Together We Can Make A Difference

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.