Nikki is someone that I've come to know as I have been preparing for my trip to AHOPE. She is a college student who lives in Canada(and you all know my affinity for Canadians)who has gone on several humanitarian trips. She recently returned from volunteering in Ethiopia with her boyfriend. They got to visit AHOPE for the day and these are her thoughts.
Today Alex and I went to AHOPE, something I have been wanting to
experience since I first became interested in Ethiopia. In one word, it
was heartbreaking. All of the kids at AHOPE are orphans and have HIV or
HIV/AIDS. Many are in the process of being adopted to Canada, the
United States, and other countries, so it is against the law to post
pictures of them online, but take my word for it that they are precious
children.
We got a driver at around noon and drove to the Little Ahope, where the
kids aged 0-7 live. There were 30 kids in the Little AHOPE, that we visited.
There is another compound for the big kids, but they just happened to be
visiting the little compound while we were there, so we got to spend
time with them all. As we got there, the kids were just finishing up
their lunch and getting ready for nap time. We got to play for 15
minutes or so, and met two other adoptive moms there with their kids,
but then it was nap time for two hours- we picked the wrong time to
come!
We went back to AHOPE just as the kids were waking up from their naps.
There are 3 bedrooms- one for the babies, one for the boys, and one for
the girls. I was talking to a boy outside through the window, and he
motioned for me to come inside. Then I got to have fun with them
before it was time to leave. They are precious, and so sweet. They are
just desperate for love- hugging on to us and wanting to be held and
hugged and kissed. Overall, the day was amazing… something I will never
forget.
Blog has moved
9 years ago
1 comment:
It really was a great day! Not sure what my Mom did to make the text all weird like that!! I started to change it but it takes so long (with the spaces everywhere). But be warned that if you want to post on your blog, you won't get access in ET! I emailed my posts to my Mom and she posted them for me, but I know there is another way to get around to it, but I am not sure how.
As for the Ethiopian food- yes, injera was more sour in Ethiopia! I liked this one much better, as I said before, injera is my least favourite part of Ethiopian food! I was watching Meron's lead (the Ethiopian lady we went with) and she started eating some fo the food without injera, so I did that for awhile and liked it much better!
Post a Comment