A Global Celebration of Oromo Motherhood: Strength, Sacrifice, and Unbroken Love

By Dhabessa Wakjira

Happy Mother’s Day to you all, beautiful Oromo moms across the globe.

From the highlands of Oromia to the streets of Minneapolis, from the pastoral plains of Borana to the bustling suburbs of Melbourne, from the ancient soils of Jimma to the immigrant neighborhoods of Stockholm and Washington, D.C.—today, the world turns its gaze to you.

Not because the calendar demands it. But because your love demands it.

The Hands That Hold the Nation Together

An Oromo mother is not simply a parent. She is a living archive. She is the first teacher of the Afaan Oromo, the keeper of the sirba (traditional songs), the storyteller who whispers the names of heroes like Abdissa Aga, Elemo Qiltu, and Haile Fida into the ears of children who have never seen the homeland.

She is the one who cooks marqaa before the sun rises, who walks miles for water, who sits late into the night sewing uniforms for children whose school fees she can barely afford. She is the one who leaves her own plate empty so that others may eat.

And in the diaspora—far from the eebbisa (blessings) of elders and the shade of odaa trees—she becomes something else entirely: a bridge between two worlds.

The Diaspora Oromo Mother: A Bridge of Tears and Hope

For Oromo mothers raising children in America, Europe, Australia, and beyond, the journey is different but no less difficult.

She wakes up to speak Afaan Oromo to children who answer back in English. She drives them to school, then drives to her own job—perhaps cleaning offices, caring for the elderly, or working a night shift at a hospital cafeteria, just like the immigrant mother who became Dr. Iftu (Hawi) in yesterday’s story.

She carries the weight of two cultures. She wants her children to succeed in the West, but she also desperately wants them to know who they are—to understand Oromummaa (Oromo identity), to respect the Gadaa, to never be ashamed of their name or their skin or their language.

Some nights, she cries when no one is watching. The loneliness of being far from her own mother, far from her aadaa (culture), far from the familiar smell of buna (coffee) roasted by hand—it settles into her bones.

But every morning, she rises again. Because that is what Oromo mothers do.

A Legacy of Resilience

History has not been kind to the Oromo people. But Oromo mothers have never surrendered. They have buried sons and daughters in struggles for justice. They have raised revolutionaries on their laps. They have marched, sung, prayed, and persisted through regimes that tried to erase their language and deny their identity.

And still, they teach their children: “Oromo ta’uu kee hin ilaalu. Oromo ta’uu kee eenni hin beeku. Ati Oromo ti. Kunis badhaasa guddaadha.”

(“Do not be ashamed of being Oromo. Let no one make you ashamed. You are Oromo. That is a great gift.”)

Today, We Honor You

So today, on Mother’s Day, we see you.

We see you, haadha manaa (housewife) in Adama, who has never had a day off in twenty years.
We see you, single mother in Seattle, working two jobs and still attending every school play.
We see you, refugee mother in Kakuma camp, who tells your children stories of a homeland they have never seen.
We see you, grandmother in Asella, who raised your grandchildren after their parents were taken by politics or poverty.
We see you, stepmother, adoptive mother, spiritual mother—whose love chose rather than merely followed blood.

Baga Ayyaana Haadhaa! (Happy Mother’s Day!)

A Prayer for Oromo Mothers Everywhere

May your burdens become lighter.
May your children rise and call you blessed.
May your tears—whether of joy or sorrow—water the seeds of a better tomorrow.
May the world finally know the depth of what you have given.

And may every Oromo mother, whether in Finfinnee or Fargo, Haromaya or Houston, Bishoftu or Berlin, feel seen, celebrated, and deeply loved.

Because you are not just raising children.
You are raising the future of a nation.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all, beautiful Oromo moms in the globe.

With deepest respect and love,

This feature story is dedicated to every Oromo mother who has sacrificed, survived, and loved beyond measure.