Source: ICC
Haroji Wado, on Ethiopia’s western border with Sudan, is now a place where choosing a new faith means risking everything.
“I was born into a devout Muslim family in Haroji Wado,” she said. “For 18 years, I lived within the prayers and expectations I was raised with. However, something stirred in my heart, a quite unshakable conviction that Christ is real.”
That conviction led her to make a life-altering decision — one she could never take back.
“When I surrendered my life to Jesus,” she said, “I never imagined that it would cost me the very same day.”
What followed was immediate and harsh rejection. Not just from her family, but from her entire community.
“When my family and community discovered my conversion, my house became a place of danger,” she said. “I was not only rejected but also expelled. I was thrown out and left with nothing to sustain me. In many parts of Eastern Ethiopia, leaving Islam is seen as a change of belief; it is seen as a betrayal worthy of punishment, and sometimes death.”
Being cast out was only the beginning of Addaamaa’s ordeal. Because of her conversion, she became a target.
“I now live hidden in someone else’s house,” she said. “A hiding place, not a home. I cannot freely step outside. I cannot go out without considering the risk. Every knock on the door could be from a neighbor, a relative, or someone sent to hurt me.”
Despite the dangers, Addaamaa survives through the compassion of other Christians. Even that kindness comes with risk.
“I survive on the kindness of strangers,” she said. “But they live in fear of being discovered while helping me. This hiding place is a temporary sanctuary, but the threat to my life remains continuous.”
Addaamaa’s story is not a new incident in Ethiopia. Across the Horn of Ethiopia, Christian converts from Muslim backgrounds face a brutal reality of family rejection, community violence, and state indifference. Girls are especially vulnerable without anyone to defend them; they become targets for beatings, isolation, or even death. Many flee to cities such as Addis Ababa or attempt dangerous crossings into Sudan or Kenya, only to face trafficking and exploitation. Yet despite everything she has lost, Addaamaa’s faith remains unshaken.
“I remain hidden, not because I want to, but because I have no resources to leave,” she said. “I have lost my family, home, and my safety, but I cannot renounce Christ.”
Please Pray!
