A Trip to Ethiopia

This past week, my friend Ben Butler and I traveled to Ethiopia for some preliminary work for “The James Initiative.” We met with local businessmen, church leaders, and orphan care experts to determine the location and scope of our first project.

There is a shift going on in the world of non-profits overseas. They are beginning to realize that the needs of the children do not rise and fall with the American economy. Those organizations who rely 100 percent on foreign donations are struggling right now in the wake of the economic downturn of the West. “Sustainability” projects are popping up left and right as these groups try to determine how to generate income from the local economy in order to support their work. This not only supplies income for orphan care, but it also provides jobs for the local economy. Plus, it just makes sense.

We toured several orphanages that Gladney works with and I fell in love with a little boy. He had an older sister that was 7. Unfortunately, they were not able to be adopted. Their story was like so many others in the orphanages there. They are in the system but a relative won’t relinquish their rights, so the kids are stuck. I had hoped that I might locate a child while I was there, but no such luck. For now, we wait.