In late 2025, Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI)’s Childcare Partnership Appreciation Event recognized one of our neighbors, Nini Bicho. Nini is part of Oakridge Neighborhood’s Prepared to Care Program, which assists day care providers in the neighborhood to become licensed and have the tools they need to succeed as childcare experts. Here is Nini’s story:

Nini Bicho’s home country is Eritrea. She moved to America because of all the fighting between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Her husband was a soldier for Eritrea; he died serving his country. Nini fled and eventually came to America in 2009; some of her kids came before her in 2007. The first state she lived in was Georgia.

She was determined to work hard and build a better life for her family. But in Georgia Nini struggled. She worked at a meat production company. Her job required her to do hard labor, standing on her feet for 8-10 hours a day. Her body was very tired but she pushed through it to provide for her kids. She says that Georgia did not provide her with the sustainable lifestyle that she wanted. Her son lived in Des Moines and suggested she travel here and apply to be a resident at Oakridge. He told her that Oakridge provided assistance for single mothers who are having a hard time. She made the decision to move to Iowa and has been at Oakridge Neighborhood since.

Nini wanted to work but she also wanted something that would not be as physically demanding. She came across LSI, which trained her how to become an in-home child care provider. She has now been taking care of three to six kids at a time through her daycare, which she was able to start in 2014.

Nini is one of a number of Oakridge Neighborhood residents providing childcare in their homes with support from Oakridge’s Prepared to Care program, which ensures they are licensed, well trained and have resources to support taking care of children in their homes.

People have said that she goes “above and beyond” with her daycare. She cares for kids for as long as noon to midnight and even overnight, when most daycare centers aren’t even open. “Every day, I strive to provide them with a safe, loving and educational environment where they can grow, play and learn,” she says. “I enjoy watching them reach new milestones and seeing their happy faces.”

Oakridge Neighborhood’s Family & Workforce Programs help thousands of Central Iowans like Nini on their journey to self-sufficiency every year through programs like Prepared to Care. To keep these programs going strong, click here.