The difference between an orphan and a daughter
Four years ago, Birkenesh was at the end of her rope. She had five young children and her husband had just died of AIDS. She was HIV positive and her health was declining. She had no means of supporting herself, and her HIV status meant that the community saw her as an outcast. Meals were scarce. Her children were beginning to starve. And she made the difficult decision to place one of her children, her daughter, in an orphanage. This is a tragedy that plays out all too often in impoverished . . .
kids raising kids: the reality of child-headed households in africa
On my trip to Ethiopia with Food for the Hungry, I knew that a portion of our time would be spent visiting the homes of sponsored children, so that we could see the way child sponsorship was transforming their lives. When I saw the schedule for our time in the village of Zeway, there was one description that gave me a catch in my throat upon reading: Child-Headed Household. I've heard this term before, and understood that it refers to a house in which there are no parents. As an adoptive . . .
poverty, perspective, and a surprising sense of peace as I re-acculturate
It’s been interesting processing my trip to Ethiopia over the past few days. Oftentimes people who have visited or served in developing areas will describe a process of re-acculturation, in which they resume their lives with a new lens. This phenomenon is usually accompanied by a series of revelations involving a renewed sense of gratitude, a changed perspective of the world, frustration with the excesses of American materialism, and a vow to make sweeping changes. I’ve done a . . .
ethiopia photo dump
I’ve still got some stories to share, and some unpacking to do (both literally and metaphorically). I’m working on a post to try to articulate the bizarre sense of peace I’ve experienced since coming home (in stark contrast to the agitation I’ve previously felt during the re-acculturation process). I’m also working on a post to address a comment (and valid) question I’ve received in regards to Food for the Hungry: “I’m not a Christian, so why would I sponsor a child through a . . .
meeting our sponsored child
The highlight of my trip so far was meeting India’s sponsored child Ayantu. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found myself with butterflies in my stomach as we pulled up to her house, and I can only imagine how she might have felt to have a stranger from another country coming to visit. Ayantu was very shy when we first met, but her personality came out when we started to chat. I told her about India, and some of the things that India likes doing. I asked her what she enjoyed, . . .
the car ride through the river, and a meeting with community leaders
One of Food for the Hungry’s mission statements is "”we go to the hard places.” I guess they wanted us to see this first-hand today. We had a meeting with some community leaders in a nearby village, and we had to take a river to get there. A river cruise in a Toyota. There was about 9 miles of road that looked like this . . . one big river. It was so deep that there were a number of times I was sure the car would just start floating. I took my seatbelt off at . . .
the story of gadissa and his aunt
The second home we visited here in Ethiopia was that of a boy named Gadissa. He is 10 years old, and lost both of his parents at the age of 5. He now lives with his aunt, who is living with HIV. Click here to read his story over at Babble Voices. . . .
the story of etensh
Yesterday was our first full day in Ethiopia. In the morning, we hopped on a bus that took us away from the bustling capital city of Addis Ababa and into the valley region near the river of Zeway. In this rural area, plagued by difficulty with soil and lack of crops, Food for the Hungry has identified over 1500 at-risk children to be in their program. These children are chosen by local community leaders, and some are placed in the Child-Headed Household program, which offers even more . . .
ethiopia-bound
(edited: I’m now in Ethiopia but this was my first chance to post). I am currently sitting on a plane bound for Atlanta, where I will meet up with the rest of my blogging team. From there, we catch a 10-hour flight to Amsterdam, followed by a 10-hour flight to Addis Ababa. I’m feeling pretty excited right now. I suspect I might be feeling pretty tired and crabby come 3am. I love travelling, but man . . . the “getting there” part is not my favorite. (Is it . . .
the personal gifts of sponsoring a child
Next week, I will be off to Ethiopia with Food for the Hungry to learn more about their child sponsorship programs. But before I go, I wanted to share about my own personal experience with child sponsorship, and why it’s something that we believe in. Mark and I have been sponsoring a child since before we had kids, but as we’ve added children to our family, we’ve added sponsored children as well. At this point, each of my kids have a child that is their designated pen-pal in . . .