Family Sponsorships Program Launch

As we get closer to the Day Care getting final approval and getting started, we wanted to throw a way out there for you and your friends, co-workers, church, office, Facebook acquaintances, etc. to get involved.  The way is through Family Sponsorships.   While you’ll find more info in under the Sponsorships link in the Menu bar, here are the basics…

We are looking for people who will sponsor a family.  We will provide their child under the age of 6 with a Day Care setting, 2 nutritious meals per day 5 days per week, early childhood education that can give them a head start for school, clothing, hygiene, and healthcare…all in a caring, safe environment.  At the same time we will be providing their parent an opportunity to work.   For many they have to take their children begging with them or to the dump to scavenge or to sit all day along the busy road selling vegetables or maybe the parent has not been able to work because of needing to care for their children.  But, it gets better.  Not only will we be providing a way for parents to work, we also will work at training them and/or helping some start micro-businesses. At the same time we will be providing supplemental food for the whole family, hygiene items, clothing, healthcare and house repair – to help the family get and stay healthy enough to work and live.  We’ll be providing education in basic skills, parenting training and community development, as well as special interventions when there is malnourishment, HIV/AIDS, or when a parent is facing end of life issues.   We’ll also be providing a social worker who gets to know the family situation in depth and is able to speak hope directly into their situation.  That’s just kind of the beginning.  These families will be the poorest of the poor, vulnerable families who make their home in Kore’ (Korah) – an area near the city dump and one of the slum areas of Addis Ababa.

What we feel it will take to provide this day care, food, health care, etc.  as well as  family support is approximately $136/mo per family.   We hope to have 30 families in this first Day Care phase of our project.   So, essentially what we need are 30 families, singles, churches, sunday school classes, offices, schools, clubs, etc. willing to take the plunge and come alongside a family here.   Or, we also have partial sponsorships of $34 per month.  This means 4 families in other parts of the world coming together to help see the cycle of poverty broken and hope embraced by 1 family here, whom they will pray for and support.

Now, I know its easier to join up for something like this when you can see the family and hold the picture in your hand.  That time will come.  For now, as we await our project approval, we are not yet able to start identifying families, so we’ve got no pictures to share, yet.  However, we are committed to doing that as soon as we are permitted.  We’ll match you up with a family and find ways to have you involved in their lives, providing that element of encouragement, prayer and support.

Check out Sponsorships in the Menu above…and you can drop us an email at sponsorship@embracinghopeethiopia.com if you have any questions along the way.