Backpacks filled with HOPE

Sarah handing out backpacks

Here in America, stores are flooded with aisles and aisles of back-to-school supplies. Pens, pencils, binders, laptop cases, notebooks with speakers and plug-ins for mP3 players, locker mirrors—even back-to-school Kleenex in a convenient 3-pack.  We spend hundreds of dollars to prepare our kids for school, to help them get a good education.

Yet, in Ethiopia, it only takes a few dollars to give children a chance at a future.  A plain backpack with a few basic supplies is the difference between whether a child stays in school and gets an education…or is forced to leave school and denied an education. Children in Ethiopia do not have the privilege of staying in school if they don’t have a pen to use.

 

One of the highlights of the Ethiopia Trek was the distribution of 1500 backpacks filled with school supplies.  They weren’t decked out with the latest fad or cartoon character; they didn’t light-up or play music.  They did however contain the essentials that will give children in Ethiopia an opportunity…for an education, for a future.  Inside those backpacks was their hope for survival.

Their list was simple:

·         School paper & pens

·         Toothpaste and a toothbrush

·         A small bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap.

Even the basic hygiene items can make the difference between life and death to a child in Ethiopia. This simple act of kindness was our way of sharing the love of Jesus through real, human contact in a tangible way. More than just art and hygiene supplies—these items will allow the children to stay in school! Each backpack was an investment in their future…and in the future of Ethiopia.

 

worldchild/onegreenbracelet was able to personally distribute 1500 backpacks to three different schools. We may never know the total impact we had, but 1500 children are smiling now because of your generosity!  Thank you for sending worldchild to reach Ethiopia and make a difference in these children’s lives.

 

Let’s get real about poverty

 

When you travel to an undeveloped country, you really get what poverty is.  You get what it means for children and young people to have little or no hope of ever living their own future.  You get the heart of God as it breaks for the “least of these.”

 

This poignant post by Prodigal Jon about a conversation he had with his 5-year-old daughter shows exactly why we do what we do!  It’s why worldchild was formed; it’s why we’ve trekked to Cambodia and Ethiopia; it’s why we support orphanages in Africa…to stop the “unreal” impact of poverty and starvation wherever and whenever we can.

 

When my mom was in Egypt recently, she visited Garbage City in Cairo. Her heart was splintered with compassion for the children living in these conditions.  She’s developing a mission of mercy to help the children of Garbage City-to give them daily food, clothing, and school supplies. God broke our hearts for the children of Gonder when we were there last month. Seeing the filthy water they are drinking…it was simply tragic.

 

Not only is poverty and the death that surrounds it REAL…it is a foul smell in God’s nose. It stinks to heaven…and He is wondering what we will do about it.  God takes us to these places to break our hearts—to snap us out of our “comfort coma” and make us realize we MUST do something. We can’t live our lives as if we’re unaware of the suffering in the world.

 

Thanks Jon for this compelling reminder…that these things are real—and it’s up to us to make a real difference.