Meet Our Founder

Substance Use/Mental Health Nurse

Mimi is the founder of Helping Our People in Ethiopia, a non-profit organization born from her personal experience sparking a realization of the mental health deficit affecting her community. Mimi Zelleke was born in what she refers to as "the most beautiful place on earth,” Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Four months shy of her second birthday, her family left their native land and relocated to Sweden, followed by a second migration to what most consider "the land of opportunity"- The United States of America.

For the next 17 years, Dallas, Texas would be the place Mimi called home. Being the eldest daughter of a Pastor would soon be met with its own set of expectations. As the limelight shined on her with the pressure of leading by example, she failed miserably. Throughout her life, Mimi would be met with many physical, spiritual, and emotional obstacles; from becoming a single mother at the age of 22, a suicide attempt, and the tragic and sudden death of a boyfriend, to cycles of toxic relationships riddled with anger and shame, leading her down a path of loneliness, purposelessness, brokenness, and worthlessness. Although what she was facing could easily be considered a part of life’s unpredictable curve balls, traditionally, the opinions of others took precedence over one's mental well-being, deeming it essentially non-existent. This made the concept of mental health unfamiliar to the community and left Mimi with no cultural support for what she was experiencing.

Hurt and broken, she still pressed on, working full-time to raise her son. She later decided to enroll in college to provide a better life for them both. After countless 18-hour days of work and school, she finally graduated from East Coast Polytechnic Institute in 2014. Three years into her nursing career, Mimi accepted an opportunity to serve individuals struggling with substance abuse and mental health. Little did she know this pivotal moment would propel her to the purpose God had intended. While being exposed to a deeper understanding of mental health, she began facing herself in the mirror and realized it was finally time to confront the image staring back at her. As she began to delve head-first into individual therapy, an emotional and intense experience, she gradually began to feel whole, content and liberated. 

With a strong conviction to “do something,” it wasn’t until a trip to her native land, 40 years after leaving, that she experienced what she describes as a paradigm shift, and the vision slowly came to life. She realized her purpose is to shed light on a subject surrounded by an enormous amount of stigma, to a society that often presents as oblivious and narrow-minded; a layered, complex, and daunting task, one that has to be confronted. By the grace of God, she has overcome many obstacles that could have easily kept her hopeless and bound. Her passion is to help you do the same.

No more suffering in silence. No more being silenced. Let’s do the work!

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