Sponsorship Program

Akya is 16 years old.  She lives at the Children's House with her son Sitota. Ayka gave birth in the town of Hawassa while she was living on the street. She was originally born in Kayafer near Hamerbena, Tsemaywereda, the southwestern part of Ethiopia.  She came to Hawassa because she is of the mingi culture.  Because her upper first incisor erupted first, she was displaced from her birth place more than five years ago and forced to live on the streets in Hawassa.  When she was 6 months pregnant, she went to Shashemane which is 25 km from Hawassa to the north, in the Oromiya region.  She gave birth while she was working in a helping household.  Again, she came to Hawassa, then to the regional Women, Children, and Youth Affairs Bureau for help. Finally, they recommended her to our project in Addis Ababa.  Ayka has lived at the Children's House since April.  Her life has completely changed.  She is a wonderful and loving mother to Sitota, her son.

9/25/12:  Ayka passed her entrance examination and is enrolled in the 4th grade.  She is very happy!  She attends school ever day, Monday - Friday. Ayka is a joy.  She loves Jesus and is an awesome mother.  Below is a photo of Ayka in her uniform.  She is a very good student and is eager to learn new things.  She does her homework willingly and studies hard.

Sinkinesh was born on July 8, 2011.  Her mother was fully orphaned at the age of 7 (both her parents died).  After the death of her parents, she moved to Addis Ababa to live with her Aunt.  Immediately after moving to Addis, she was placed in a household to be a child house worker.  She worked at the house for the next 7 years.  At the age of 14, Messay (Sinkinesh's mother) met Sinkinesh's father.  After 4 years, she became pregnant.  Sadly, Sinkinesh's father died when her mother was only 4 months pregnant.  After Messay lost her husband, she moved in with a friend and became a house worker again.  However, she could not make enough money to meet the needs of Sinkinesh. Sinkinesh was admitted to a hospital for one month because of malnutrition.  Following the discharge of Sinkinesh from the hospital, Messay planned to move back in with the friend but it was not an option anymore. Now she had nowhere to go.  She went to the police station for help, and they referred her to our program, knowing that we help people in our community in difficult situations.  We have agreed to care for Sinkinesh for a few months while Messay finds a place to live and finds a steady job. Messay will visit Sinkinesh reguarly at the Children's House.  Our plan is to reunify Sinkinesh with her mother as soon as she is ready.  After that, SInkinesh will be moved to our "Community-Based Program" where we offer assistance for women/children living in the community.

Below is a photo of Messay and Sinkinesh:

2/14/13:  "Sinke" about to get into the cake...

This beautiful girl's name is Tarikae. She is 11 years old and is from an area called Bako located around Ambo (Oromia). She was referred to our organization by the Children's Justice Project. She came to Addis about 6 months ago with her uncle Tekle. After she came here, she lived with Tekle & his wife and helped them with house work. Initially Tekle promised Tarikae's father that he would pay for her school, but that didn't exactly happen. After she came here, Tekle and his wife told her that she can't go to school because she can't speak Amharic (the national language) perfectly. Tekle's wife recently went away to her parent's to give birth and after she left, life got harder for Tarikae.  For the whole story (case sensitive) of how Tarikae ended up in our children's home, feel free to contact us.

Hannah is 13 years old and from a rural part of Ethiopia called Gayint (near Gonder). Although she doesn’t know exactly when she came to Addis, she says it’s been a while. Hannah’s heart touching story began back when she was home. Her father died while she was so young that she doesn’t even know him. She used to live with her mom until she passed away. After her mom’s death, she started living with a lady who she thinks is a relative but is not sure. Because the lady she was living with was very poor and she couldn’t provide for them, Hannah was forced to come to Addis to lead her life. The lady’s relative who has a house in Addis is the one who paid for Hannah’s transportation. After she came to Addis, she started living with Saba, her husband and Saba’s niece. She told me that she was very happy after she came here. Saba didn’t really expect her to do much around the house and Hannah spent a lot of time playing with kids in the neighborhood. After a while though, Saba’s niece got sick and things started taking a turn for Hannah.  We believe Hannah is now showing symptoms of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and we are working on getting her examined. She has an appointment with a known psychiatrist the coming week. If you would like to know what happened to dear Hannah and how to pray for her, please feel free to contact us.  Her story is private.

Meseret, a 5 year old girl who is in kindergarten, who has two brothers and a sister is a recent addition to our community based program. Meseret lives with her mother and 3 siblings in a house that they are guarding. Her mother and father have been separated and the father doesn’t support them at all. Her mother earns a living by collecting wood, water and selling it to the people in the neighborhood. Meseret’s older sister recently passed away and Meseret hasn’t been the same ever since. Her mother explains that she used to be very close with her and she is the closest friend she had. Meseret’s teachers are the ones who brought them to our organization and asked us to help the poor family. The teachers also told us about the very poor living conditions that the family is in and explained to us about her sister’s death. Although the mom claims that her daughter died because of an illness, the teachers and neighbors dare to disagree. They add to the mother’s story by saying that the child had nothing to eat in addition to the illness. Not only this, but the mother is now 7 months pregnant and can no more support her children by collecting the fire wood.  Having heard this, we decided to take two children from this family into our community based program. As she is now part of our program, Meseret is going to receive school materials, clothes, and other timely distributions like cooking oil, sanitary materials, teff, and more.

Yonas is 7 years old and in the 4^th grade. Yonas lives with his mother and 3 siblings. His mother and father are separated and his father does not support their family. His younger sister recently passed away because of an illness and lack of food. The youngest of them all “Meseret” is also part of our community program. They go to a school where they are not expected to pay anything but it is very hard for their mother to provide school materials and feed her four children. In addition to this, she is 7 months pregnant. Yonas will now receive school materials and also attend the weekly party at the children's home where the kids play, learn Bible stories and songs.

Abreham is 11 years old and is in the 3rd grade.  He is living with his mother and younger brother.  His father left them while the mother was pregnant with Abreham.  His mother got married to another man and gave birth to another baby boy.  The new husband also left them and they do not know where he is.  They are living in a room of a neighbor's house.  The mother has nothing to generate income.  They are living with the support they are getting of neighbors.

11/1/12:  Abreham is in the 4th grade this year.  He received a uniform and supplies from our program.  He attends our weekly gatherings weekly.  He is a very sweet young boy and is very respectful.  Recently, he met his sponsor. Below is the photo.

AlemTsehay, which means, "Light of the World", is 10 years old and is learning in the 2nd grade.  Her father and mother are separated.  She is living with her mother.  Her mother has asthma.  Her mother carries water for a living.  She is a very sweet girl and attends our weekly party regularly.

9/15/12:  Photo of Alem and one of her siblings.

10/19/12:  AlemTsehay is now in 3rd grade.  She is brilliant and we are so happy she is in our program.  She has received new clothes and comes to our weekly program(s).

Almaz, which means "Diamond", is 7 and learning in Kindergarten.  She is behind in school because her parents could not afford the school tuition.  Her father is living with HIV and her mother has a mental sickness.  Her father works as a daily laborer in construction sites.  Her mother cannot work. Almaz has one sister and the four of them live in a rented room. (Almaz is on the left.  Her sister is on the right).

11/1/12:  Almaz is now in the 1st grade.  She attends our program(s) every week.  She is a very happy little girl.

11/6/12:  Photo of Yalfal and Almaz (sisters) at the Children's House wearing new shirts donated by a church in the U.S.

Bereket is 4 years old.  He is living with his mother.  His father left when Bereket's mother was 4 months pregnant.  She does not know where he is. Bereket's mother is a daily laborer, however, the money that she is making is not enough to cover expenses such as education and even enough food. Because being a daily laborer is often a daily contract, it is difficult to find work every day because of the demand. Bereket's mother is also HIV positive and she suffers from various illnesses.  Her rent is 200 birr per month, which is almost half of her monthly salary.  We have accepted Bereket into our program so that he can go to school and his mother can have opportunities, along with her son, to experience the love of God in needed ways.

Bethlehem is living with her mother and a relative.  Her father and mother never married and her father left them alone.  Her mother has emotional challenges and needs help raising her child.  An older woman who is a relative is the guardian for Bethlehem.  The older woman does not work.  She receives some support from relatives.  Bethlehem really needs spiritual, emotional, nutritional, and other kinds of support right now.

11/1/12:  Bethlehem is in the 3rd grade.  She attends our weekly program(s) regularly. Like the other children in our program, she has received new clothes for the new year, a uniform and supplies for school, full tuition assistance, and more.  Below is a picture taken on 11/1/12 of Bethlehem holding Sitota at the Children's House.

Biruk's name means "Blessing".  He is 9 and in the 2nd grade.  His parents are separated and his mother does not know where Biruk's father is.  Biruk is living with his mother in a rented room.  His mother washes clothes for a living.  

11/8/12:  Biruk is attending 3rd grade this year.  He has received a uniform, supplies, new clothes, food, and more through our program.

Daniel is 4 years old.  He is not going to school.  He is living with his two siblings and mother.  His father left home to an unknown place.  The money Daniel's mother is making is not enough for her to buy food, pay the house rent, and send them to school.

9/22/12:  Photo of Daniel receiving new clothes

10/19/12:  Daniel is now in kindergarten and has received a uniform, school materials, and hygiene materials.  He comes to the Children's House weekly.

Eskedar is 8 years old.  She is not going to school.  She has a problem with both of her legs.  She cannot walk to school because it is too far away for her to walk.  Her parents couldn’t afford the private school near to their home. Her father is a daily laborer while the mother collects firewood and sells it in the market. She needs medical intervention.

9/22/12:  Below is a photo of Eskedar trying on new clothes she received for the Ethiopian New Year.

11/1/12:  Eskedar is in kindergarten.  She is very happy to be enrolled in school.  She received a uniform and materials from our program as well. She is on regular vitamins for her health/leg problems.  She has a follow-up visit in December with an American physician.

11/6/12:  Photo of Eskedar at the Children's House

Eyerus A. is 15 years old.  She lost her father when she was only 7 and sadly, her mother died two months ago.  Now she has no one to help her. She is living on her Aunt's property, however, they are not able to offer assistance to her.  Her Aunt has her own three children to support.  She washes clothes for a living which does not pay enough to support her own children as well as Eyerus.

11/8/12:  Eyerus is attending the 8th grade this year.  She attends our weekly program(s) regularly and is such a sweet person.  She helps with the younger children at the Children's House, like washing their hands, playing, and more.

Hirut, or "Ruth", is 8.  She is in the 1st grade.  She lives with her mother.  Her father died 6 months ago.  They live in a rented room.  Hirut's mother washes clothes for a living.  She does not have enough money to meet the basic needs of her two children.  Many times the children do not have food to eat.

11/2/12:  Hirut is in the 2nd grade.  She received school materials, a uniform, and full tuition assistance from our program.  She attends our weekly program(s) regularly.  She received new clothes for the Ethiopian New Year.

Kalkidan A. is 11 years old and is in the 4th grade.  Her father died 7 years ago and she is living with her mother who is HIV positive.  They were displaced from Eritrea many years ago.  Kalkdidan lives in a house made of plastic and her mother buys water from neighbors.  They don't have a latrine. Her mother washes clothes for a living.

11/8/12:  Kalkidan is attending 5th grade this year.  She attends our weekly program(s) and loves to play with the other children at the house.  Below is a photo of Kalkidan (with our other children) in their new uniforms.  Kalkidan is on the second row, far right.

Kidist is 10 and is in the 3rd grade.  Her father and mother are separated and nothing is known about her father.  Her parents were displaced from Eritrea. Kidist and her mother live in a plastic house.  Her mother's hand was burned and two of her fingers are not functioning.  One of Kidist's brothers is in an orphanage for boys.  Her other brother lives on the streets somewhere in Addis Ababa.  Kidist's mother collects firewood and sells it in the market for a living.  She is unable to afford basic necessities.

11/1/12:  Kidist is in the 4th grade this year.  She received a new uniform and school supplies from our program.

Mebrat is 12 years old and in the 4th grade.  She left home because of a disagreement she had with her mother and older brother.  This resulted in her living on the streets.  She came to the capital city of the country, Addis Ababa, which is 390 KM away from her home.  Fortunately, she met with a person that knows about our project and she moved to our Children's House on April 27, 2012.  From April 27, 2012 to May 9, 2012 she stayed at our home.  During this time she received counseling and we also fascilitated talking with her father and families on the phone.  Finally, we took Mebrat to her home city (Sodo) and reunified her with her mother and uncle, which is a goal of our project.  Her father was in college and had exams.  At the reunification occasion there were women, children and youth affairs officers of the city.  The date was May 10, 2012.  As stated earlier, Mebrat left home in April because of a disagreement with her mother and older brother because of her love for school.  She loves her school and wants to spend more time doing assignments and studying. Now, we are helping Mebrat with her education so that there will not be issues interfering with her desire to go to school.  We are providing for her school fees, school materials, school uniform, and more.  Mebrat has 2 parents and 3 other siblings.  We will check on her regularly.

Click Here to read about Mebrat's reunification story and view pictures.

11/30/12:  We recently made a visit to Mebrat's town called "Belle", near Wollayta Sodo, to check on her.  Mebrat is currently living with her parents and her brother.  She is now in the 5th grade.  She is very happy to be back at home.  She is enjoying going to school. Her grades have improved. We brought Mebrat some clothes, socks, and underwear. Below is a picture of Mebrat taken on the day we visited her.

Mekdes is a 12 year old girl who is in Grade 5. She is currently living with her parents and her three siblings. She helps her mother with house work by carrying water from a nearby spring. Mekdes's parents have no permanent income. Her father is a priest at a local church (Orthodox Tewahedo) and works as a guard part time while her mother is a house wife who suffers from depression and kidney failure. Although her father earns at least 20 birr a day, it is not enough to provide for the whole family. Because of these and other compelling reasons, her mother believes that she will not be around to help her daughter in the future. The main reason why we accepted Mekdes into our Community-Based Program is because of her mother. Her mother Denkenesh feels as though she won't live to help her children for long. We hope to be God's way of showing her that there still is hope for her and her family. Mekdes is now part of our family. We are paying her school fees and providing school materials.  Mekdes comes to the weekly parties at the Children's Home and is very happy to be a part of our family. We hope to witness positive changes in her life and also be a light to her hopeless mother.

Meskrem is 8 years old and not going to school.  She was registered for class, but her mother could not afford the fees.  Her father and mother are separated.  Meskrem is living with her mother and two other siblings.  They live in a rented room.  They have no bed and they lay on the floor in a mattress made of grass.  For a living, Meskrem's mother carries water to different houses from shared pipelines.

11/1/12:  Meskrem is enrolled in the 1st grade.  She is very happy to be attending school.

Muluneh, whose full name means "Full of Joy", is 9 years old and in the 2nd grade.  He lost his father when he was only 5.  He is now living with his mother (pictured) and his two siblings.  Muluneh's mother is illiterate and working as a housemaid.  She washes clothes and makes local bread for three households.  In addition, she makes tea and sells it on the street.  They are living in a one-room home and she is having a difficult time paying her rent which is about half of her total income.

11/1/12:  Muluneh is attending the 3rd grade.  He received a uniform and materials from our program.  He attends our weekly program(s) weekly.

Seble is 10 years old but is only a 1st grade student.  She is behind in school because of financial difficulties.  Her parents were displaced from Eritrea. Seble's father left home and they do not know where he is.  She is living with her mother in a room made of plastic. Seble's mother washes clothes for a living. 

11/1/12:  Seble is in the 2nd grade.  She always attends our weekly program(s).  She LOVES to have her picture taken!  Below is a recent photo of Seble with her friend Yalfal.

Tadelu stayed in our Children's House for a while until she was reunited with her family. Her parents who live in the rural part of Ethiopia are illiterate and have 10 children. Although it is common to own land for farming in the area, Tadelu's parents were not fortunate enough to have a plot.  This is the main reason why they started giving their kids to relatives:  to take them to urban parts of Ethiopia and give them a job. Tadelu's older sister also came to Addis and is a 1st grade student in a local school.  Fortunately, the people that she works for are good people and have allowed her to continue her education.  Unlike her sister though, the people that Tadelu worked for were not so good to her.  That is why she ended up in our Children's House.  After she escaped, the police referred her case to our organization. Tadelu stayed with us for about a week and was at last reunited with her parents in Sirbo woreda. Tadelu's sisters and brothers were so relieved and happy to see her. We are planning to help her to start going to school in the coming school year and we will also provide school materials and school uniforms. We think that doing this will not only benefit Tadelu but also her brothers and sisters. The school items that we are going to buy for her can be used by other siblings also.

Please see this link for pictures of Tadelu's reunion with her family.

Tesfaye is Kalkidan's newborn son.  (Please see Kalkidan's story under "Reflections" for details). Kalkidan named her son "Tesfaye" about a week after moving to the Children's House.  Tesfaye means, "There is hope."

10/31/12:  Tesfaye and his mother are sponsored by Suzy and Eric Stark. The photo below is of Suzy meeting Kalkidan and Tesfaye for the first time. God gave Suzy a dream about Kalkidan before she ever met her.

2/14/13:  Kalkidan and Tesfaye moved out of the Children's House and into the neighborhood.  We provided them start-up assistance including housing and supplies. We have given her tools to start her own income generating activities.  She is now making/selling injera and is actively involved with all of us at the Children's House.  She also makes injera for us twice a week.  It is amazing to witness what God has done in Kalkidan and her son's life since joining our family.  Kalkidan is so grateful.  She is also attending classes at a local church and since moving to the Children's House has become a follower of Jesus.

2/15/13:  Tesfaye is now a part of our "Community-Based Program".

Here is a picture of Tesfaye with Samri at a combined going away party.

Yalfal is 5 years old and in Kindergarten.  Her father is living with HIV and her mother has a mental sickness.  Her father works as a daily laborer in construction sites.  Her mother cannot work.  She has one sister and the four of them live in a rented room.  Her sister is Almaz who is also registered in our sponsorship program.

On 7/15/12, we received this e-mail from a good Ethiopian friend after posting information about Yalfal:

"Did you know that "Yalfal" means "everything will come to pass"?  I am
sure you can imagine why her parents gave her this name.  It tells me
that despite all of the problems they were having, Yalfal's parents
didn't lose hope. I think their daughter's name was serving them as a
constant reminder that there is always hope no matter how grim their
situation might have been."

10/31/12:

Yalfal (left) and Seble at the Children's House.  Yalfal always attends our programs and is such a sweet little girl.

Yehualashet is 4 years old.  She is Missaye's daughter who is also in our program. Yehualashet has complicated health problems.  She is HIV positive, she is speechless, and she cannot stand on her feet.  

Both of her parents are HIV positive. Her father left home and stays at his sister's house. Her mother used to collect firewood and sell it in the market, however, currently she is not working.  She needs to take care of her child full time.  Neighbors are helping them. Sometimes she asks for money near the local church.

Yehualashet really needs medical and nutritional support.

10/30/12:  Yehualashet's health has improved and her overall appearance is better.  She attends our gatherings regularly.  Yehualashet is now attending physical therapy sessions 3 times per week.  She can walk with assistance now.  

Yosef is 4 and is chronically ill.  He has been diagnosed with ascites, which is the accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, causing abdominal swelling. He is not in school.  His mother cannot afford to pay for school related fees. His father left home and they do not know where he is.  Yosef is living with his mother and 3 siblings.  His mother has epilepsy.  She works as a daily laborer at construction sites.  She carries construction materials such as cement, stone, and blocks.

10/30/12:

Photo of Yosef at the Children's House

11/8/12:

Yosef's health has significantly improved.  We are helping him see a physician regularly. He is now on medication for epilepsy.  He receives treatment for his abdominal problems. Currently, he is taking a short break from school to rest and receive treatment.  This was advised by his physician and school.  We hope he can go back to his kindergarten class (which he was enrolled in for 2012) soon.

Bekelech and her only son are living with HIV.  He is also registered in our project. Both of them are on ART.  Her husband is free of HIV.  For a living, she washes clothes in neighbor's houses while her husband is working as a guard.  They are living in a house made of plastic.  They do not make enough money to buy nutritional food, and there are times they take their medicines without any food.  Bekelech needs nutritional support.

Kelemua is 70 years old.  She learned that she was HIV positive about 4 years ago.  Her husband has not been willing to get an HIV test or help her. He is a guard and spends most of his time at his work place.  Kelemua used to work as a cook for foreigners but her employers left the country some years ago.  She gave birth to a boy before marrying her husband.  Her son is grown now but does not have a relationship with his mother.  She lives in one room and needs nutritional support.

Update: May 2013

Kelemua has been part of our NOLM family for a while now. Weyzero Kelemua (as we call her) is a very good participant in the programs at the NOLM Children’s Home. Being part of the women’s group, Kelemua had received training on how to manage small businesses which was organized by the NOLM team. After taking the training, Kelemua came to us with a business proposal she had. After going through the proposal, the NOLM team agreed to help her with her plan. To get things started, she received 15 chickens and two metal made houses to store them in. We recently went to Weyzero Kelemua’s house to check on how things are going. We were very happy to see how well she was doing. She is so happy and dedicated to the work she is doing. She has become so attached to the chickens that she even has names for each of them. We witnessed the chickens are well handled and soon expected to start laying eggs.

Missaye contracted HIV from her husband unknowingly.  He lost his first wife due to HIV/AIDS.  He then re-married Missaye.  They did not get tested for HIV before their marriage.  She only learned that she had HIV after she gave birth to her first baby girl (born with HIV) and her husband became very ill. By then then she was already pregnant with her second child.  She got treatment at a hospital and gave birth to a baby boy free of HIV.  Missaye and her husband began to have problems in their marriage.  Finally, the husband left to live with relatives. He is being cared for by his mother at her home. Currently, Missaye cannot work for two reasons.  First, she is sick with TB in addition to HIV.  She takes ART and TB medicines.  She is too weak to work in the (physical) labor field.  Second, she has to be available for her little girl who is living with HIV, cannot speak, and is handicapped in both her right hand and leg.  She cannot stand and walk and has limitation in mental growth.  (Pictured).

Missaye and her children are living with the support they get from neighbors.  They have also been asking for money near the local churches. Both Missaye and her child are on ART and need more nutrition.

10/30/12:  Missaye is doing well and attends our gatherings regularly.  She is such a sweet woman and loving mother.  You can see a remarkable change in Yehualashet, her daughter.  She is now attending physical therapy 3 times a week.  The picture below was taken on 10/27/12.  She is now walking with assistance.