Yesterday we went to the big government orphanage(Kechene). While it was in better condition, there are about 170 kids there. One couple was leaving that day and was taking home 2 daughters, one of which was turning 18 in 2 days! Talk about close call! There were a few girls crying because their friend was leaving. It was so sad. One girl came up to Belay and was crying and cried the whole time because she went to Bright Futures camp, but was not adopted and was sad. Another one I went up to and hugged and she never left my side. She was 10, and she had a brother who was 9. Her brother is called Eveready, because he has so much energy. She didn't get to go to Bright Futures because the social worker said she was depressed and the brother was too hyper. She thinks she didn't get to go because of her brother. The saddest about her is that she thought that she was ugly, her head was shaved, and she did have kind of boyish features, and when we left, she wouldn't look at us and walked away. Belay said it really is true that the pretty ones and ones that smile that get adopted. These kids honestly have no reason to smile and some obviously have lost hope. We were not allowed to take pictures at this orphanage.
The good thing is that they are working on programs to help them, but it takes time and money. They offer schooling and incentives. Did you know that it only costs about $200 a year to send a child to college? How many people can do that? Maybe we don't all have to adopt, but there are certainly other ways to help. You can donate items and sponsor children for college. Another need is meat and milk. A man comes once a month and brings meat for the kids. They call him the Meat Man. It is a special treat. You can host a child or siblings for Bright Futures camp which is once a year in the summer, I think in the Dallas area and New York. I would be happy to find out what we can do and the steps if anyone is interested in helping.
Last night we all went out to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant, not the one everyone goes to, but we will. They did the dancing and stuff and it was real good. Piper ate like a pro and knew exactly what she was doing. Here are some pictures.
1 comment:
Rachel, these orphanage descriptions are just breaking my heart! Only $200 to support a child through college for an entire year? That's AMAZING! Why don't more people know of that? How can we get people to realize this? I mean, even if everyone in my cohort paid HALF of that, we'd be able to support THREE students through ALL FOUR YEARS of college! And to say that's a fraction of what WE pay for tuition is a gross understatement, it's a fraction of what we pay for ONE SINGLE credit! Thank you for sharing that news, it may be worth a nice graduation gift plug to our families. (I think my cohort is sick of hearing about orphans from around the world, but I don't really care what they're sick of hearing. Knowing what a HUGE difference this could make is worth the rolled eyes.)
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