Ethiopian Orphan Relief’s donors made such a difference in 2009. Each donation from $2.00 to $6,000 made a difference. This past December EOR board members traveled to Ethiopia to check on the projects that were completed by your generosity. This video was put together for the Lights of Hope May 8th event in Portland, Oregon. Take a look at this video to see the difference you each made.
Click Here to see video
Kim
Thanks to the immense generosity of attendees to Ethiopian Orphan Relief’s first annual Lights of Hope auction in Portland in May, we have funded our first project for partner SOS EE (parent organization for the Toukoul orphanages) and raised a significant amount of money and supplies towards medical equipment for their new HIV clinic. Over the last year and a half, we have also successfully raised all of the funds required (and then some!) to complete our first project for partner AHOPE for Children. In fact, we were able to do double what we’d originally planned, thanks to the support of our wonderful donors.
For the last several months, the EOR Board of Directors have worked tirelessly to source local Ethiopian suppliers and contractors to set our plans in motion. Once we selected the right folks to work with, we worked with them to design two playgrounds for AHOPE and one playground for SOS EE’s new Akaki complex, which was recently completed and opened its doors to orphaned children. In addition, we have raised enough money to also purchase an indoor swing for AHOPE, fund several field trips for the children at AHOPE and we’ll be bringing over lots of art and school supplies to AHOPE when our Board of Directors travels in December to work on the well we’re building in Boru in conjunction with the Union College Chapter of Engineers Without Borders. Here’s the details!
Little AHOPE Playground (at the facility for younger children):
Big AHOPE Playground (at the facility for older children):
AHOPE Art & School Supplies
AHOPE Field Trip #1
AHOPE Field Trips #2 & #3 TBD
SOS EE HIV Clinic Equipment
SOS EE Playground at Akaki Orphanage
Construction on the playgrounds will begin in the next couple of weeks, and will be completed by the time our Board travels to Ethiopia in December. We look forward to taking lots of pictures of the children playing on the various playgrounds for our donors, and in addition to taking the children at AHOPE on their swimming field trip, we will also be conducting art clinics at AHOPE. We look forward to completing a project suggested by adoptive mom and new Board Member Katie Bell–photo albums for the older children of them playing with their friends and caregivers at AHOPE, so they can take those memories to their forever families when they are eventually adopted.
Thanks again to all of you who have supported us! We couldn’t have done it without you! You helped me to realize a dream I had two years ago when I saw my daughter play on her swingset for the first time, and for that, I will be forever grateful. The kids whose day you’ve helped brighten will too.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Ethiopian Orphan Relief,
Danielle Marquis
President & Founder
Thank you to everyone who donated to our AHOPE Playground Project! As of this morning, with the receipt of a very large donation from Becky Mitchell of Colorado, we have officially raised enough money to complete the playground!
Allow me to gush about Becky for a moment–Becky was the first person I met in the Denver area when we began the adoption process several years ago. She was also just starting out and we got together at a local playground to get to know one another. I knew immediately we’d be friends forever–she’s so happy and positive and FUN (and smart and talented and beautiful..). We’ve been friends ever since and Bryan and I were so happy for her when she brought home her three children from Ethiopia (adding to the two she already had!). Her kids are all awesome and my husband has always had a special place in his heart for her son Taye–at every get together they find one another and play some sort of sport. Becky is a water engineer and has been back to Ethiopia to volunteer on well projects in Axum and in orphanages in Addis. She’s been one of EOR’s greatest supporters and cheerleaders from the very beginning. I love her very much–she’s a super fantastic awesome friend–and I was literally in tears this morning when her donation came through via Network for Good. So, thank you, Becky. Your generosity will be felt for many years by many children who could use more joy in their lives.
And thank you to everyone who joined us in Bouncing and Jumping for AHOPE’s Playground on Monday night! I had a blast catching up with everyone, my husband may have had more fun than the kids playing in the bouncy castles, my daughter ran wild with all her buddies (and was seen kissing Patrick Bell over pizza…Katie, we’re in trouble!) and although it pains me to say this, Katie totally beat me in our obstacle course run (*cough* even if it was because I was stuck behind an adorable but slow 3 year old in the tunnel and Katie had zero sympathy as she zipped by us..). We raised just under $800 that night!!!! Enjoy the pics!
–Danielle
P.S. As soon as we have the details worked out regarding the playground construction (we’re still working on it!), we’ll announce them here.
“I saw what I saw and I can’t forget it” -Sara Groves
I will never forget the last time I pulled away from AHOPE for Children, my daughter in my arms waving goodbye to her friends, and her friends waving back, smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. As happy as I was to bring my daughter home, I could not help thinking, “What happens to the children left behind?”
Many of the children at AHOPE will be adopted, but most of them wait far longer than other orphans to find families. They brave each day as the most vulnerable of citizens, not just orphans, but orphans with the stigma of HIV. While they are well-loved and cared for by the nannies, they do not have many playthings. A lollipop is worth big smiles and a simple bottle of bubbles brings gales of laughter.
Most of us have visited Ethiopia for our adoptions or soon will. We know the overwhelming poverty and hope that exist side-by-side in our children’s birth country. We know that our obligation to Ethiopia did not end but instead began when we brought our children home. We want to make a difference, but do not always know how. Today you can make a difference.
Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc. (EOR) (www.ethiopianorphanrelief.org) is raising money to buy a swing set for the children of AHOPE. We are hoping that we will be able to raise $5,000 to pay for the swing set. Please join us in bringing joy to some of the children that we left behind. More so, join us in sending a message of love and hope to these children. Imagine their faces as they slide down the slides, swing on the swings and climb the rock wall. Imagine AHOPE’s nannies relaxing on a porch swing, stealing a quiet moment to reflect on their day. Time is of the essence with these donations, as the funds for the swing set must be ready by the last week of October 2008. Thank you for considering donating to this worthy cause.
EOR is a 501(C)(3) non-profit, started by adoptive parents who wanted to help their children’s orphanages and the orphans left behind. All donations are tax-deductible. Checks may be made payable to “Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc.” and mailed to EOR, Playground Project Fund, 6791 Brook Forest Drive, Evergreen, CO 80439, or donations may be made online via PayPal. Please visit www.ethiopianorphanrelief.org and click on “Donate Now.”
Thank you,
Katherine Bell
Adoptive mom and Ethiopian Orphan Relief volunteer
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