When Mulugeta first arrived in Israel at the age of 9, he was surprised by what he saw, for everything felt new and foreign. Mulugeta didn’t realize that he would have to learn a whole new language upon coming to Israel, and he struggled to learn English and Hebrew simultaneously. Most challenging of all was the fact that his mother did not speak any Hebrew, and his father is out of the picture, leaving just Mulugeta and his sister at home. As a result, Mulugeta had no one to turn to for help in his studies. He moved to Kiryat Bialik in 7th grade and started participating in ENP’s SPACE program.

Despite his challenges, Mulugeta’s SPACE coordinator, Aviva, says proudly that Mulugeta has made amazing strides in his studies thanks to his participation in the program, going from a 50 to a 70 in English and a 70 to a 100 in math. SPACE has helped Mulugeta become a very serious and committed student, transforming him into one of the best students in school. Mulugeta has been fascinated by electronics ever since he was a young child in Ethiopia and saw older kids building small cars out of soda bottles. After he finishes high school and the army, he hopes to fulfill his dream of becoming an electrical engineer.