IGive and Smile

We’ve talked about it in the past, but it’s worth mentioning again that IGive and Amazon Smile are terrific ways to help EOR without spending your own money.

With IGive it’s free, fast and simple. Shop at over 1700+ stores and they will give a percentage of what you spend to your favorite cause (on average 3%). To sign up for Igive visit here.

Who doesn’t love Amazon. It’s crazy to me that I can order something and have it the next day or two and pay no shipping. Got to love that.With Amazon Smile You shop and Amazon gives. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. To have EOR be your charity of choice visit here and type in Ethiopian Orphan Relief as your charity choice.

Thanks for all you do for the children in Ethiopia.

 

International Women’s Day

The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2014 is Inspiring Change.

While most countries have made strides in development of women’s rights, there is still much to be done. The UN reports: Many women around the world still cannot get access to secondary education. This holds true for the women and girls of Ethiopia. That’s why we are so very glad that Ethiopian Orphan Relief is partnered with Children’s Heaven. Children’s Heaven’s mission is to:

“Embrace and empower the precious orphaned girls entrusted to our care in an effort to minimize their socioeconomic vulnerability.”

This is accomplished through various means of support. The 115 girls at Children’s Heaven to go public school, receive tutoring, learn vocational skills, are provided with health care, and participate in a daily program all in an effort to….”see all our girls lead healthy an productive adult lives. “

Many of these services are provided by YOU, the supporters of Ethiopian Orphan Relief. Your donations advance the cause of Ethiopian women. Be proud of the work that you do. You make it possible to end hunger and poverty for the Children Heaven girls.

Ethiopian Orphan Relief is thrilled to share with you that in June 2014 we will be making our first grant of $25,000 to Children’s Heaven’s Education Fund. This grant will be used to send girls in the program to private school. Funds will be used for tuition, school supplies, books and transportation.  Private schools in Ethiopia provide a much better learning opportunity, have higher qualified teachers, learning resources i.e. science labs, math labs, etc.  and data has shown more success in their learning.

In addition to this $25,000 grant this June, we will grant an additional $25,000 for June 2015. This $50,000 Education program is groundbreaking for EOR and we are thrilled that you are joining us in this.

Last month in Ohio donors gathered at Night of Warmth and generously gave with their hearts to start the funding of this grant. In May, in Portland, Oregon all the proceeds from the silent auction in Lights of Hope will be designated to this grant.

Thank you for all YOU do for the children in Ethiopia.

Running with a purpose

In three days, EOR board member Ali will be running  the Chicago Marathon for a purpose. It’s all about the miles.  She will be running 26.2 miles for kids that are 7,549 miles away.

Ali’s running to provide medicine for kids in one of the poorest areas of Ethiopia, our sweet friends in Shanto, Ethiopia. In 2011, Ali saw first hand the impact that EOR donor’s have had on these children’s lives. She traveled with EOR to Ethiopia, visited our partner organizations and worked her tush off painting the care center, playing games with the kids and so much more.

Ali’s journey to the Chicago Marathon has a greater purpose. With every sore muscle she has she knows that some pretty amazing Ethiopian kids will benefit and receive medical supplies, medicine, nourishment that we often take for granted here in the states.

Our friends in Ethiopia send their encouragement to Ali in these photos! Saying Run Strong, Go Ali. They are thankful for her and to the donors who are supporting her.

Her goal is $2,000 and she’s getting so close!  As of this morning she’s raised $1,155.60. Let’s rally together to help her meet her goal! To make a donation of any amount please visit us here.

Holiday Gifts of Hope

The Holiday Season is fast approaching….Christmas is just 77 days away!

For the second year in a row, EOR will be providing “Gifts of Hope” for orphan and vulnerable children in Ethiopia. In mid November a team from EOR will be traveling to Ethiopia to meet with our partners, check on projects and assess future needs. While there we will be purchasing chickens, goats, cows to share with our partners.

If you would like to buy an early holiday gift please let us know. We will send to you a card you can pass along to the friend, teacher, co-worker who you could honor. We will also send photos to you in early December of the children receiving the gifts of hope.

To purchase a gift of hope click here. 

Gifts of Hope

Last December generous EOR donors provided gifts of hope for the orphan and vulnerable children in Ethiopia. These included gifts of chickens, cows, goats, sheep in honor of loved ones, teachers, friends.

We recently received some new photographs from Ethiopia and wanted to share them with you!

The chickens continue to multiply and provide much needed protein and essential nutrients. A cow can produce up to 3.5 gallons of milk a day. The goats provide protein rich milk to help the children grow along with cheese and yogurt. 

 

These gifts of hope also extended to widows and their families, who can now sell the eggs and milk to provide an income for their vulnerable families. 

Next month EOR will have a team on the ground in Ethiopia. We will see first hand the impact your gifts are making. 

Thank you for your generous hearts! 

To learn more about Gifts of Hope 2013 please contact us at kim@ethiopianorphanrelief.org

 

World Malaria Day

Happy World Malaria Day!  Oh wait, malaria, as we well know, is nothing to celebrate.

Ethiopian Orphan Relief works with our partners in endemic regions of Ethiopia to help prevent the transmission of malaria.  For those of you who know little about the disease, I’ve included a fact sheet from the World Health Organization:

Malaria is a preventable and treatable mosquito-borne disease, whose main victims are children under five years of age in Africa.

The World Malaria Report 2012 summarizes data received from 104 malaria-endemic countries and territories for 2011. Ninety-nine of these countries had on-going malaria transmission.

According to the latest WHO estimates, there were about 219 million cases of malaria in 2010 and an estimated 660 000 deaths. Africa is the most affected continent: about 90% of all malaria deaths occur there.

Between 2000 and 2010, malaria mortality rates fell by 26% around the world. In the WHO African Region the decrease was 33%. During this period, an estimated 1.1 million malaria deaths were averted globally, primarily as a result of a scale-up of interventions.

Funding situation

International disbursements for malaria control rose steeply during the past eight years and were estimated to be US$ 1.66 billion in 2011 and US$ 1.84 billion in 2012. National government funding for malaria programmes has also been increasing in recent years, and stood at an estimated US$ 625 million in 2011.

However, the currently available funding for malaria prevention and control is far below the resources required to reach global malaria targets. An estimated US$ 5.1 billion is needed every year between 2011 and 2020 to achieve universal access to malaria interventions. In 2011, only US$ 2.3 billion was available, less than half of what is needed.

Disease burden

Malaria remains inextricably linked with poverty. The highest malaria mortality rates are being seen in countries that have the highest rates of extreme poverty (proportion of population living on less than US$ 1.25 per day).

International targets for reducing malaria cases and deaths will not be attained unless considerable progress can be made in the 17 most affected countries, which account for an estimated 80% of malaria cases.

50 countries are on track to reduce their malaria case incidence rates by 75%, in line with World Health Assembly and Roll Back Malaria targets for 2015. These 50 countries only account for 3% (7 million) of the total estimated malaria cases.

At present, malaria surveillance systems detect only around 10% of the estimated global number of cases. In 41 countries around the world, it is not possible to make a reliable assessment of malaria trends due to incompleteness or inconsistency of reporting over time.

This year, the World Malaria Report 2012 publishes country-based malaria case and mortality estimates. The next update on global and regional burden estimates will be issued in December 2013.

The easiest way to prevent transmission of malaria is to provide bed nets for everyone living in a malarial zone.

Several years ago, EOR made a commitment to provide bed nets to FOVC, our partner in Southern Ethiopia. We brought hundreds of them on our trip in November 2011.

At Lights of Hope next month, we will once again ask friends to donate $10 for bed nets to combat malaria.  Each $10 donation will pay for 2-3 nets (depending on the exchange rate at the time of purchase).  A single net is large enough to cover a sleeping area for 4-6.  Your $10 donation could prevent the transmission of malaria for more than a dozen people!

Not planning to attend Lights of Hope?  Why not make a donation today, and help EOR combat Ethiopia in southern Ethiopia?

Thanks for all that you do, every day, to support the work of Ethiopian Orphan Relief.  We couldn’t do it without YOU!

Paige

 

Human Rights Day

Sharing from the United Nations website:

Human Rights Day, 10 December

Human Rights Day presents an opportunity, every year, to celebrate human rights, highlight a specific issue, and advocate for the full enjoyment of all human rights by everyone everywhere.

This year, the spotlight is on the rights of all people — women, youth, minorities, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, the poor and marginalized — to make their voices heard in public life and be included in political decision-making.

These human rights — the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, to peaceful assembly and association, and to take part in government (articles 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) have been at the centre of the historic changes in the Arab world over the past two years, in which millions have taken to the streets to demand change. In other parts of the world, the “99%” made their voices heard through the global Occupy movement protesting economic, political and social inequality.

If you think about the mission of EOR:

     “We work in partnership with local organizations to support the emotional and physical needs of Ethiopia’s orphans and vulnerable children. It is our goal to ensure that every child in Ethiopia has a warm bed, a loving influence, and sufficient education to better their lives.”

You’ll note that much of what we do is designed to give voice to the voiceless.  By educating children, feeding them, and giving them a place to call home, we help to create a home for them in the larger society.

We want these children to grow up healthy and educated, with myriad opportunities to join Ethiopian society as fully-participating members. As a result, these children will become the adults who guide future policies, who will indeed have a voice in their communities and a real chance to affect change.

The people of Busa have a voice.

When you give to Ethiopian Orphan Relief, you give so much more than a meal, or school fees to a child.  You are ensuring the future success of this adult, and as such, you are improving the society in which they live.  What a marvel YOU are!  Thank you friends, for supporting the work of Ethiopian Orphan Relief, for supporting Ethiopia.  YOU are EOR!

Ethiopia’s future

 

*In celebration of this 64th Human Rights Day, I’ll donate  $1.64 to EOR for each comment shared on this post.  Lend your voice, lend your support!

Paige

Abundance

We’ve been running at full-tilt for the last few days.  The cousins arrived from Florida to enjoy a Buckeye Thanksgiving, and the house has been full-to-bursting since Wednesday.  11 people–eating, laughing, playing games, making art and…eating.  It’s a joyous occasion. Nothing illustrates my American good fortune like setting aside half a week to feast with some of the people I love best!

In the midst of all of this celebrating, my Ethiopian friends remain much on my mind.  I think about my friend Tiru, who is celebrating her Thanksgiving with all of her lovely daughters away from home for the first time.  I think about my friend Seleshi, who’s mother is visiting the United States for the first time since he moved here more than 20 years ago.  I think about Demissew, the man I met at the airport in Mekelle.  Every day I  wait for news that he’ll be starting his PhD program this spring at my alma mater, The Florida State University (with full funding, fingers crossed!)  And always, always, I think about dear friends at Children’s Heaven, Lola Children’s Home, and FOVC.

How nice, that in a life that was already filled-to-the-brim with good fortune, I’ve been given the gift of a wider world view.  The people I know, the places I’ve been…I’m an incredibly lucky girl, um, middle-aged woman.

So gifted, that when pressed to name a Christmas wish, I could only think to ask for one thing:  a goat (or a sheep… I’m not picky).  My relatives thought this a fabulous idea, so I know they won’t mind a bit when they receive the same, because really…what more could we wish for?  We all enjoy fine health, lovely homes, terrific kids, happy marriages and abundance. Nothing under my Christmas tree could possibly change my life in any lasting way, but the gift of a goat (or cow, a sheep, or chickens) will make a real difference to my very real friends in Ethiopia.

I’m sure most of you have been counting your blessings over the past few days too.  I hope that like me, you find your life is overflowing with good.  If so, maybe you’ll also ask for a goat for a holiday gift, or maybe you’ll give a gift of livestock instead?   Who wouldn’t like 8 chickens for Hanukkah?

Hoping your life is as abundant as mine,

Paige

Want to fill someone’s stocking with a sheep? Here’s how:

 

Wear your support

Starting Monday, July 2nd, 2012 you can wear your support for Ethiopian Orphan Relief. We will be selling t-shirts to help raise support and awareness of the orphan and vulnerable children in Ethiopia. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of each shirt will fund our current projects in Ethiopia.

This original design created byMichael Keo Photography will launch our inaugural                t-shirt campaign. Each year we will debut a new design.

Women’s tees are available in Black – large, Xl and 2xl. Tee’s are 100% combed and ringspun cotton baby jersey knit with a feminine longer fit. Men’s will be Grey tee’s in large and XL. We also have an assortment of children’s sizes in Black, size 6-8, 10-12 or 14-16.

To pre order a tee please email Kim at kim@ethiopianorphanrelief.org  Starting Monday you can purchase on the EOR website.

Prices are $25 for adults and $20 for children.

So here’s your chance to wear your support for Ethiopian Orphan Relief.

World Malaria Day

Today is World Malaria Day.

Malaria is an infectious blood disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted from one human to another by the bite of infected Anapheles mosquito.

Malaria kills 781,000 people each year. Ninety-one percent of malaria deaths occur in Africa, and every 45 seconds a child dies from Malaria in Africa.

This  past November Lauren, Paige and I, along with five of EOR’s donors traveled to Ethiopia and while there we  hand delivered mosquito nets to Southern, Ethiopia. This area of Ethiopia was in great need of insecticide treated bed nets to help combat the endemic area. We also were able to provide much needed Malaria medication for some of the children who currently are battling Malaria.

These nets will create a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur.

With your generous giving we were able to deliver 220 nets along with funding an additional 213 nets. These nets were provided to orphan and vulnerable children in the villages of Shanto, Dale & Borcha.

Thank YOU for your generosity.

Kim