mardi 6 juillet 2010
En temps normal, on aurait posté le message suivant en français mais le temps nous manque et on tient à le partager avec vous…
Il s’agit ici d’une ONG locale "Hope Community Services" (http://orphansofethiopia.org)à Mekele, fondée par un couple d’origine éthiopienne qui vivait à New York. Ils ont décidé de rentrer après 20 ans pour aider les plus démunis… on les laisse vous le raconter:
Poverty in Tigrai state of northern Ethiopia has been compounded for over a century by natural and man-made disasters. The people suffer from poverty and diseases. AIDS is a pandemic in the region and its spread is very alarming. Over 800,000 children are already orphaned by AIDS. Children are the innocent victims. The elderly who lose their supporting children to AIDS are driven into begging to survive.
In 1991, a dawn of hope rose on Ethiopia with the overthrow of the cruel military dictatorship that continued to cause havoc on its citizens for 17 long and hellish years. Our people breathed a sigh of relief. This motivated us to come to Ethiopia for a visit.
In 1995, Connie and I returned back to Ethiopia after 15 years of absence. We visited Addis Ababa and northern Ethiopia. We saw first hand the devastation, poverty and human misery that the irresponsible military dictatorship left behind. Our love for God and love for humanity motivated us to want to make a holistic difference in Ethiopia. The visits continued each summer until 2003 when we felt God's call to move back to Ethiopia on a permanent basis. We established a local NGO called Hope Community Services with the purpose of helping the helpless in society. It is now 7 years since we left New York to settle back in Ethiopia. We live in Mekelle, the capital of Tigrai state of Ethiopia.
We are happy serving in Ethiopia where our little efforts touch lives. There are so many challenges living in a poor country. The needs are overwhelming. A number of times, we were tempted to give up and return back to New York but we are glad we hang on. Now we are beginning to see the fruit of our persistence.
Our Mission
Motivated by love for God and love for humanity we exist to improve the living conditions of the most needy in society holistically with the aim of helping them to help themselves.
Objectives
• To provide orphans with a family atmosphere where they can fully develop physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually so that they could be contributing members of society.
• To assist destitute widowed women headed families with monthly support for food, schooling and other basic necessities
• To conduct Braille literacy programs to blind children giving them the basic skill needed to join a public school that will enable them earn a living instead of destined to beg to survive
I. Helping Orphans
The Ethiopian government gave us 8 acres (4 hectares) of land to start the orphanage. American kids gave their Bat-Mitzvah gifts, birthday gifts, fundraised by selling baked goods in their schools, saved their pocket money and donated it for orphans in Africa. Their parents, moved by the generosity of their kids, also contributed funds graciously which enabled us to start the orphanage. The dormitory of 3 floors will be home to 60 orphans. We currently have 15 children.
In 2009 9 children were adopted by American families and live in the US.
II. Helping destitute children
There are lots of children that are half orphans mostly living with mothers that lost their husbands but left with 2-6 kids to take care of with no income. In most cases the women are illiterate and unskilled and to add matters worse infected with HIV and hence too weak to do manual labor. For most of this getting one meal a day is a luxury. Hope community Services has been helping these before the kids end up on the street and become scarred for life. We are helping 40 families that have 103 children. The need in this area is enormous and we will continue to expand as much as we have resources for.
III. Helping the blind
Hope Community Services trains 30-50 blind students every year in Braille literacy so that they can join the public school to get a better opportunity instead of begging as a way of life. We have trained 250 blind children with the literacy program and helped them get slates, styluses and Braille papers.
In Tigrai State of Ethiopia there are 32,000 registered orphans most of whom are living with HIV passed to them from their parents. The need is overwhelming but our cooperative efforts will rescue many.
This is just a start of a new chapter in our lives and we look forward with great anticipation for the completion of the remaining chapters that will have more eternal significance.
Please, join us to make a difference in the shattered lives of helpless children.
Gabe & Connie
Il s’agit ici d’une ONG locale "Hope Community Services" (http://orphansofethiopia.org)à Mekele, fondée par un couple d’origine éthiopienne qui vivait à New York. Ils ont décidé de rentrer après 20 ans pour aider les plus démunis… on les laisse vous le raconter:
Poverty in Tigrai state of northern Ethiopia has been compounded for over a century by natural and man-made disasters. The people suffer from poverty and diseases. AIDS is a pandemic in the region and its spread is very alarming. Over 800,000 children are already orphaned by AIDS. Children are the innocent victims. The elderly who lose their supporting children to AIDS are driven into begging to survive.
In 1991, a dawn of hope rose on Ethiopia with the overthrow of the cruel military dictatorship that continued to cause havoc on its citizens for 17 long and hellish years. Our people breathed a sigh of relief. This motivated us to come to Ethiopia for a visit.
In 1995, Connie and I returned back to Ethiopia after 15 years of absence. We visited Addis Ababa and northern Ethiopia. We saw first hand the devastation, poverty and human misery that the irresponsible military dictatorship left behind. Our love for God and love for humanity motivated us to want to make a holistic difference in Ethiopia. The visits continued each summer until 2003 when we felt God's call to move back to Ethiopia on a permanent basis. We established a local NGO called Hope Community Services with the purpose of helping the helpless in society. It is now 7 years since we left New York to settle back in Ethiopia. We live in Mekelle, the capital of Tigrai state of Ethiopia.
We are happy serving in Ethiopia where our little efforts touch lives. There are so many challenges living in a poor country. The needs are overwhelming. A number of times, we were tempted to give up and return back to New York but we are glad we hang on. Now we are beginning to see the fruit of our persistence.
Our Mission
Motivated by love for God and love for humanity we exist to improve the living conditions of the most needy in society holistically with the aim of helping them to help themselves.
Objectives
• To provide orphans with a family atmosphere where they can fully develop physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually so that they could be contributing members of society.
• To assist destitute widowed women headed families with monthly support for food, schooling and other basic necessities
• To conduct Braille literacy programs to blind children giving them the basic skill needed to join a public school that will enable them earn a living instead of destined to beg to survive
I. Helping Orphans
The Ethiopian government gave us 8 acres (4 hectares) of land to start the orphanage. American kids gave their Bat-Mitzvah gifts, birthday gifts, fundraised by selling baked goods in their schools, saved their pocket money and donated it for orphans in Africa. Their parents, moved by the generosity of their kids, also contributed funds graciously which enabled us to start the orphanage. The dormitory of 3 floors will be home to 60 orphans. We currently have 15 children.
In 2009 9 children were adopted by American families and live in the US.
II. Helping destitute children
There are lots of children that are half orphans mostly living with mothers that lost their husbands but left with 2-6 kids to take care of with no income. In most cases the women are illiterate and unskilled and to add matters worse infected with HIV and hence too weak to do manual labor. For most of this getting one meal a day is a luxury. Hope community Services has been helping these before the kids end up on the street and become scarred for life. We are helping 40 families that have 103 children. The need in this area is enormous and we will continue to expand as much as we have resources for.
III. Helping the blind
Hope Community Services trains 30-50 blind students every year in Braille literacy so that they can join the public school to get a better opportunity instead of begging as a way of life. We have trained 250 blind children with the literacy program and helped them get slates, styluses and Braille papers.
In Tigrai State of Ethiopia there are 32,000 registered orphans most of whom are living with HIV passed to them from their parents. The need is overwhelming but our cooperative efforts will rescue many.
This is just a start of a new chapter in our lives and we look forward with great anticipation for the completion of the remaining chapters that will have more eternal significance.
Please, join us to make a difference in the shattered lives of helpless children.
Gabe & Connie
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