April 06, 2021 • bachelor insider
Why Magi Tareke Launched a Nonprofit Organization for Girls in Developing Countries
Magi Tareke stopped by “Bachelor Happy Hour” to discuss her incredible journey from her native Ethiopia to the United States — and how it inspired her to launch a nonprofit benefiting girls in developing countries.
The “Bachelor” Season 25 standout — who lives in Washington, D.C., and works as a pharmacist and model — currently runs My Shoes Your Shoes, an organization that provides shoes to underprivileged girls who have no other choice but to travel barefoot.
“When I grew up, I didn’t have shoes when I was going to school,” said Magi, adding elsewhere that she also walked barefoot during her daily trips to fetch water as a child. “Growing up, we didn’t have running water. I was fetching water every day from the river. And, believe it or not, I still have my scars on my face from falling [while] getting the water back to the house.”
Throughout her adolescence, Magi — who came to the U.S. in 2011 after winning the Department of State Diversity Program’s green card lottery — had aspirations to one day give back to girls with similar struggles.
“My dream was, one day, if I make it out of that village, I would give shoes to the little girls in developing countries, starting from Ethiopia, in Adwa, where I’m from,” she said. “And now I focus more on giving shoes to those little girls, so they can be able to go to school and be who they want to be someday.”
Learn more about My Shoes Your Shoes here — and hear the rest of Magi’s story by listening to the latest edition of “Bachelor Happy Hour” below.
