Ok, here is a great chance to do something good today. :)My husband and I just signed up to sponsor a child at AHOPE. Sponsoring a child is a wonderful and easy way for all of us to look beyond the lives we live and make a difference for someone much less fortunate.

Our family has chosen to sponsor a child because for one, it helps us feel connected to the beautiful country of Ethiopia that we have so fallen in love with. I also want my children to know how lucky they are, to think beyond their play station and their Yu Gi Oh cards, and to feel like they are helping a child who needs it.

AHOPE for Children is an organization that has been formed to help children orphaned by AIDS, with a special emphasis on those orphans who are infected with HIV. AHOPE is an acronym for African HIV Orphans Project Embrace.

The AHOPE for Children sponsorship program allows a donor to have a face and story for a recipient of his or her donation. The sponsored child is chosen from a file of HIV positive orphans living at an AHOPE Ethiopia home, or may be an orphan that is identified by an associate charity. The donation for sponsorship of one child is $30 per month. A minimum of 6 months sponsorship is requested. In some cases, a child may have more than one sponsor. The sponsor receives an initial report and photo upon enrollment and then periodic updated reports and photos as well as newsletters several times a year.

I don’t know about you, but in our house $30 is less than one night at Burger King.


AHOPE Ethiopia provides a home for children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia who have tested positive for the HIV virus. Originally their goal was to have a safe and loving home for children for as long as they lived. Now, thanks to the availability of ARV medications, they have adapted their mission statement.

The website states, “The original Mission Statement was written at a time when the prognosis for a child with HIV was an early death. In 2004, with the ARV medications becoming available for the HIV positive children in care, the emphasis has changed from providing care for an expected short lifespan to providing care and education as appropriate that will allow the child to develop skills for an independent adult life.”

AHOPE currently has space for 80 children, but their funding only allows for them to house 60 children at this point in time. An increase in sponsors would directly increase the number of children that AHOPE can care for.

I recently visited AHOPE in Ethiopia and it was truly life-changing. The the children are happy, sweet, active and outgoing. The center is clean and cheerful and the adults that care for the children are so loving and kind. The work that they do is truly inspirational.

According to the director, Sidisse Buli, it costs just over $70 a month to care for each child older child, and even more for the babies. Sponsoring a child is literally helping to save a life.

To sign up today to sponsor a child or to get more information about AHOPE (including lots of great photos and a short video) please visit
www.ahopeforchildren.org

Many of the children at AHOPE are also available for adoption. Although until recently the adoption of HIV+ children was prohibited, policies have changed and several children have already found forever families. A disease that was once a death sentence is now successfully being managed with daily medications and a long and full life is becoming a realistic goal for many HIV+ children. If you or anyone you know is interested in learning more about adopting an HIV+ child from Ethiopia, you can contact Adoption Advocated International at www.adoptionadvocates.org/AAI/Home.htm


(Some information in this entry has been taken from the AHOPE website.)