Library is Funded!

Soon, the children at Kechene will hear that they will be getting a corner of their school turned into a library!

This was a vision I had one day when thinking through the school's needs. I really felt God prompting this team to get those kids some books! When I brought it up to Children's Hopechest, the CH team in Ethiopia responded quickly. They were thrilled! However, there was no place to put the books. They had no shelving. They had no tables and they had no chairs, with the exception of their benches that they cram several children, shoulder to shoulder, on.

So, within a few months, we had a HUGE art sale. People from all over our area brought in their crafts, photography, paintings, jewelry, and so much more. People came to shop and we raised over $1000! The money started to grow.

Then, we received over 120 colorful and unique pieces of art from the children at Kechene. Sponsors generously donated money when they received their child's work. The money grew some more. Little by little, donation after donation via the website and our partners around the country, the money grew.

Now, we will be able to send $3700 to CH in Ethiopia at the end of Dec. Therefore, in the month of Jan., the staff at Kechene will be busy shopping for much needed reference books, some much needed new textbooks, building shelving, tables, chairs, and maybe even purchasing some books for fun!

This was a wonderful thing to get accomplished since there are no places in the Kechene neighborhood quite like this care point. Now, the children will have a place within their little school to read, explore, study, and learn! Thank you everyone for your part in this project! You make a difference one step or project at a time!

Karen's Team visits Kechene...and other updates...

 Karen's team is just returning now from a full week in Ethiopia. Karen's team was loaded down with donations and full hearts to share with over 500 children in the capital of Ethiopia and the countryside.

They had a full load of care packages they handed out .

They brought donated blankets to the children of the dump area in Addis Ababa and another care point, called Korah.

They provided a special injera meal for everyone at 2 care points.

They also brought our toothbrushes and other small supplies to Kechene.  

Karen's team visited Kechene for a short time one afternoon and was able to play with and entertain the children. 

They stopped by a fruit stand and bakery to buy some bananas and rolls for all 160 children at Kechene. They LOVED them and           enjoyed their visit very much!

More to come upon Karen's return. 

Thanks Karen and the team for your love and dedication to these children!! 

Karen and her girls with one of their sponsor daughters at Kind Hearts Care Point.

Water Purifier donated!!!

This week, we heard from Children's Hopechest that a very generous donor has asked to donate water purifiers to some of Children's Hopechest's Care Points. Kechene was one of them!!

This is an amazing thing for Kechene since, like so many households and places in the country are using water that is at its most primitive state. The water would make you and I sick, and some of the children at Kechene sick as well. Now, the filtration system will be able to make it safe for those more susceptible to disease.

I will send pictures of the system in place once this project is completed, but this is a project where no more money is necessary to see through to the end. What a blessing that is!!

This is the water system that is in place now. It consists of a large bucket up high in the air and pipes that carry the water to this trough for the children to use with the faucets. The water comes from city distribution when they can get it there. That water is not always safe to drink. Now, with a filtration system, it will be safe!! 

Change Their Story Campaign

What: A campaign Children's Hopechest and sponsorship coordinators are partnering to bring change to Kechene

How: Consider having a fundraiser in your area to raise $500 by Dec. 31; Rummage Sale, Bake Sale, Jeans Day at work, Brown Bag Lunch'n it, donations from family and friends, etc.

Why: 160+ children in the slums of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia are surviving and working hard to learn so they can be changed forever! They need our help! We can raise the money via 10 team members and change Kechene for the better.

Who: YOU! With the money raised by 10 teams, you being one of them, we can choose our project for Kechene for Christmas. Contact me to be on a team and CHANGE THEIR STORY!

Here is the story told by Children's Hopechest...

Dear Greta, Thank you for signing up for more information about Change Their Story, the Children's HopeChest Christmas campaign for orphans. I wanted to get you some information about what to expect in the next few weeks, and answer any remaining questions you might have. The first part of this e-mail is about team captains. If you only are interested in being a participant, scroll down for that content.  What is a team captain? The team captain does everything a participant does. That means you select a project, set a fundraising goal, create a personal page, and ask your friends to make donations on behalf of your project.  In addition to participating, there are two key aspects you help with: First, you commit to recruiting 10 or more volunteer fundraisers to join your team. This is the most critical aspect of being a captain. By bringing more people to the campaign, we increase our chances for a very successful campaign. A team of 10 people is a goal to reach for. There are very effective teams of 3-8 people as well.Reach out now to start recruiting your team members. Send them to this page, and tell them to indicate they want to be on your team.  Second, you agree to encourage and support team members throughout this process. That means you'll be sending encouragement and reminder e-mails to your team members throughout the campaign. You'll have a special section of your fundraising page to send team member e-mail messages. We suggest you contact each team member 1-2 times per week to ensure they are on track. I will have some pre-formatted messages you can adapt and use. Ready to be a captain? Just reply to this e-mail and I'll get in touch with you about how to select your project for Change Their Story 2012. You'll have a special registration process to ensure you are set up properly as the team captain. What is a participant? If you signed up as a participant, just sit tight for now. In about 2 weeks, I'll be sending you the official registration link with all the login information you need to select your fundraising project and set up your personal page. Here's what you can do right now: 1. Determine your fundraising goal.  We suggest starting with $500. Over the past two years, the average participant has raised around $800. If you don't reach your goal that's okay! We will use the money you do raise to support the proejct you selected. 2. Think about the project you want to support.HopeChest works in 9 countries, and we have projects to help with food, water, medical care, education, trafficking, and microenterprise. If you are a current child sponsor, you can pick the project associated with your child's CarePoint or orphanage.  3. Invite your friends and family to join Change Their Story.Would you take a moment to ask others to join you as a volunteer fundraiser this year? Just send them to this link to read and pre-register just like you did.  And begin to make a list of who you are going to ask to support your project goal.

We're back and want to go to school!

We have a couple children yet who need a sponsor to love them from afar and to care for them through Children's Hopechest's support. Children's Hopechest is the organization that we sponsor through. The Christian organization employ social workers, teachers and directors who are very active at Kechene, watch out for the kids, and organize the care point in order to feed and educate over 130 children!

In a year and a half, we have gone from 56 children to 130 children and they are all sponsored, but 2! We had 100% sponsorship at one point, but some of them moved away for various reasons while others discovered the care point for food and shelter. Most of the time, the children are at the care point 6 days a week, but sometimes death in the family or sickness of a parent forces them to stay home or to move in with a different relative.

Presently, these 2 children are NOT sponsored for reasons like that or other reasons. If you feel moved to support them for $34/month, please consider one of these boys. You can mail me at gretabcg@hotmail.com if you would like to sponsor. Thanks so much.

My name is Lemiya and I am 7 years old. I was at Kechene and came back, but don't have my sponsor anymore since I moved away and came back. Please sponsor me again. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Tamirat and I am 11 years old. I had a sponsor, but for some reason they are not sponsoring anymore. Please sponsor. I love getting letters and know about you. Thank you.

I need a sponsor...

Hi, my name is Henok and I live in Addis Ababa. I am able to attend a school there because there are sponsors helping to keep it going. I had a sponsor, but now I do not have one. It is fun to get letters from them and pictures. Would you be my sponsor? SPONSORED!

Hi, my name is Genet. I live in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia too and go to Kechene School. I had to leave Kechene and move away, but now I am back and I love being with my friends again. Would you be my sponsor? SPONSORED!!

Hi, my name is Ayenalem and I am 16 years old and in the Ethiopian 5th grade. I had to leave Addis Ababa and my school, but now I  came back, so I lost my sponsor. Please sponsor me since I LOVE getting letters and pictures and it feels really great to be prayed for by someone in America! SPONSORED!!

These children need your help. They are at Kechene Care Point with 125 other children who ARE sponsored, but they are not. Though these are not their exact words, this is what the staff has shared with us that they would like. You can see them on our web page http://www.hopechest.org/community/kechene 

and sign up today! When you sponsor a child at Kechene Care Point in the slums of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, you are changing lives of the vulnerable one child at a time. Thank you!

Update on the Library and Children's Hopechest community page for Kechene

Since we first started the Kechene Library Project (shelves, tables, chairs, reference books, textbooks, and other necessary books), we have raised $2965! In order to achieve ALL the needs for the little library at the school, our goal is $3700.  To view our progress or donate, you can go to this link at www.go.hopechest.org/kechene-library

Also, Children's Hopechest and I are introducing a new web page on the Children's Hopechest website. Follow it to find all the newest information about Kechene at
http://www.hopechest.org/community/kechene

The new web page is a great way to view sponsored and unsponsored children at the care point, or to just see what is going on at Kechene. The page is user friendly and easy to share with those who may want more information about our care point in Ethiopia or perhaps wanting to sponsor.