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Soddo, Wolaita is 7 hours south of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Tewabech is currently living in this area with a neighbor. I would really love to visit this area when we travel to have an understanding of where she has lived and what her life has been like. We have been strongly advised against this. It is a long drive (7 hours one way)) and the roads are bad and there are no hotels there. There is a place we could stay, but there is no running water or electricity [do you really think Cole would go for that :)] It’s hard to even imagine what her life has been like. Days filled with hard labor, little food, no running water or electricity in a mud hut, fear of lions, hyenas, etc. She is about to face major culture shock. When our dossier arrives in Ethiopia (I’m mailing it to our agency tomorrow) they will bring her to CWA’s care center in Addis Ababa. While there they try to begin preparing them for their trip to the USA. She will probably be there 1-2 months before we get to travel and bring her home.
Steve Gardner, of Kingdom Kids, has video footage of the Soddo area and has promised us a copy when he finishes editing it. That way we will have an idea of what it is like and she will have it to remember and view when she grows up. Since they began the older child program they have gone to the area three time to interview children in need of homes. They plan to go every three months and expect to have around 200+ each time. Overwhelming!!! Do you have room in your house and heart for them?
Below are some links I have found with pictures, info, on the Sodo area
http://www.womeninphotography.org/archive15-July03%20/member_prof/04FeedingCenterLarge.html
http://www.imcworldwide.org/programs/ethiopiaCrisis.html
http://nearmintcards.com/ethiopia
This is a link to a report on the many orphans in Africa. It’s really hard to even comprehend. It’s so easy to get consumed in our daily lives and not think of those in such need all over the world. I pray we would all find some way to help and not just forget these little ones.
CNN.com – Amanpour: World fails to save Africa’s AIDS orphans – Jul 19, 2006