I am haunted by a meeting I had several days ago with a young woman I met in Addis Ababa. Through no fault of her own, she has become an instant mother of two, with no support or way to earn money. This lovely Ethiopian woman received employment as a house maid, and during her time of service was raped. She immediately left that house and began working for another woman, but shortly discovered she was pregnant. During this same time, her sister and brother-in-law died of AIDS and Tadelech took in their little girl, Meherit, who is 2-years-old.
Two months ago, Tadelech gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that she named Maramawit. With two little ones to raise, Tadelech cannot work and simply cannot continue forward with her current condition. Without intervention, these children will be added to the already overwhelming number of 6 million orphans in Ethiopia. Tadelech is trying as hard as she can so that does not happen, but she is losing the battle.
When she first came to me as I was doing intake for Adoption Ministry 1:27, I thought perhaps she was extremely cold or maybe she had a broken arm because she was holding herself so awkwardly. Upon further questioning, she burst into tears and said, “I am just so hungry!!” The two little ones looked well cared for, but that is because anything she gets she gives to them.
The woman she worked for when she gave birth has been giving her $2.75 a month to help with rent, but the only food she gets is from compassionate neighbors, who are themselves very poor. The kind woman helping her said she cannot continue her support. Tadelech's house is woefully inadequate and she is not safe where she lives.
Without food for herself, she will quickly lose the ability to produce enough milk for her baby girl. In fact, when Demiss (the AM 1:27 case manager) went to buy food for Tadelech, he found her and her baby laying beside the road and the little 2-year-old playing in the dirt. She was so weak she could not walk any longer. Demiss said that intervention came just in time for this family! From AM 1:27’s emergency fund, we bought her food staples to last a month.
This woman loves the Lord and is faithful to attend church. I am asking the church community in my country to lend her a helping hand. For $40 a month, you can help Tadelech significantly! She needs food, clothing and adequate housing to stabilize her family. Her story exemplifies what Adoption Ministry 1:27 exists to do - preserve families and prevent orphans. Thank you!
**This young mother has now been sponsored - thanks to all who expressed desire to help. You can see the many other at-risk families like Tadelech's on our AM 1:27 website at the link below!
If you’d like to sponsor Tadelech, please contact our AM 1:27 administrator:
She will send you the information you’ll need to set up your donations and also a prayer card for Tadelech. You’ll also receive updates about how Tadelech is doing via our AM 1:27 case managers.
If you’d like to see all the families who need sponsors, please go to our Adoption Ministry 1:27 website where you can read their stories and sign up to become a sponsor!
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