Abandoned children find rest

Imagine this headline in your local paper...

"Abandoned children find rest with a school"

Here is the article that actually happened at a care point in Ethiopia (a school that feeds twice a day and cares for the vulnerable). Can you imagine?

The Infant Boy Abandoned by his Father

 Abel Tesema (ET2110181) is the second child in the family. He has one sister. Her name is Eyerus Tesema (ET2110180). They both joined Kind Hearts School during this quarter.

 Their mother Asenaku brought them to the CarePoint and asked to enroll both of them into kindergarten. As Asenaku told their story, it was hard to believe that they have managed to survive this far.

 Asenaku was married to a man named Mulugeta and they lived together in a rented room in a private compound. Until Abel’s birth her husband supported the family by working as a daily laborer while she took care of Eyerus. When Eyerus was still young, Asenaku gave birth to Abel.

 Shortly, after the birth of Abel, Asenaku’s husband did not return home after work as he usually did. She was surprised by her husband’s abandonment only 15 days after their infant son was born. Mulugeta never came back again.

 When she recalled those days, her eyes filled with tears. It was so difficult for her being left by her husband since she was at home with an infant son and a little girl. She asked neighborhood friends for help until Abel was grown enough for her to carry him on her back. Those days were miserable for Asenaku and her little ones. It was so hard for her to feed them and support herself.

 After a while, she began working as a daily laborer in order to get a meager income for daily bread and house rent. She carried Abel on her back and left Eyerus to the care of neighborhood friends until came back from work. She was worked as cleaner and washed clothes at someone’s house.

 When Eyerus and Abel became old enough for school, she was unable to provide school materials and pay the school fee. It was beyond her capacity to bear.

 One day she heard about Kind Hearts School where her children can attend school for free. It was just like heaven for Asenaku to have this opportunity for her children. She went to the local government to get the document proving her situation that she is unable to send the children to other schools and enrolled Eyerus and Abel at Kind Hearts.

 Abel is a sweet boy and easily makes friends. He enjoys playing with older children. Now he is a model for the other younger children at Kind Hearts School.

 Dear sponsoring families, even though Abel and his sister were abandoned by their father, you have become part of their lives and are changing their future. One day Abel will tell others what the Lord did for him.

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This is very typical and the miracle of that school being there for the family is also happening every time someone sponsors a little one. You can too at Kechene. Make a difference in an entire family's life!  www.hopechest.org/community/kechene/sponsor

I would like a sponsor.

Please sponsor me.

I love letters, pictures and your encouragement. 

Thank you for this school so I can learn like my neighbors and friends.

Contact me for sponsorship. $1.13 a day can assure these children 2 meals a day, an education, their health check ups, a staff to watch over them, and a connection with a family who prays for them and cares for them from afar. gretabcg@hotmail.com

Thank you Sponsors and Friends for 2012!

Thank you everyone for your support in 2012 for reaching goals beyond what we thought was possible! With your help in 2012, we were able to get more children sponsored, a library funded at the Kechene Care Point and money raised for the "Change Their Story" Campaign. I will let the Kechene Staff summarize the year for us in the following excerpts from the most recent quarterly newsletter...


From the children at Kechene:
 Every sponsored child is grateful for the support to receive meals, education and school supplies. They want to “thank all sponsor families, community leaders and Children’s HopeChest.”  They are also thankful for the special gifts received from sponsoring families; like school uniforms and school supplies.
 In general, they are grateful for all the support that they receive. All express their feelings of gratitude to the sponsoring families, community leaders and Children’s HopeChest.

Dramatic change of a little girl’s life

Elsa Kezo (ET2101127) was born in 2006. When she reached school age, her family could not enroll her in school. They were unable to provide for her the required school uniform and school supplies. They soon heard from a neighbor about the good news of Kechene (IEICA) School. Her family immediately set out to gain information on how to enroll Elsa to send her to this CarePoint at KG level. Elsa’s mother went to the local government office and obtained the clearance document. With the document her mother gladly brought Elsa to the school and enrolled her.
 She is now an upper KG student and model for the other students in her class. She is an outstanding student. Elsa’s favorite subject is math. And her ambition is to be a doctor.

 Dear sponsoring families, connect community leaders and Children’s HopeChest, this great gift has happened through your significant contribution. She is thankful for what you have been doing for her.  

It is stories like these and many others that I read about in some of Tom Davis's books (founder and leader at Children's Hopechest) that I realize the impact and how deep it goes once a child has the support of a family from afar. "Priceless" and "Scared" are two novels written by Tom that I highly recommend that give an account of these children's lives through their stories.  

Thank you so much, on behalf of all the staff, children and families in the Kechene neighborhood in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. God is working through you to make a difference! It is not a choice but a command for us to care for the vulnerable and the orphaned. You are doing just that.

We do have 28 more children to sponsor due to more children coming to the drop off center/school. Please pass this along for friends and family to consider and visit the website 

Sponsor a child at Kechene