September, 2004

 

Dear Friends,

 

     Wonderful news!  All the children at AHOPE Ethiopia were screened for HIV as the first step in beginning the “cocktail” regimen to control the virus.  Of the 59 children tested, 17 ARE HIV NEGATIVE!!  Sponsors of those children who are negative are being notified.  And for the 42 who tested positive, there is great new hope in the ARV medications that will offer the possibility of health and a normal lifespan.  Many heartfelt thanks to the World Wide Orphan Foundation clinic in Addis Ababa for providing the medical services and drugs that will give new HOPE to AHOPE.  The documentation on the negative children is being investigated with the possibility that they will be eligible for transfer to adoption programs.

 

    AHOPE Ethiopia has a new director.  Sidisse Buli is a graduate of Addis Ababa University and is presently working on completing a Master’s Degree in Regional and Local Development Studies.  She has taught mathematics and chemistry at the Kebena Adventist School, kindergarten at the Steps Primary School, and Computer Software at the CBS Computer Center in Addis.  She speaks, reads and writes English, Amharic and Oromiffa. She has done a lot of work with orphans in the past and comes highly recommended by the former director of SOS Village (a European Charity that provides orphanage care in family-style settings) in Addis, among other references.  She is sending very detailed weekly reports and has accomplished a great deal in the month that she has been in charge.

 

     All former ENAT staff members have been evaluated and those qualified have been rehired as employees of AHOPE Ethiopia.  A new accountant has been hired.  She has a diploma in Accounting as well as  NGO experience. There is now a full-time trained nurse on staff to oversee the children’s health on a day-to-day basis, and to work with the WWOF staff in carrying out the ARV program. The younger group of children has been moved to a new rented house that is closer to the home where the older children live.  The new facility is nicer, and having the two homes in the same neighborhood will considerably cut down the time wasted by staff in traveling between them.

 

      International AID, an American organization that provides medical equipment at very low cost to missionaries, has approved AHOPE for Children for their program. Our first order is for supplies for the nursing station; stethoscope, thermometers, baby scale, first aid items, etc.

 

     Allison Langs, the WWOF Orphan Ranger, who volunteered with AHOPE Ethiopia all summer and who wrote the most recent reports on the children, has returned to medical school in New York. We are so grateful for all of her help and will welcome her back any time!  A kindergarten teacher from the Norwegian mission has offered to spend two days a week helping children learn English and teaching them songs and crafts. Another volunteer from Finland will be arriving in a couple of months.  There have been other volunteers that have provided parties and activities.  Many in the Ethiopian and expatriate communities have come forward in so many ways.

 

     Recently the children celebrated Buhe, a holiday with traditional songs and games that take place around a big bonfire.  Rita, a volunteer from the States, provided cake and soft drinks and all the children from both houses gathered in the courtyard of the older kid’s home for a party.  I have been promised photos and will get them onto the website when they arrive.

 

     We are still dealing with some of the fallout from the ENAT crisis.  An audit of the ENAT finances has been requested by the Ministry of Justice.  This will include an accounting for the major items donated to ENAT for the benefit of the children.  There have been legal fees and other expenses that are part of the process of cleaning up the mess. But we are now headed in the right direction with caring and competent leadership.

 

     The orphans of AHOPE Ethiopia are receiving the best care possible.  But there are so many other orphaned HIV children in Ethiopia who need our help.  Enclosed is a copy of our latest brochure for someone you know who might like to join us.  Please note that three of the children in the brochure photos are among those just identified as negative—baby with finger in his mouth, girl in the middle, and girl in plaid on the right.  The brochures were printed before the children were tested with the wonderful, but unexpected results.  We will have new photos in the next edition.

 

Thank you so much for your generosity towards the children of AHOPE.