He was changed...

Hi, my name is Isaac and I just turned 12 years old. I am the oldest of eight kids. Five of them were born in Ethiopia.

My parents started a nonprofit to help the families that live in Korah, Ethiopia. The people there dig through the trash dump for food. We help 49 families through monthly sponsorship, so they don’t have to eat the food they find in the dump. I recently took my first missions trip with my dad and brother to visit our sponsored families in Korah.

 

Many of the people that live there have Polio, TB, crippled and leprosy. It was a little scary seeing people with missing fingers and legs (from leprosy), but I got used to it quickly because it was everywhere. The people are kind and their smiles are real.

One of the sponsored families that we visited really spoke to my heart. He is very crippled from polio. He has to use shoes on his hands, because he uses his hands and feet to walk. He doesn’t let being crippled stop him though. His dream is to own a small business making furniture. He wants to work to provide for his family. So many of the stories are similar to his, but his inspired me.

Being with the people in Korah taught me a lot of things. They taught me to always have hope. They have nothing and live beside a trash dump, but they still have dreams. They taught me that I need to be grateful for the things I take for granted. Clean water, fresh food and a warm dry house are things that they don’t have, but I have them without even thinking about it. My parents live simply so they can give and now I really understand why.  

Through the eyes of a child...

Hi! My name is John and I am 10 years old. I was able to go to Ethiopia with my dad and older brother, Isaac. Five of my brothers and sisters are from there and I was excited to see their birth country for the first time.

 

We went to Korah. It is a trash dump in the capital city, Addis Ababa. The people that live there pick through the trash for their food. They also get things from the trash to sell. It was sad to me and very different from America.

 

 

We went during the rainy season and it rained a lot. Most of the streets are dirt turned mud and the puddles were green. I don’t know why they were green, but I am guessing it is because of the trash and pollution.

 

 

 The houses were small one room homes. Almost all of them only had one bed and a couch. Most had mud floors and torn up roofs that the rain would leak through. The nice houses out were made of cow poop. The other houses were made out of only blankets. Because it was the rainy season it was cold (Korah is about 7,000 ft above sea level). I don’t know how they stayed warm at night.

 

 

The people that lived there were happy. They smiled a lot. When we visited them, they gave us food (popcorn and bananas) and Buna (coffee). The kids loved my blond hair and touched it all day long.  I made many friends that I will never forget.

 

 They taught me that I should be more thankful than I am.  They taught me that I don’t need as much as I have. They taught me that loving others can make a huge difference.

 

 I miss it there and I can’t wait to go back!