Just this past Friday, LFCA student, Debebe Alemayehu, and his mother Yeshi, traveled from Chacha to Addis, knowing that this was the beginning of Debebe's journey toward a straight spine and a healthier life.  Love for the Children Ethiopia Director, Dereje Yeshidinber, coordinated the trip and arranged for them to meet with Dr. Rick Hodes when they arrived in Addis.  Dr. Rick has opened up his home to Debebe as they do some testing this week prior to departing for Ghana.  Debebe's mother Yeshi, went back to Chacha to be with Debebe's younger sister and baby brother and she will return to see him off as he boards the airplane to Ghana.  Please join me in praying for this mama's heart - having your children in two different places for an unknown period of time is heart-wrenching.  I can certainly relate after going through two international adoptions and it saddens me that she will feel this pain.  Let's pray that she feels comfort in knowing that the end result will enable Debebe to live the life that every child deserves to live regardless of any personal circumstance.

Some of you may recall, Dr. Rick, one of the doctors involved in Debebe's procedure, is an American medical doctor specializing in cancer, heart disease, and spinal conditions. Since the 1980s he has worked in Ethiopia and has adopted a number of children from the country.  You can learn more about Dr. Rick here: https://rickhodes.org/.  He works closely with Dr. Boachie who is a world renowned orthopedic surgeon and the President and Founder of FOCOS.  Dr. Boachie lives and works in Ghana and this is where Dr. Rick and Debebe will travel to in order to start phase one of Debebe's spinal surgery.  You can read more about Dr. Boachie here: http://www.orthofocos.org/.  Together Dr. Rick and Dr. Boachie will make decisions on the best approach for this spinal surgery.  To say Debebe is in "good hands" is an understatement!  He is exactly where he needs to be at this time.

Fortunately, Debebe will be traveling to Ghana alongside other children with similar medical issues, so he will not be alone.  Of course we will all be with him in prayer from here on out.  We will continue to update our blog and social media with Debebe's progress.  There are so many people who helped make this all possible and thank you does not seem like nearly enough.  Please know that Debebe and his mother feel the outpouring of love and support and they are so grateful for each and every one of you.  Together, we have made a difference!  Thanks for helping us to "Empower Them Now!"

We had a great visit to Love for the Children Academy in February. The students have all grown so much and it is obvious our teachers and staff are doing a great job with them. Each day, they arrive at school between 8 and 8:30 am and start the day off with a flag ceremony where they sing songs, much like our Pledge of Allegiance! The children then file into their classrooms, divided by upper and lower class and begin their daily work. LFCA's follows the government curriculum which consists of a combination of math and reading lessons in Amharic (the local language) and English. We were amazed by how well the children were understanding and speaking English! Their math and reading skills are superb as well! After the morning lesson the children go outside for "recess" while the cook and teachers prepare for their big meal of the day. Most often this meal includes pasta, rice, or injera combined with vegetables. The children LOVE the pasta! After lunch, the lower class rests, while the upper class moves into the next lesson plan. Towards the end of the day, the children have another meal (large snack), which typically consists of a very large roll or piece of bread. We are still working on obtaining sugar from the local government so that we can provide the children with tea/oatmeal (made with sugar) in the morning. The great news is the children are eating well and look very healthy!

During our visit we were able to meet with the regional/local Director of Education who reviewed our project proposal to build our school from the ground up with the ability to take this first group of students all the way through high school. The project was approved and we have been given the land to build upon!  More news to follow very soon!

Next up, we have a huge praise to report! We have surpassed our fundraising goal for spinal surgery for our student Debebe! We will share more details soon, but please keep him and his family in your prayers as they prepare for Debebe's journey to Ghana in April to start the first phase of this life saving procedure.

Lastly, we are asking that you follow Project HEAL on social media if you have not done so yet - and please share with family, friends, co-workers and neighbors! You can access our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter sites from the homepage on our website: http://projecthealethiopia.org/.

None of what we do would be possible without our supporters and sponsors. We cannot thank you enough for your involvement.  Together we are changing lives and will continue to "Empower Them Now."

We returned from our trip to Ethiopia on February 18th and have been going non-stop since the moment we landed back in the US! Our trip was amazing and we have so many stories and pictures to share from our time at Love for the Children Academy in Chacha, Ethiopia! We are in the process of sorting through pictures, artwork, letters and will be sending updates to sponsor families within the next few weeks. Another blog update will also follow with details about our visit and all that we accomplished during our stay, however, at this time we need to focus on advocating for one of our students, Debebe Alemayehu (center in picture above). You may recall from previous blog posts and our social media updates that Debebe is in need of spinal surgery. When we arrived in Addis Ababa on February 12th, we unpacked, had some buna and then went to meet Dr. Rick Hodes to discuss the logistics involved in Debebes surgery. If you haven't done so yet, I encourage you all to visit Dr. Rick's website - https://rickhodes.org/. We are extremely blessed to have connected with Dr. Rick. During our trip back in August, we had visited Cure Hospital, at the advice of friend and neighbor Jeff Jackson, and later Debebe and his sister Fasika were seen as patients at Cure. Cure is an amazing place - they have locations all over the world - you can learn more about Cure here - https://cure.org/ethiopia/.

Now back to Debebe...we met Dr. Rick at his home in Addis and had the ability to meet many of his patients/children. They shared their stories and Dr. Rick helped us to understand what lies ahead for Debebe. We reviewed X-rays and other images of Debebe's spine and now understand that without this spinal surgery, Debebe will not survive into his late teens. As he continues to grow, his spine will continue to crush his lungs and will make it extremely difficult for him to breathe. Debebe's mother has already noticed a significant change in his endurance and ability to run around. When we were with Debebe, we noticed he did everything in his power to keep up with his friends, even on the soccer field, but we also witnessed him taking plenty of time to rest and catch his breath.

We need to raise $22.5K so that Debebe can go to Ghana with Dr. Rick Hodes and other children with similar needs, and undergo life saving spinal surgery. You can see more details here - http://projecthealethiopia.org/campaign-for-debebe/. Dr. Rick will partner with another well-known doctor in Ghana, named Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei. You can learn more about Dr. Boachie's work here - http://www.orthofocos.org/. Debebe's mom is worried for her son, yet fully supportive of this surgery because she knows it will save his life.

As I mentioned earlier, our focus is on Debebe and raising the necessary funds to save his life. We cannot do this alone and we need your help. We are busy planning fundraisers and events to benefit Debebe, while continuing to raise funds to build our school from the ground up (more details to follow soon). Please share Debebe's story with your family, friends, neighbors, church community and colleagues. If you think there is something more you can do to help - please contact me at colleen@projecthealethiopia.org. Every little bit can help...

I have to share how my Aunt Mary has decided to get involved. She started an Etsy shop called "The Blessed Bead" in 2012 and designs beautiful, inspirational heirloom rosaries and rosary bracelets. After returning from our recent visit and sharing Debebe's story with Mary, she decided she could help. Mary created a special LIMITED EDITION Gemstone Rosary in which 100% of the sale of each rosary will go directly to our campaign for Debebe. We are blown away by her desire to get involved and her passion to help this sweet boy. Please check out her site and share this with everyone you know! https://www.etsy.com/listing/221766132/catholic-rosary-benefitting-project-heal

Finally, I'll leave you with the words and wisdom of Helen Keller: "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." You all have supported us so much already and we know we are asking a lot, but for this 6 year old boy, ask yourself what you can do to help and please choose to get involved in some way.

Thank you for your continued support.