Habesha Momma Blog
Looking Forward To Our February 2017 Trip!
Looking Forward To Our February 2017 Trip! More to come!
Your support at work
Having worked in Ethiopia we have seen the amazing changes that can happen when we join forces and work together to make change. The pictures above are all examples of of how donations and support help make a change. The children in Korah, live in a leper colony....
Tree of Love
We are GROWING!! And we need YOU to help us GROW our Tree of Love. Our school in Hawassa will be expanding to close to 100 children in September and we are partnering with an organization in Debre Markos helping rescue children from the streets and from trafficking....
Mark Your Calendars!
There are so many wonderful things happening with Habesha Momma right now! We have completed our 2nd Annual Virtual Marathon and are already looking toward Marathon 2017! We have a team heading to Ethiopia in June/July 2016 to visit the Mulat Knowledge School (MKS),...
Your “ripples” have names
"Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far reaching effects.” Dalai Lama Last year Habesha Momma sponsored 25 brand new water filters for the village of Sebeta, Ethiopia. Our partner, Abraham was...
“I want to go to Ethiopia, but I can’t afford it.” Devon’s Story.
“I want to go to Ethiopia, but I can’t afford it.” I’m a normal, everyday middle class woman. I have three busy (and expensive) kids, my own business, and a husband who just started over in a new career. We’re on a tight budget and the monthly surprises (the car...
YOU can make a global impact!
Have you ever thought about what it means to make a global impact? Maybe you think that the world is just too big and that there are just too many problems. One only needs to look at each day’s news reports to see the enormity of all that is happening in this great...
Impressions
I am not one of those people who can say, “I have ALWAYS loved Africa." or "I have always had a heart for Africa!” I honestly never really thought about it as a kid other than in the 80’s during the ‘Band-Aid’ era where we were all faced with the reality of starving...
“Together” accomplishes more!
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” This is the quote that banners our website's homepage (hop on over if you haven't checked it out lately!). In my previous post about marathon running I mentioned the triumph of fundraising for the event. To run...
Better together!
Have you ever worked on something with a group of other people and realized that it was just better together? Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Habesha Momma takes teams to Ethiopia twice a year. There is no “I” when the...
Girl scouts, water filters, and RoC Partners…oh my!
The girls in Girl Scout Troop 13 are an amazing group of young ladies and we were honored to be asked to speak with them about our water filter program through Habesha Momma. The girls were studying the WOW Journey (Wonder of Water) and had a full day planned learning...
We Believe Children are the Future
Whitney Houston was an exceptionally talented musician with a plethora of popular songs many of us hold nearand dear. Songs like I Wanna Dance with Somebody, I Will Always Love You (from The Bodyguard), My Love is Your Love, and When You Believe (duet with Maria Carey...
Have you found your “why”?
(Image courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net) We all have a “why” for what we do. We get married because we fall in love. We go to college because we hope to get a good job. We go to work because we need to provide for ourselves and our family. We eat because we’re...
Investing. Why do it?
Investing doesn’t always reap a return. You can see that if you are investing in the stock market and you choose the wrong stock. Or if you choose a great stock and the market plummets. How about the person you see needing a hand up or encouragement to keep striving...
Investing. Is it worth it?
Invest: [inˈvest] VERB expend money with the expectation of achieving a profit or material result by putting it into financial schemes, shares, or property, or by using it to develop a commercial venture (invest someone/something with) provide or endow someone or...
Ripples of Change Marathon Update
We are 11 days into the Ripples of Change Marathon. How is everyone doing? Total miles walked as of 4/10/16 by those logging updates = 196.13 Total Teams participating = 14 Most miles walked by an individual = 36.5 by Sonya H. Way to go Sonya!! Registration is open...
Making a global impact
On any given day any one of us could walk out our door and witness pain, hurt, loneliness, homelessness, abuse, hunger, disparity, and a multitude of other social and economic human disasters. So much can be done to help and reach out. The wonderful thing is that...
Virginia Beach to Ethiopia: It truly is a SMALL world!
Andrea Gaines is our Founder and President here at Habesha Momma. She began HM when she was in her 2nd process and now has 4 beautiful Ethiopian sons. I am on the board of directors, and I have 1 beautiful Ethiopian son. The story of how we met and began servicing...
Waiting, but not giving up on your dreams!
If you spend any amount of time with me, you'll find out quickly how much I LOVE Ethiopia. My family was blessed 8 years ago when we adopted our beautiful Ethiopian son, Messay. Even as a child, I knew that I would do missionary/humanitarian work in Africa. After we...
A Tribute to My Mom – Beth Geditz
My first concrete memory of Mom is of her reading to my little brother and me. We were sitting on the rust-colored orange carpet of the living room with our backs against a cupboard. Vince and I were tucked into either side of Mom while she read from Aesop’s Fables....
Clean Water is a Gift
Finding the words to share about one of my most favorite places in the world has been difficult. There’s so much to say about a country that touches you in the depths of your soul. From the moment I stepped off of the plane, 4 ½ years ago, I was never the same. I...
Does running scare you?
What do the words running and marathon say to you? As we approach the beginning of our 2nd annual Ripples of Change Virtual Marathon we have heard things like "I could never run a marathon!" or " I hate running!" I feel ya, I am one of those people, when I hear the...
Can you make a global impact?
Why should you support Habesha Momma (HM) and education in Ethiopia? What is the benefit? How will supporting the Mulat Knowledge School (MKS) impact the global future? These are all valid and important questions. We all face issues and challenges in our green...
Finding Holy Ground in a City Dump
Finding Holy Ground in a City Dump One of the holiest places I’ve ever been is a two room home located at the Korah garbage dump. Hope for Korah is an amazing organization we visited while in Addis Ababa. We were allowed a first-hand look at many of their programs –...
Why water filters?
Why Water Filters? Written by: Andrea Gaines Less than half of the population in Ethiopia has access to safe drinking water. In rural areas that number drops significantly. Water quality is so poor because it’s often contaminated by human and animal waste. Because of...
How many reasons do you need?
How many reasons do you need? By Christine Prendergast I came across a Huffington Post article “26 Reasons Not to Run a Marathon” and while I know a marathon isn’t for everyone, I can’t help but think this article is really reverse psychology. I am a 2-time marathon...
Education is Imperative to Lifelong Success
“Ethiopia is one of the Sub-Saharan African countries in which children constitute a large section of the population. According to the Ethiopian Central Statistics Agency (CSA, 2009), over 40% of the current population are below 15 years of age and about 80% of the...
Delivering Backpacks to Mulat Knowledge School
Kindergarten and Backpacks in Hawassa An excerpt from our guidelines 'The kindergarten year is critical in laying a strong foundation for the future of every child. High quality kindergarten programming depends on encouraging children's development and learning in all...
On the streets at age 6…
We arrived in Debre Markos at about 8:30 pm, found a hotel room, threw our stuff in the rooms and headed back outside. Into the cool windy streets we walked, looking for familiar little faces. As we rounded a corner, a boy about 8 yrs old, carrying his box of...
Ripples of Change Marathon is Registering NOW
Ripples of Change Marathon Registering NOW Have you always wanted to complete a marathon? Or maybe that's never been on your radar, but you would like to get in better shape, or just enjoy being out doors? Which ever appeals to you, we have an awesome way for you to...
Backpacks for Our Students
Backpacks for our students at Mulat Knowledge School UPDATE- ALL are Provided!! WAHOO!! 🙂 You guys are awesome!! 🙂 THANK YOU!! We have a fun way that you can help us bless our kids at our school in Hawassa. Our president, Andrea, is headed over to Ethiopia to visit...
Ethiopian Epiphany Holiday
Timkat, or Epiphany is a holiday celebrated by the Ethiopian Orthodox church. It is a symbolic commemoration of the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. For Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, it serves as a renewal of their baptismal vows. The...
You Are Needed!
Did you know the literacy rate is 55% among the youth population in Ethiopia and is lower in poorer sector? The highest rates are among girls, and the highest drop out rate begins in secondary school? If children are able to get to school, they generally are needed...
Travel With Us Tuesday
Join Us! Have you ever considered traveling to another country to work with it's people? Thought about making a difference in someone's life? Wanted to do something that changed the way you viewed life? Here is a portion of what a team member from our September 2015...
Save the date…
The second annual Ripples of Change Virtual Marathon is coming!!! What does it mean to make Ripples of Change? The Dalai Lama once said “Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.”...
Uniforms for Mulat Knowledge School with New Pics
Uniforms for Mulat Knowledge School Have Arrived!! We just received these awesome pictures of the kids at the Mulat Knowledge School - MKS receiving their new uniforms. How wonderful do they look? Students in Ethiopia are all required to wear uniforms to school, even...
Shop at AmazonSmile and they will Donate to us!
AmazonSmile Program Details AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the...
Public Speaking at it’s Finest
We believe this one's public speaking skills are being well honed. How cute is this??!!
Happy New Year 2016
Happy 2016 to you all! Thank you for visiting our site and joining us as we share the progress of the work we are making in Ethiopia. Today we received pictures of our kids at the Mulat Knowledge School - MKS, in their new uniforms! Uniforms in school in Ethiopia is a...