Flow chart of your life in Ethiopia

Your Parents diagnosed with Aids and die before you turn 5.

Neighbor takes you in, but they are also sick, so you are left to help raise their 3 and 1 year old. They have no money, so you are unable to go to school.

Age 13, you can go to the government school, but it is very difficult since you have not been in school until now. Everything is a struggle. You get by and graduate learning the basics. Skills are not taught, only literacy and arithmetic.

Some of your friends who were very intelligent or who had a uniform got schooling early in life so they did very well and will be going to the University. The government will pay their way and then they will pay the government back after they graduate. You do not get accepted.

This is the end of the road for you. There is no other school for you and no other options. You look for jobs as they come on the street. This is your life.

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This is the life of the same child who had a sponsor:

Parents diagnosed with Aids and die before you turn 5.

Neighbor takes you in, but they are also sick, so you are left to help raise their 3 and 1 year old. They have no money, so you are unable to go to school, however, your neighbor hears of a care point down the road called, Kechene. The school has sponsors from America who pay monthly for you to attend school and get fed 2x a day. They will provide a uniform, textbooks, teachers, and medical supplies. The sponsors send letters of encouragement and love from their own families. The pictures they send show fancy homes and comforts we can only imagine, yet their words are sweet, caring, and hopeful!

You attend Kechene and are supplied with a uniform, new shoes, food 2x a day and teachers who watch out for you and teach you while having fun. You meet new friends who are in the same boat and can share your struggles with. You start hearing about God and how much He loves you and all he has in store for your future. Future? Yes, there is a future because you are receiving an education at an early age.

You leave Kechene school at age 13 to attend the government school, but you are able to come back on Saturdays to receive your Saturday meals and Bible studies. Someone comes from

America and brings a ton of supplies and T-shirts! You have one more shirt to wear on Saturday! Your uniform can be washed on Saturdays now.

You do well in school and are accepted to the University for further education. You excel and explore other ways to get skills that the schools in Ethiopia cannot/do not teach. You find a global organization in the United States to learn about agriculture while living there for 2 years. You apply and get accepted to live in a little town in the U.S. to learn about animal husbandry. You can pay back the Ethiopian government AND start earning some money to give back to your Care Point.

After the 2 years are up, you return to Ethiopia and return to Kechene to teach the skills needed to raise animals.

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The end of the road is just the beginning! This is not just a hypothetical story. This is based on many true stories from our friends in Ethiopia. Sponsorship works and YOU can be the hope in a child's life from the disadvantaged to the advantaged. We are their future!