Wednesday’s Families to Preserve

Introducing Today’s  Mom and Child – Debre and Dawit

Why is today’s photo of a mom and child that we would love to introduce you to blacked out?  For the same reason that Debre and Dawit are not the real names of a family in the project.  To keep a confidence.  You see, we have a number of Moms in the project who have a life defining illness.  Just in this last round of adding 40 children, we added 6 whose Moms have HIV and 1 who has TB.  They are suffering from HIV or TB and if their identity became fully disclosed in a public place like this, it could ruin them.

While HIV continues to be misunderstood in most parts of the world, here it is even worse.  To be HIV positive in this culture is reason to be cut off and feared.  People, including our project, are trying to change this outlook, but there are many obstacles still to overcome.  We even have moms who are unable to go to a local clinic, because of fear that the nurse and doctor may not keep the confidence.  She lives in fear that she could be ruined – and her children with her.

So, let me talk in generalities to paint the typical picture for a mom who is HIV positive in the project.  These moms span in age from early 20s onward. They live in a small mud and tin house which they pay on average $18 per month for.  They try to find work, but for most of them it is very difficult to find anything. They rarely eat and therefore do not get the nutrition that can help give them a greater chance.

In most cases they were infected while married and once their husband found out they were positive, he took off and left them behind – pregnant and HIV infected.  Some of the moms have started medication, but others are resistant because of social stigma or because they have heard that the medications make you so sick that they would not be able to work and therefore their child and them would starve.

These moms want to work AND they want to be around for their children for years to come.  They go to great lengths for them.

This is where EHE and you come in.  For moms in our project who have life defining illness, we are able to provide not only the basics we provide for all families, but also specialized care.  Through our social workers and nurses we are able to check up with these moms on an almost daily basis (in most cases) to see how they are feeling, how medications are being administered and to triage any special needs that arise.  We provide medical care for moms. We also are able to provide supplemental income to help families with extra nutrition or to subsidize their rent if seasons come where they are not feeling well enough to work.

As you sit down to Thanksgiving Dinner with your family, I’d ask you to remember these families in prayer.  And while you are around that same table, it would be great if you would share a bit of their stories and as a family see if it is within your scope to partner with them.

You can help any of these 7 families to embrace a new chapter in their lives – one that turns away from a cycle of poverty and one that turns toward embracing hope in all of life.

If you would like more information on this family, please email us at sponsorship@EmbracingHopeEthiopia.com .  That way we can provide you more details about the family in a more confidential format.

Full Sponsorships cost $136 per month, but it is also possible to do a partial sponsorship of $34, $68 or $108 per month.

Your sponsorship provides the following: Free Day Care, Early Childhood Education, Education and After School care for older children, Hygiene Supplies, Free Health Care for Mom and Child, 2 Nutritious Meals per day plus Snack, Extra Nutritional Support for 80% of the children, Clothing, One on one social worker attention, Life Skills Training for Moms, Micro-Grants, Special Supports for Special Cases including HIV, and Literacy Development.