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Ethiopian children have lost their parents. Now they are losing their childhood as well. Some are losing their very lives…

Children like Frehiwot, a disheveled little girl abandoned on the dusty alleys of Addis Ababa, are subject to terrible physical suffering and emotional trauma.

Their situation is desperate . . . so desperate that children often risk their lives trying to earn a little bit of money to buy food by selling snacks on the streets and in nightclubs full of drunken men and prostitutes.

At the tender age of 11, Frehiwot already carries emotional scars that will take a lifetime to heal – her childhood was stolen from her late one night by a brutal man in one of the nightclubs.

Fortunately, we have been able to help Frehiwot. However, any happiness we feel is overshadowed by the thought of all the children we have not yet been able to help. Today there are an estimated 3.8 million orphaned or abandoned children whose situation is as equally disturbing as Frehiwot’s.

The most fortunate of these children find occasional refuge with a relative. This safety is short lived though. Most of the relatives attempting to care for orphaned or abandoned children are so poor themselves that they cannot afford to feed one more mouth.

The least fortunate children find no refuge, and spend their days begging for food and pocket change. The most vulnerable are targets for men hoping to turn them into child prostitutes. Many of the children are used as cheap, expendable labor.

When night falls, the long day of begging and scavenging is finished. Those who survived the day seek shelter wherever they can. Most times, a dirty piece of cardboard serves as a blanket and the cold hard ground, as a bed.

HOPE International Development Agency is very blessed to have an angel of mercy, in the form of Ms. Alebachew, a courageous Ethiopian woman working among the orphaned, abandoned and abused children of Addis.

Ms. Alebachew, with support from HOPE International Development Agency donors like you who give $50, $75, $100 or even more, is able to provide these vulnerable and frightened children with…

•    A safe place to live and sleep
•    Daily breakfast, lunch and supper
•    Clean clothes and sturdy shoes
•    Education - including schoolbooks, supplies and uniforms
•    Vocational training for teenagers entering the workforce
•    Medical care, medicines and follow up
•    Health education, including HIV/AIDS prevention
•    Counselling to help cope with emotional and physical trauma

These children are at real risk of falling into hands that are far less compassionate than yours are. Your gift will keep them safe!

Your generous gift of $50, $75, or even $100 or more if you are able, will help cover the $560 annual cost of providing everything that is needed to rescue a child from the streets of Addis.