Korah

The second to last day we were in Addis we had the opportunity to go visit the Center (ACDO - Access to Children Development Center) that some of our friends are involved with in Korah. Again I found myself in the familiar territory of the "slum". Poverty you know exists but we, the top 5% of the wealthy in the world, rarely see first hand (did you know that if you earn more than 34k /year you are categorized into the top 5% of the worlds wealthiest? Actually it might be 3%). 
 The area is consumed by poverty, leaving many widowed and orphaned. Illness spreads quickly due to scarce and tainted food, filthy living conditions and a lack of clean water. Most who survive do so through begging, prostitution and living off of the city’s garbage dump; a place many orphans call home. Men, women and children spend their days searching and sifting through the trash, desperate to find food or discarded metal and plastic they can salvage and sell for pennies.
 We pulled up to the center and went inside. It is gated and there is a tin roof and the sides and floor are covered with tarp. The sponsored children come to the center on Friday for extra tutoring (since their school is lacking) and then on Saturday they have a Bible class/fellowship. Among the darkness there is this light and it shines brightly. We met two of the leaders, men who love the Lord and want to bring hope and a future to the people of Korah. We left and they took us to where many live, right beside the city dump. The smell of trash, the heat, homes made of discarded trash found in the dump .....oh but the faces. The children immediately came to Nati who was showing us around, he was popular :) A few followed us around as we visited a few homes of children in the program. We were told we could look inside their homes but I felt rude and besides I could take a guess at what was inside (or what wasn't inside). All around the kids so readily smiled...it blows my mind every time I see it. 
 That day our "sponsor family" grew by 2 more girls. Sponsorship saves families, the end. Families who give up their children don't do so out of choice - they are desperate, love their children and can't bare to see them starve. It is an act of love BUT it can be prevented, sponsorship is one tool that helps to keep families together and provide opportunity that would otherwise not be had. It is overwhelming when you feel you can't help everyone but you have to start small, you know? The two girls below are 9 and 11 and neither have ever had the opportunity to attend school. When you can't feed your children you can't pay school fees, children watch siblings/family while parents dig in the dump in hopes of finding something that will yield a profit. If you are interested in sponsorship you can check out this organization our friends have introduced us to http://www.i117.org/  or you can also sponsor through Compassion International http://www.compassion.com/default.htm . 

Kurt talking to Nati, one of the leaders at the center. The center is in the background.

  Tihune and Guday - our new friends :)

Homes lined up....all made from trash. I cannot imagine what this looks like in the rainy season.

 This man is headed over the hill, you can see the line of trash just there at the top as well as scattered all up the path he is taking. 

 A few homes we saw were made from straw

Nati with a few boys he knew. He is studying social work at the university.