My Story of Hope

By Britainy Sholl, Vice Chairwoman of The Forsaken Children.

This story is based on a former street child's real life experiences. Take a moment and get a glimpse of what life is like on the streets from a child's perspective. Finally, be inspired by how God intervenes to change children's tragic stories into ones full of hope. God is on the move in Ethiopia to restore hope in the hearts of its forsaken children. 

This is my story of hope.  My name is Fekadu.

When I was 7 years old, my father abandoned our family, and soon thereafter my mother, who had been very sick, died.

With nowhere to go, my little sister and I began living on the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I could not care for my sister, so she eventually went to live with a family friend who was only willing to take one of us.

I worked on the streets to make money so I could buy food. But the work was very difficult, and people often stole my money.

Most days my empty stomach ached, and I had to dig through many trash cans to find any crumb to eat.

I remember one time when I became very sick, and no one helped me.  For 3 days I was sick, and people just walked on by as I lay in the street.

One night I had a dream someone reached out a hand to help me. I awoke, knowing that no one would help a dirty street kid like me. I tried hard to forget about my dream, convinced it didn't mean anything.

I often saw other boys and girls going to school or playing with a soccer ball and wished I could be like them.

But my life was about survival - making it from one moment to the next all on my own.

When I turned 10, I was very thin, lonely and sad.  I cried often and was becoming weaker day-by-day.

Then one day, I saw it! It was the hand from the dream I had tried to forget. Only this time it wasn’t a dream. It was a man named Nega. He reached his hand out and said,  “Come with me. I am going to help you.”

I could tell by his face that he was a good man, so I went with him.  He took me to a place called the drop-in center.  When we arrived, there were other nice people there. They had the same look in their eyes Nega had...

Why would these people help me? I am a complete stranger, and I have no money to pay them.  I am dirty, weak and hopeless. 

The reason didn't matter - someone had finally seen me and reached out a hand to help.

The first thing we did at the drop-in center was eat!  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a real meal. I ate until I couldn’t fit another bite into my mouth! Then they let me take a bath - with soap! Again, I couldn’t remember ever doing that. Maybe my mom had given me a bath when I was a baby.  Then they told me the best news: I was going to get to go to school!  I would get an education.  I would play with other boys and girls.

Several weeks later I was working with one of the adults at the drop-in center on my studies when I asked the question that would change my life.  This question had been on my mind since the day I arrived there, and now I had to ask.  “Why did you help me?”  The answer was simple...

“Because of Jesus.”

Who is this Jesus? I had heard the other kids at the drop-in center speak of Him, and I wanted to meet Him.  I asked question after question about this Jesus.  I wanted to thank Him for telling these kind people to help me when I did nothing to deserve it.

At the end of our conversation that day, I finally understood who Jesus is. The thought of someone giving His life for me so that I can know God was the best news I had ever heard!  That is when I found Jesus and finally found hope.

I was a broken, poor, dirty, unloved street orphan.  But Jesus loved me.  He loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  The Bible tells me so.

This song brings me joy.  I see Jesus every day in the faces of my friends at the drop-in center. They are able, because of the love of Jesus, to see me as Christ sees me.  I am worthy and loved beyond measure; a son of the Most High.  Yes, Jesus loves me.

You see, that dream I had of that hand so many years ago wasn’t the hand of any ordinary man. I now know that it was the hand of Jesus Christ. He reached down and touched my life and filled it with hope.

This is my story of hope. My name is Fekadu. What’s yours?

A Journey of Love

Can a person love someone they have never met? I would have said no about two weeks ago, prior to Tom Ashworth and Kim McCoy’s (father and daughter) visit to Children’s Home Ethiopia. Undoubtedly Tom and Kim came all the way to Ethiopia because they had fallen in love with the children they had learned about, supported, and prayed for through The Forsaken Children. I was so impressed when Tom called several of the children by name when they first walked in the door – no introductions necessary. And Kim came just looking for Desse, the little boy she had been praying for ever since she learned of his struggle to stay off of the streets. What’s more, it took Tom and Kim one glance before they began to love the new children coming to the Drop-In Center. After a week of seeing these new beneficiaries playing, learning, fighting (a lot), and simply living the tragic yet realistic street life, Tom and Kim’s hearts were in these children’s hands. At their goodbye ceremony, Kim’s tears and heartfelt message of love was so powerful that many of the boys were in tears. She simply told them that she loved them, a message that was hard for many of them to understand. Ashenafi, one of the new beneficiaries, said later, “How can these people love us? They’re not our family or even from our same country.”

What an amazing picture of what God can do in a person’s heart. I believe it is because of their love for Jesus that Tom and Kim were so easily enraptured with love for these children – these strangers. Their love so impressed Ashenafi that the Holy Spirit moved his soul to accept Jesus as his Savior and Lord. Praise God for Tom and Kim, and especially for their love!

The Lost Boys

This is a guest post by Andrew Haberer a volunteer at Children's Home Ethiopia drop-in center.  Hope you enjoy it... When Joe and Karyn asked me to write about the “New” drop-in Center Boys, I jumped at the opportunity.  However, when it came down to writing about them it was a little more difficult.  It is somewhat complicated to really sit down, and put in to black and white, the amazing personalities of these wonderful kids.  Each day that I get to spend with the Lost Boys is wonderful, stressful, and shows me the unbelievable tenacity that each one possesses.

So, without further ado…here are the new boys.

Ashenafi Birihanu-13 years old

Ashenafi is the leader of the pack.  He has a rogue streak that overpowers most of his activities.  Most of the time he tends to acts as a surrogate father figure to the younger boys in the group.  Several times I have seen him slip food to the boys and make sure that they are full.  Other times he has fulfilled the role of the disciplinarian (or spiteful kid, I haven’t really been able to peg the spirit) when he breaks up a fight (or starts it-he has really good aim with a small rock).

He is really eager to impress in class.  He remembers most of the English that he learns-although, sometimes he gets the pronunciation very wrong.  He always likes to finish first, and, when he does not, the disappointment is clearly visible on his face.  He, like the rest of the boys, has a sweet tooth and quick hands-sometimes you can give him a lollypop and it disappears before you can blink.

Aserat Tamrat-14 years old

Aserat is the second in the pecking order-and sometimes it seems as though he is trying to take the reigns from Ashenafi.  He is a quiet kid around the adults, but really opens up when playing football (that’s soccer to all Americans reading).  He tends to be aggressive with the younger boys, almost as if he is asserting his position in the pack.  Even though he is 14, he has still not completed kindergarten, and struggles with English.

The good thing about Aserat is that he continues to put forth effort, even when he is struggling.  He is clearly more agile than most of the boys and enjoys playing various sports (he was even supportive of Joe’s attempt to teach Foursquare-when compared with football, Americans play some pretty lame games…).  He is a tough kid who has seen some tough times, but deep down inside is a little boy who wants to be loved.

Addisu Worku-12 years old

Addisu is clearly the most emotionally sensitive boy in the group; frequently you will see the tracks of tears apparent on his continually dirty face.  He has large round eyes that silently scream a need for love and affection, but he is frequently picked on by the other boys.  Addisu is easily frustrated, and frequently will have a breakdown when his project doesn’t turn out perfect.

He feeds on positive reinforcement and sometimes just needs a hug to make it all better.  You can see, when watching from the outside, that he wants to be accepted by the older boys-even though they are, most of the time, the ones that cause him the most despair.  When made to focus, he does well in class, but he is easily distracted and hard to get back on track.

Yohanis Tefre-8 years old

Yohanis is the youngest boy in the group, and one of the toughest.  He has clearly been on the streets for a while, and bears the emotional scars of the life on the streets.  Ashenafi favors Yohanis, and often the two are seen side by side-thick as thieves.  It’s good to see that he is protected by the boys that he puts so much faith in.

He struggles with schooling in general-having no formal education-he has a hard time staying seated, paying attention, or remembering things like vocabulary and sentence structure.  Yohanis also has a very sensitive temperament and can easily have his feeling hurt when he gets teased.  He has a good aim with a rock, and he is quick to solve an argument that way.

Desalegn Tesfay-12 years old

Desse is one of the boys from the first group, but has just returned to the drop-in and has been attending regularly.  He is a challenging boy to work with because he cannot let go of the street.  He is hungry for love, and constantly desires outward displays of affection.  Desse is one of the first boys to greet you in the morning, with a big hug and kiss, and he is usually the last one to leave.

He does very well in school work, and has excellent pronunciation of English (far above that of his peers).  He doesn’t like to follow directions, though, and he often does his own thing.  Desse is a good kid deep down, but finding that good kid and coaxing him to come around more often may prove to be very difficult.

Tamrat Talema-13 years old

Tamrat is a very physical kid.  He doesn’t much care for School work, although he does well in class.  His priority is sports.  He is an excellent athlete, and he has superior ball handling skills.  Tamrat is old enough to realize that he has personal weaknesses, but he lacks the motivation to work on improvement in those areas.  During a rules wrap, he admitted that he “had to” fight everyday.  However, he has shown significant progress in learning how to deal with anger in a more focused and positive manner.

He is a good kid, and he is learning to be more of an adult.  Tamrat has some trouble with staying focused in class, and has only completed grade 3.  Getting him to leave the street behind is difficult because he comes from a history of street dwellers.

Misrak Talema-9 years old

Misrak is the smallest boy at the drop-in, and, sometimes, I wish I could put him in my hip-pocket and take him home.  He is a little firecracker, and he always has the energy-and ability-to run circles around almost anyone.  His older brother, Tamrat, takes care of him.

The other boys at the drop-in seem to care deeply for Misrak, and they watch out for him.  He does well with remembering English that he has learned, and, for the most part, pays attention in class-even though he is easily distracted.  Misrak is most often late to arrive, and he tends to follow the crowd…Ashenafi looks after him and protects him.

Fikadu "Abi" Getachew-12 years old

Abi is a strong willed, often stubborn young man.  He has a home, and a mother that wants him at home, but Abi prefers to live on the streets.  He is good in school, eager to learn, but when things don’t go his way he tends to throw a fit.  He tries really hard to remember, correctly pronounce, and effectively use the English words that he learns on a daily basis.  This is a refreshing difference, and a help to the other boys in class.

When he gets ample attention-and plenty of positive reinforcement-he is well behaved.  He often butts heads with Ashenafi and Tamrat, but they are able to resolve most situations without staff intervention.  Abi is very helpful to staff members-often helping Abezu with meal preparation.  He has a servant spirit, but sometimes it takes time to see what a great kid is inside the calloused exterior.   Abi needs love and attention, but he is a good young man who is a help to everyone when needed.

Bitros Fikray-14 years old

Bitros is the newest boy to the drop-in center.  He has only been coming for four weeks, and is only now starting to come into his element.  His story is still unfolding, but we know he came from Sodo.  He has a father there, but, like the other boys, the allure of independence has kept him in Addis.  He has been smoking glue and chewing chat, but he has really done well since starting to come during the day.

Bitros has had the most schooling of any of the boys, and he does really well with English.  It has been difficult for Bitros to fit in with the other boys-they have molded a strong group, but he is starting to fit in-thanks to football.  He tends to be more sensitive than the other boys, mostly because he has not been on the streets as long as the other boys.

-Andrew Haberer, CHE Volunteer