One thing I have been thinking about a lot is what to do with and about all the information I am learning. As we prepare to adopt a little boy from Ethiopia, we want to learn everything we can about his home country. The facts we are learning are staggering. They seem hopeless at times.
*Every 3 seconds, somewhere in our world, a child dies because they are too poor to live.
*Every 15 seconds one of those children are dying from diarrhea. (Diarrhea!!! Have you ever feared your child dying from diarrhea!) Ethiopia alone loses 230,000 children to diarrhea each year.
*One million people die every year from malaria - a mosquito bite.
*The life expectancy in Ethiopia is 54 vs 79 in the US
* Average GDP per capita is $779 vs US $45,592
*Adult literacy rate 35%
I have been thinking about what to do with it all. We feel God leading us to adopt a child, but what else. What could you do? What else could we do?
Here are some cool organizations I have found just this morning. Check them out.
www.aglimmerofhope.org Has an awesome web site, with a lot of good information on the projects they are working on. They only work in Ethiopia, and 100% of money donated goes to the people/work they are doing there. They work on all types of projects such as building schools, providing wells, health care, veterinary care, etc... Their website also has a lot of information about Ethiopia in general.
www.tomsshoes.com A shoe maker that gives a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair he sells. I guess there are diseases that people have been crippled from that can be prevented with wearing shoes. (Not a very technical explanation, but I am trying to be brief.) Have a shoe fetish? Check him out.
*** my personal disclaimer here *** I have not done extensive research on these organizations, they may not be as wonderful as they appear to me at first glance. My biggest point is to be on the look out for ways to help. As the holidays approach we all spend a little extra money, maybe there is a way to spoil your family and friends and help a someone in need at the same time.
