Water damage and sickness: a widowed mother and her eight children need you.

Dinagde Tolosa is an eight year old boy living with his mom and seven other siblings. He is the youngest of the family. The father passed away some time ago. Their mom makes traditional alcohol for a living but the income from this is not enough to feed all of them. Dinagde's favorite color is yellow and he attends a government school where he is a grade 1 student. If he were to travel outside of Ethiopia, he would go to Germany but he couldn't tell us why. He was very shy when we went on the home visit. When asked if he would be scared to go to the moon, he said he would not.

When he is not in school he helps his mom by cleaning the house. When he is not doing that, he likes to play soccer with his friends. He also likes jumping. If he had a sponsor, he would tell them about how he likes school and studies. The family is an Orthodox family and when I spoke about Jesus and part of my story, how they find a friend in me as I too lost my dad 10 years ago and part of the reason I am in Ethiopia is to help other kids like me, pointing them to the Father, they were really quiet. I could tell we were reaching some sensitive areas as their own sadness from the reality of their own experience was creeping in on their faces.

The entire family shares one mattress, if you can imagine how hard that would be. The home is also is need of repairs as when it is rainy season, there are many leaks and water damage as the back wall of the house is not attached in places. I asked the mom if her kids were getting sick because of this and she said last time they did get sick with a cough. If we were to buy another mattress, it may not be of great help to the family as the space is limited.

What you see in the above photos are evidences of their need. These are two opposite corners of their bedroom area. The photo on the left is the wall next to where they have their bed. The photo on the right is of the corner across from their bed. At the time of the visit, one of her older children was laying down sick on the bed.

I want to help this family get the food they need and to repair the home so the children have less of a risk of becoming sick. However, I can't do this on my own so if you are interested in helping me help this needy family, please contact me for more information.

Edelawit Abreham: Future Singer or Scientist?

Edelawit Abreham

Edelawit is one of our funny children, very outspoken and honest with what is on her mind. She is 8 years old and a grade 4 student at BCI Academy. Her favorite color is yellow and her favorite animal is the dog. She likes to play soccer. She said she wants to be either a singer or a scientist when she grows up however when we talked about chemical combustion, science labs, and dissecting frogs, she asked "okay tell me what is a scientist?" She said she would not want to ever dissect frogs because they are dead and she does not want to kill anything, and while it could be scary to see chemicals react, she said she would take great care in practicing these things in her lab if she ever had a class like that.

She likes to play a game called "ikaka" in Ethiopia, a make-believe game where she is a housewife, pretending to be cooking and if she has a doll, the doll would become her child. If she were to ever travel, she would go to America because she likes it. She said she would miss her family and her school friends, but she would work there if she could and would learn. When asked if she would ever go to the moon, she answered she would be scared to. When asked to describe herself, she would say she goes to church, she is learning in school, and she helps her family at home by obeying them. She loves her family.

If she were to ever become a singer, she would sing fast songs not slow songs because she likes to jump and see others dance. Her aunt Tsege, whom she is living with, agreed she is telling the truth. If she ever wrote the songs she would sing, the lyrics would be about all things like God's mercy and God's love. After talking it out more, she said she would want to be a singer most. If she were president, she said she would tell people to worship God, to help others, and to help the poor to know God.

Upon our visit, her and her family seemed to be doing well compared to others but her needs right now are shoes and clothes. Her aunt took her in after her parents passed away when Edelawit was very young and to protect her, the aunt has chosen not to tell her that she is not her mom and raises her as though she were her own biological child. This is common in Ethiopia. I'm told when Edelawit is older, they will tell her the truth about her history. If you would like to help Edelawit, please contact me with more information.

Abreham Shimeles and Bereket Tamirat

Abreham Shimeles and Bereket Tamirat

Abreham is seven years old and attending BCI where he is a KG 2 student. He is currently enjoying his week long break from school playing soccer with his friends. His favorite color is yellow and his favorite animal is the cat but he said he likes kittens best. When he grows up, he wants to be a pilot. His favorite holiday is Epiphany although he couldn't give us a reason why. During the summer he helps his grandma planting flowers in their garden. He lives with her and his brother, Bereket Tamirat, who is 13 years old and in grade 7 also at BCI. When their mom got pregnant out of wedlock, the two fathers denied they were his. The mom was not present at the time of our visit due to travel to Addis Ababa for treatment on her back. The grandma is a retired housewife and the family is living off the grandfather's military pension. She watches her third grandson for the mom by the day. Bereket says when he is older he wants to be an engineer. He wants to visit Italy because 111 years ago the Italians tried to help colonize Ethiopia and he wants to meet them and know their story. If he were to move there, he would miss his country and his family. Were his family to move with him, he would miss the holidays, mainly his favorite holiday which is their New Year celebrated on September 11th. After school, like any other child he likes to play. The family is an Orthodox family. Their current needs are food and a mattress and blanket so they are no longer sleeping on their floor. The boys also need new clothes and shoes. If you would like to help this family, please contact me for further information.

Update on Natnael Melaku and his brothers Yosef and Eyoatam (Booti) Getachew

I met this family on my first trip to Debre Zeyit. Nati, Yosef, and Booti seem to be doing well. The boys are fully sponsored except Nati who is in need of a full sponsorship as of late. Current immediate needs include food and a new mattress with sheets and a blanket as what they have now is worn out. The boys are sleeping on the floor because the bunk beds they had broke. The mom is also in need of better medical treatment for her spine in Addis Ababa. She has a slipped disc that doctors here have tried working on but she remains in quite a bit of pain and is usually in bed a lot because of it. Estimates on the cost for their needs is in review. Here's an update on the boys based on responses from an interview when we went on a home visit.


Natnael (Nati) Melaku
 

Natnael or Nati for short, is a growing teenage boy whose future endeavors include being a professional or Olympic swimmer or soccer player. His favorite subjects in school are physics and math while chemistry is his least favorite. His favorite holiday is Easter with the reason being it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ who gives him new life. If he were to ever move to another country with America and Canada excluded he says he would go to England. He would miss his family if this ever happened but if his family were to go with him, he says he would miss Kevin (another missionary and sponsor) as well as Easter. A normal week for him looks like school and studies with a little playing. On the weekends, he will do chores to help his family and sometimes he goes to church. He lives close to the family's live in restaurant (injera business) with his brother and his uncle. His uncle stays busy doing construction work but it's not enough to take care of him. When asked to describe himself, he said he likes to swim. When we talked more about his plans for his future, he understands that finishing school is important. He says opportunities for becoming a soccer player are more open living in Ethiopia than opportunities for becoming a pro swimmer, but he is also ready to face the challenge after we encouraged him to chase his dreams even if it is hard to achieve. On school breaks, he likes to go swimming in a lake near the airforce base but this is more for recreational purposes than for training as it is not made for that. When he goes to university, he would like to study physics. When asked something he doesn't like about himself, he said he doesn't like his response after or when someone else insults him. Nati is a sweet boy with a bright future so long as he works hard to reach what he strives for.


Yosef (Yose) Getachew

Yosef also known as Yose is a 16 year old orphan living with his grandma who works very hard to provide for his needs. When he grows up he wants to be a professional soccer player. He attends Joshua Academy in Debre Zeyit. His favorite subject in school is chemistry and he's not a fan of geography. If he were to move to another country with America and Canada excluded he would go to Spain so he can meet the famous soccer players there. If this were to happen he would miss his favorite holiday, Gena or Christmas. When he is not in school he is studying or playing, and doing chores on the weekends. When asked to describe himself, he said he would tell the person his name, that he is 16, and he likes to play socccer. If he could tell his sponsors anything he would say hello and thanks for what they are doing for him.


Eyoatam (Booti) Gedion
 

Eyoatam nicknamed Booti is about to turn 8 years old next week and is a grade 2 student. He says when he grows up he wants to be a doctor, and when we asked what kind of doctor he said internal medicine. His favorite subject right now is math while Amharic is his least favorite. He currently lives with his grandma who struggles trying to take care of him. When Bootie was young, his father passed away and his mom left him after a break down, but has now returned to the family. When he is not in school, he is studying or playing with his neighbor friends. He likes to play Hide and Seek with them, or they make their own games rolling a tire down the street. He enjoys reading science books which is what he said makes him unique. If he were to describe himself to someone else, he would say he is shy. His favorite holiday is Meskel otherwise known as Cross Day. His favorite food is pasta. If he were to ever move to another country with America and Canada excluded, he said he would go to Japan. When we asked him what he would miss about Ethiopia if he moved to Japan, he said he had no interest in leaving Ethiopia but said Japan to answer our question. If he were to speak with his sponsor he would say hi and would ask for a soccer ball.

Dembulit Meshesha: A Story of Hope, of Progress, of Change.

 

 

 

 

Daremyelesh and Mekdalawit Girma are precious twin daughters to Dembulit. Dembulit and her four children were abandoned by their father after the birth of the twin girls. As he left, he took away everything they owned so the choice left his family destitute. There had been times of sickness with Mekdalawit having fainting spells which led to a diagnosis of a heart problem, but most of that turned itself around and is believed to be accounted for as spiritual warfare as it was after she received Christ as her Savior. 

The family's current living arrangments are not good for them, but thanks to the support of generous donors and visiting missionaries, Dembulit and her children are moving into a better house. A missionary purchased her an oven on which she could make injera to sell and now she is selling the injera to hotels. Her new business is keeping her busy with the request of 25 injera a day.

It's great to hear stories like this that change is happening because of what we do. Should her business continue to thrive, while it is not possible now, it may mean that the girls eventually come off of support from BCDO due to progress in self-sustainability after being given a hand up after what seemed like impossible circumstances.
   
Thanks for the ways you have and continue to support this ministry. Lives are positively changing because of your obedience to do what God calls you to do. It's to Him we give all the credit, all the glory, and all the praise.



Surafel Tefera: quiet 9 year old boy whose talent is serving God.

Surafel Tefera is a 9 year old BCI student in grade 4. He lives with his mom and his brother, Abreham, who is in grade 9 and was taking an exam at the time of our visit. The father of the boys is not around as he abandoned his family and there is no relationship there. His mother was very gracious in welcoming our invitation as she was in bed sick with a cough she has already been taking medicine for. Surafel seems to be a shy one as he was hesitant in answering some of our questions about himself. He did tell us he likes playing ball and when he is older he wants to be an engineer. If he were ever to travel to another country with America and Canada excluded, he would pick to go to England although he wasn't really sure why. His favorite holiday is Gena (or Christmas) because it is the day we celebrate Jesus Christ's birth. Weekend activities include attending church at Zion Church in Debre Zeyit and he washes dishes for the family. During the week when he is not in school, he will come home, eat, nap, and play with his friends.

His hobbies or likes include going to church and being with his friends. When it comes to his behavior or what makes him himself, he says communicating with friends is a strongpoint. When we asked him what he is good at (or his talents) he said serving God. Surafel has been in the sponsorship program for 6 years. His mom makes handmade African baskets for a living and she sells them either on the street markets or to missionaries as they visit. Selling the baskets takes a lot of work and some of the larger ones she makes takes her two months to complete. Even so, the income is not enough for herself and her two boys. Surafel needs more sponsors to continue going to school, finish his education, which will give him a better chance at a good future. He needs sponsors to provide for his daily food. He needs sponsors who will support him medically. If you are interested in providing for Surafel's needs, please contact me for ideas on ways you can.

HIV+ 5 year old girl in need of immediate assistance: will you respond?



 

Fitsum Girma and her baby brother Fekadu

Fitsum Girma is a new child to the BCI child sponsorship program. She has been in the program for 3 months and the family has lived in the home they are living in for one year. This family is in desperate need of immediate action as the 5 year old's health depends on it. Fitsum is HIV+ as are her mom and her dad. Her little 3 year old brother, Fekadu, who is not in the program so far has miraculously escaped the disease. Fitsum is small for her age due to malnutrition. The last time the social worker came to visit and upon registration, the tiny girl was so weak she could not move. Today she was fairly active and a curious little girl. The mom says the difference is she started taking the HIV medication.

Worka, their mom, washes clothes for a living and their dad, Girma, is a daily laborer. They live in an unfinished house for free serving as a guard until it is finished. The living room is bare with only a small twin mattress on the concrete floor that the whole family of four sleeps on. There were no chairs and no bed frames, only a few decorations on the wall and a few metal pots. When the house is finished the approximate cost of monthly rent is 1000 birr or $50 USD, at which point they may need to move out to another home. Currently Fitsum is not sponsored so she is not receiving any benefits from the organization to assist her so she can be as healthy as she can be.

 Right now as you can see from the photo, her leg is wounded and even though she has sought treatment for the leg, the process has been repetitive as it will heal up as she takes medicine for it, but when she finishes the medicine, it returns. The social worker thinks this is a mix of poor hygiene and disease. When she walks and if you watch her, you will notice her leg is slightly bowed out. Girma told us there is a specialist in Nazreth, a good doctor, that if the assistance were to come in she could be seen for more effective treatment.

Amidst her current health concerns, Fitsum will need to start school next year to be on time with other kids her age. She needs assistance immediately. Your donation will provide food for her, education for her, and will help fund her medical needs. The mom may even be able to participate in one of the income generation projects in order to get the training she needs to better provide for her family and thus come off support. Until that day happens, the Girma family needs your help financially and this Orthodox family needs your prayers.