October 5, 2014After a great deal of work and effort on the part of our volunteers and generosity of our donors, I am in Ethiopia ready to see and hear about the work our funds have been able to accomplish.
Many people have asked me if I am afraid to travel to Ethiopia on my own and I have said each time, “once I am in Ethiopia, I am not alone. I will be surrounded by people who love me and care about me”. At the airport, I came through the doors where there was a crowd waiting for travelers to arrive to find my sponsored son Tilahun, Gecho (my friend, one of our organization’s volunteers), Mulu, the group home mom, and the other four boys waiting. Yabsira presented me with red roses and there were many hugs.
It felt great to be with Tilahun and Gecho again and to know that I was going to be getting to know four other special boys and Mulu. I have known since coming to Ethiopia in June of 2013 that Mulu was like an angel to children living in Korah. My son told me that when he had nowhere to go on a holiday, he could go to Mulu’s and she would give him coffee and popcorn and make him feel special. Mulu had already taken in two boys who did not have families and was raising them as her own even though she made very, very little money herself. For me, Mulu truly exemplifies love in action.
Mulu is a woman of very strong and deep faith in Jesus and knows the scriptures very well. All of the boys in the group home are also strong believers and she has helped them to grow in their faith and in their knowledge of Jesus.
One of the first things we did when I arrived was go to their church. I was profoundly impressed by the children who went up to the front of the church to speak in to the microphone the scripture they had memorized. Some of the children were no more than 5 years old.
I saw the group home house for the first time and realized the boys and Mulu were very happy with what they have. The home will sleep up to 7 people with a living room, washroom, very small outdoor courtyard and an indoor and outdoor kitchen (this is very common in Ethiopia).
Being in the country again, I was reminded immediately of the impact of poverty. The sights and sounds are constant reminders of why our organization is working hard to try and make a difference in the lives of women and children.