Washingtonville High School Students fundraiser for Hanna’s Orphanage



Behind all the goodies that was collected is Kathy Wurster, Tom Mustico, Nicole Cagna and Beth Fray.

When the Community Service Club at Washingtonville High School was made aware of the conditions in Ethiopia, they immediately took action. Through various meetings and exchange of ideas, we decided a bake sale would be best. Many baked goods were donated for the sale and flower pens were donated for sale as well. Staff and students chipped in to purchase as well as bake cookies and cakes. Flower pens were made by creative people to help the plight of Ethiopia's children. Pictures of the children were posted, and students donated money even after the baked goods were gone. The bake sale lasted 80 minutes. 80 minutes is all it took to make a difference. I can't wait to see what can happen in one day, one year, one lifetime. Nicole Cagna




Hope (and more) in a Backpack
By Malia Frame

HOE Ministries (Hope for Orphans of Ethiopia), an organization that aims to help impoverished Ethiopian orphans by providing backpacks filled with some of life’s simple necessities. Inspired by this blooming new ministry, the middle school youth group at Grace Community Church recently partnered with HOE Ministries to help their cause. For the past three weeks, the Grace youth group coordinated the assigning of empty backpacks to participating church families, including with each pack the gender and age of the specifically sponsored orphan. Families then filled the backpacks with basic toiletries like toothbrushes and toothpaste, school supplies, recreational items like small toys, jump ropes and balls, as well as miscellaneous things including candy, baseball caps, socks, t-shirts and flashlights. “These are the kind of practical supplies which will improve personal hygiene, foster skills like drawing and writing, and give orphans gifts they may otherwise never own,” explains Tom Mustico, one of the founders of HOE. Some families sent personal notes and photos with their packs, and around 70 backpacks were filled by Grace Church members.

Within the next month, these backpacks will be sent to Ethiopia to coordinate with the June arrival of Mustico and eight other volunteers. During their two-week trip to Ethiopia, the group will visit eight orphanages and hand-deliver the 70 backpacks donated from Grace church, and over 130 packs from other participating churches, to the orphans. In addition, the volunteers will share bible stories, do arts and crafts, read, sing, and - most of all - shower love and affection over these destitute children. “We’ve been given a mandate by God to reach out to these people,” explains Mustico. “My goal is to create an awareness throughout the entire United States about the staggering conditions in Ethiopia, which includes extreme poverty, abuse, and deadly diseases such as AIDS.” Shockingly, 1 out of 10 children die before reaching their first birthday, and 1 out of 6 die before the age of 5. “God has blessed us with an incredible amount of wealth, and with this prosperity comes the responsibility of sharing our blessings with those who have none,” he adds.

HOE Ministries, which was created 4 months ago after a life-changing trip Mustico took to Ethiopia, derives its name from the idea that in the same way a hoe tills the soil to cultivate and nurture it to bring forth and perpetuate life, we are all instructed by God to do the same to aid our brothers and sisters. Eventually, HOE plans to be involved with different facets of ministry including the development of vocational schools in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: orphans on the brink of war

As the EU announces a €60 million food security grant to impoverished Ethiopia, the UN warns that in nearly four years, half the country’s children will be orphans. more>>
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ETHIOPIA: Campaign launched against child trafficking

Up to 20,000 children, some 10 years old, are trafficked by unscrupulous brokers each year to work in cities.. more>>

Ethiopian Children Easy Prey for Child Traffickers
 
It is estimated that each year, tens of thousands of poor, rural children in Ethiopia become victims of child traffickers, who promise them a better life and then sell them to face even greater poverty and suffering. In many cases, the children's horrific journeys begin, and end, at the main bus terminal in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu begins her report. more>>
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Thousands of Ethiopian children sold by parents

Ethiopian children are being sold for as little as $1.20  to work as domestic workers or prostitutes, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.
Up to 20 000 children, some 10 years old, are sold each year by their parents and trafficked by unscrupulous brokers to work in cities across Ethiopia, the IOM added. The figures were announced as the Ethiopian government, the United Nations and the IOM launched a campaign to highlight the suffering endured by vulnerable children in this Horn of Africa nation. more>>

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Consider the following...

More than 1 billion people live in absolute poverty. This includes 700 million people living in slums, 500 million people on the verge of starvation, 93 million beggars, and 200 million children exploited for labor.

700 million of the world’s people are severely malnourished.

500 million of the world’s children are orphans.4

1.5 billion of the world’s people have no access to medical care.

1.5 billion of the world’s people do not have enough money to buy food.

940 million of the world’s children (67 percent of those eligible) have little or no access to schools.4

Oppressive governments deny religious freedom to 2.2 billion people worldwide.

35 million of the world’s people are slaves.

Globally each year, 2.5 million die of AIDS, 1.5 million people die in manmade disasters, 1 million people die in war, 975,000 people are murdered, 500,000 people commit suicide, 25,000 people die of pollution, 21,000 people die in earthquakes, and 12,000 die in floods.