proved her competence in public administration, demonstrating leadership and decision-making.
Rama's designed strategy then met its goal.
Abebu’s outstanding performance led to her being appointed to lead the Guna District Vocational and Technical Office as the Vice Head. This was a groundbreaking achievement not just for her, but for all youth in the region.
The leadership position given to me is an opportunity for me to work on behalf of all the youth as their voices and to restore the hopes of the local youth.
This position is not just Abebu’s. It is a voice for Guna’s young people who have often been excluded and underestimated. Abebu and her co-members said they are happy with this decision of the government as it is a great opportunity for their association and the young people of Guna. On her part, Abebu says, “The leadership position given to me is an opportunity for me to work on behalf of all the youth as their voices and to restore the hopes of the local youth.” The RVYA members also stated that they consider this decision a great opportunity for their association and young people in Guna.
Outside her professional role, Abebu is also a wife and mother to a one-year-old daughter.
She juggles motherhood, unpaid domestic responsibilities, and community leadership with remarkable resilience. Her personal finances have also improved after joining a women’s savings group (SACCO) established by ActionAid, through which she saved enough to purchase a Bajaj vehicle and mentor other women in economic empowerment.
Reflecting on her journey, Abebu emphasizes the transformational role of SPA II
“The SPA II program is the reason for the establishment of Rama Youth Volunteer Association in Gunna, despite the fact that it is difficult to develop the capacity that I have now... If this program had not come to our community, there would be no strong youth association, and the voice of the youth would not be heard. Also, I would not have space to develop my abilities and experience as a leader. Through the SPA II program, I received several life skills, leadership and skill trainings from the program cost. But most of all, I believe that I have put all my dreams and talents to good use by having the opportunity to lead the youth of Rama.”
Abebu is not only challenging social norms but is also reshaping what leadership looks like in Guna, and by extension, Ethiopia—young, female, and fearless.
