An abandoned mom and her 3 kids need you.

The Gameda Family.

Today I got to visit with the Gameda family. This family of four, mom and three kids, are desperate for sponsorship. The mom, Shewaye, washes clothes when she can but being a single parent makes it hard to continue working without leaving her youngest (a one year old) to fend for himself. The dad left the family. He met another woman and married her. From my understanding there's no support coming from him.

Dawit (age 12, grade 5 at a public school), Kalkidan (age 9, grade 2 at a public school) and Yabsira (age 1) live with their mom in a very small home at the cost of 100 birr per month (or roughly $5 USD). It was so small we met with the family outside. Of all the kids in the program, this family is among the neediest.

Kalkidan (the 9 year old daughter) was not home at the time as she was in school. I got to meet Dawit (the older boy) as he is a morning student and the visit was in the afternoon after he was out of school for the day, and I saw Yabsira open his eyes from his nap resting gently on his momma before we left. The tiny child was broke out in some sort of rash that the social worker called an allergy. The small red bumps were on his face and all over his body.

Shewaye informed us some people were helping send the kids to school and they bought them uniforms for them as well. When not in school, Dawit likes to play football (or soccer) which is what he had been playing as we arrived at the home. The sweet boy wants to be a doctor, his favorite subject is English, and his favorite animal is the lion.

This family is an Orthodox family. I saw her cross and asked her what it meant to her. (We were now starting to attract other curious people as we were sitting outside). She told us she wore it because it's tradition. I told her it meant more than that to me. It's about a relationship and an experience of forgiveness, not just traditional decoration. Then she said she wears it so others will know she's Orthodox, that she believes the cross. I pray they are in a real-life daily walk with Jesus because a relationship with Him is the only thing that will help them through.

To my understanding, these three kids are so new to the BCI program they do not have any sponsors yet. If you feel led to sponsor Dawit, Kalkidan, or baby Yabsira Gameda, please visit www.blessingthechildren.org/donate to begin your monthly donation.