Ethiopia Child Sponsorship Program Launched

The child sponsorship program for the Ethiopian village of Bole Bulbula is now officially launched!

For $20, $30, or $50 per month, you can sponsor a child to provide him or her with good nutrition, healthcare, and educational supplies. At the higher levels of sponsorship, your contribution will also fund micro-enterprise development in this impoverished village.

There are 75 children in the village and we are just getting started. At this point, 1 child has a sponsor, and we hope to have all of the children sponsored as soon as possible.

Through your support, we can give these children and their families hope for a future!

If you are able to help, please let us know at our sponsorship webpage.

Thanks,
Andrew

"I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord.
"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.
Plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

Training the Village of Bole Bulbula

Last week, IHH hosted training at Bole Bulbula, a small impoverished village just on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Literally, the village is within a mile of the Addis airport, but the village itself is small and seems to be very remote from the city.







The training at Bole Bulbula went on for four days and ended on Friday by giving out certificate for the trainees.

The people who attended the training include parents of the children who are going to be sponsored and members of the society who are in extreme poverty. The rest include members of other churches in the surrounding area. Also, pastors and elders of Mesgana church were there.

During the training, Mr. Girma, the trainer, started by speaking on how God speaks on work in the Bible. He gave the training using easy & natural materials available around their village. The training covered two major areas:

1. Natural medicines and protection: For malaria, diabetes, skin disease, hair protection, to protect against mosquitoes, mouse traps.

2. Income generation: Alcohol distillation, soap making, extraction of essential oils, creation of chalk for schools, solid fuel from alcohol, and other ways of creating income.

What makes the training so special was that there was a prayer and Bible study in between the training and lunch time which blessed every one. The pastor of the local church at Bole Bulbula, Pastor Gezahegn, told us that most of the people in that area are engaged in ancestral worship so it was a great opportunity for them to hear the gospel.

All of the families personally thanked the IHH team stating that they are very happy to share knowledge with their community, and they also wished to thank IHH’s contributors in God’s name.

Our training and self-sustaining income generation projects will continue in Bole Bulbula. The next step is going to be organizing the workers into groups and helping to prepare the work materials. Through these efforts, our hope is that the village is able to improve their situation and give them hope for a sustaining means of income. Our objective is to also see God glorified in all of these efforts.

Teaching at Lafto, Ethiopia Drop-In Center

Children Learning in Class


Children Learning in Class

Children happy to have a toothbrush.

Peter teaching the children how to brush their teeth


Peter teaching the children how to brush their teeth


Children with parents and representatives from local government.

Children with representatives of the local government.

Teachers and children playing games.

Peter provided this update on the teaching and celebration of the children and families at the Compassion Family International (CFI) drop-in center in Lafto, a neighborhood in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:

We had wonderful time together at CFI with all the children, parents and some people from the government office and with some of the volunteers from the Ethiopia Guest Home. There were about more than 60 people having meals and drinks, distributing clothes and toothbrushes, and for the children to have a fun time.

The purpose of the meeting was just to have a get-together and to know each other. We also heard feedback from the parents about their children's progress since they come to CFI. People from the government who had selected the children to place with CFI expressed their appreciation for our work with the children and community. The also promised to stand behind me when ever I needed help. The promised us that the children will be able to be promoted to at least grade 1 and 2 starting from this coming September. It is very good for us.

One of the children's mother gave us a feedback about her 7-year old daughter, Mekides. She said that Mekides had never obeyed her and always created troubles at home, and because of this her mother not happy. But now she says Mekides' character and personality has been completely changed and their home is now full of peace. Now Mekides tells her mother that she loves the Lord and she loves singing every time at everywhere.

There is another boy named Abush, who moved here from the countryside and lives with his uncle. He is now 12 years old, but he didn’t get a chance to go school until this year. He is thankful for CFI since now he can write his name properly, and he is surrounded by many friends, and able to eat a meal every day.

Another child, Fasil, has had a difficult background. His mother is a kind of young lady and she always suffered to earn a daily income. She meet a man who became her boyfriend, and after a while she became pregnant and gave birth to Fasil. When her boyfriend heard that she gave birth he left her alone and she couldn’t find him. She start working in an undesirable job to make sure Fasil received proper nutrition, and she heard that CFI had opened our door for the poor. Fasil's mother brought him there. After Fasil was approved by the local city administration, he started attending school at CFI, and now Fasil is growing very much and he is happy every day. Fasil's mother is so thankful about the opportunity she had to help her child.

At our other drop-in center in Kechene, the children are growing very much mentally, physically and spiritually. We have made a lot of progress there. The kids working very hard on their school and they speak English very well. We always asking them about their future and every child has a dream that they are aspiring to.

For example, Yerderder is the top performer in Grade 1 last semester. Yerderder is a bright, motivated leader at Kechene. Her high grades are a reflection of her enthusiasm to learn, exemplified by her active participation and the numerous questions she asks during class. Yerderder wants to follow a career as a doctor when she grows up and enjoys math class.

Yerderder embodies the spirit of the student body of Kechene. With our help, Yerderder can receive a proper education and realize her dream of becoming a doctor.

God bless.
Peter

IHH Team doing construction in Ghana

An IHH team is in Ghana right now doing church construction work.

Here's a note from the team leader:

As of 7:30 Ghana time, Tues evening:

Everything is going great here in Ghana. We've completed our second day of construction. Yesterday we finished the slab under the first phase of the building, and today we formed and poured the concrete columns that will be in the walls and that will ultimately support the next floor.

We're all healthy. All of our luggage made it. Everything really could not be better.

The kids are working very hard, and we are very proud of them. Between the three of them, they have toted a truckload of rocks and concrete with their head-pans.

We're working alongside about thirty Ghanaians, mostly church members but some hired people as well, and they've all been a joy to get to know also.

So, all's well here. 3 more days of work, then we head home Saturday morning.