Elder housing reconstruction – Yabello 2023

A Story That Helped Shape the Spirit of DaweB

Before DAWeb Education & Elderly Support was formally established as an organization, acts of compassion and community responsibility were already taking place through the personal efforts of individuals who would later help shape its mission.

About three years ago, while still living in San Diego, CA Habibo Ali became aware of an elderly woman, in a rural community Yabello, Ethiopia, after the woman sent word through neighbors that she hoped to receive some of the food being distributed through local relief efforts H. Ali was personally supporting. The elderly woman had recently suffered a serious fall from her bed, breaking her hip and leaving her unable to walk.

Concerned that she might be overlooked, Tigist Andarge — a trusted local contact working alongside H. Ali — personally delivered the remaining food supplies to the woman’s home. What she encountered there revealed the depth of the woman’s hardship. The house was in severe disrepair, with rain entering from one side. The elderly woman had no mattress and instead slept on a fragile pile of boxes.

When H. Ali learned of these conditions, she immediately sent funds to provide a new mattress and bedding so the woman could rest with comfort and dignity. Yet during this visit, an even greater need became clear.

While helping set up the mattress, Ms. Andarge noticed a stack of approximately ten metal roofing sheets. Upon inquiry, she learned that the elderly woman had been granted a small plot of land, but these sheets were the only materials she possessed to build a home. With limited mobility and no financial means, her hope of safe shelter remained out of reach.

Moved by the woman’s resilience, H. Ali asked her brother, Boda Tuke, to travel to the site and assess both the land and the available materials. Over the following months, through continued personal support, H. Ali contributed more than $5,000 toward constructing a modest but secure home. The support covered essential building materials, labor, finishing work, and basic furnishings.

Today, the elderly woman lives in a completed one-bedroom house with a bathroom and a small kitchen — a safe space that restored not only her physical security but her sense of dignity and independence.

Stories like this reflect the human values that later inspired the formal creation of DAWeb Education & Elderly Support. What began as individual acts of care and responsibility has since grown into a structured effort to ensure that vulnerable elders and families are supported not only in moments of crisis, but on their journey toward lasting stability and hope.

Additional Care and Mobility Support

In addition to supporting housing needs, H. Ali also personally provided several thousand dollars in assistance to help vulnerable elders and individuals with disabilities access essential daily-living and mobility support. This included purchasing wheelchairs, walkers, and other assistive devices — including a walker for the elderly woman described above — as well as supplying adult diapers and basic care materials for those facing serious health and mobility challenges.

For many older adults, mobility aids such as walkers and wheelchairs are critical tools that help restore independence, reduce the risk of falls, and improve overall quality of life by enabling safer movement and participation in daily activities.

These efforts, carried out through personal initiative before the formal creation of DAWeb, reflected a broader commitment to preserving dignity and ensuring that vulnerable community members could live with greater safety, comfort, and stability.