Having worked in Ethiopia we have seen the amazing changes that can happen when we join forces and work together to make change.
Children listening to a story in Korah, at the Hope for Korah Daycare
Devon’s sponsor child. He sadly passed a week after this pic was taken.
Andrea’s sponsored child on Entoto Mountain
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. Korah means outcast or forsaken. They are being fed into, not just physically but through education and love. Seeds are being planted in their souls that tell them they are not outcast, they are not forsaken, they are indeed loved and worthy.
The child in Devon’s arms is Endale. She had a chance to meet him twice, her first meeting led her to become his sponsor. When we were in Ethiopia in July Devon had the chance to see him again. They spent more than 30 minutes together laughing and loving. Receiving the devastating news that he had passed was an unexpected blow.
We have seen first hand how our own support makes a difference in lives.
The children above are the members of the very first graduating class at Mulat Knowledge School. We sponsor this school in Hawassa, Ethiopia. We have gotten to see first hand how education, love and support can change these lives. I mean look at their faces… look at those smiles. It’s not just a school, a place where they are learning their worth and potential. Your support has help make that happen.
These are the children we met in Debre Markos, they range in age from 6 – 17+ and they live primarily on the streets. The reasons they have ended up here vary, but they all have one thing in common, strength. They have been handed a card in life that most of us could never imagine, yet they are tenacious, they make the best of life, and work hard to keep themselves alive… something a child should never have to do. A child of 6 learning to care for themselves? Learning how to survive on the streets? When my kids were 6 they were learning how to tie their shoes and learn their ABC’s.
The small, smiley, beauty holding the jeans, in the gray shirt, is 10 years old. While we were eating lunch, I noticed that she was crying. I asked our friend to translate for me why she was crying and was told that her stomach was hurting and eating hurt her belly. She has no mommy to hug her and tell her it will be ok, she has no bed to go rest on, she cannot just be a little girl with a belly ache.
We want to change that…. and we need you to help us do that.
The house above is the one we hope to rent to provide a new safe haven for some of the kids in Debre Markos. It has a beautiful large yard, a large common area and space for there to be a gender division. We are being asked, as is customary, to pay rent for 6 months which will be $5800. We will then need to furnish it, provide staff, meals and healing care. This will total about $10,000 for the first 6 months.
We also still need to keep our Mulat Knowledge School open, our goal is to expand from our first 10 kids to 100! Yes a lofty goal, but do able in the space we have now. Rent, teachers, staff, supplies and uniforms will be about $17,000 for the next 6 months.
That totals about $27,000!! Seems like a big number doesn’t it?!
That’s where our Tree of Love comes in…
We were inspired by those of you that sponsored chairs, tables, mattresses and desks during our You Name It campaign!
Now that we are growing we wanted to give more of you the chance to be able to put YOUR name… or that of someone you love… on something that will make a lasting positive mark. Here is what that looks like:
For every $1000 or more you will get your name ‘carved’ into the trunk of the tree.
For every donation of $250 – $999 your name will be written on a branch
For every donation of $100 – $249 you will get a Big Leaf with your name
For every donation of $25 – $99 you will have a Small Leaf
And for every new Monthly Donor your name will be added to the tree as a Heart
Each person, giving a little or a lot, will help us GROW our tree..while helping grow Hope, Faith, Love in Ethiopia.