Why 26 Orphans?

I met Desalegn Daka when he asked me to take over his facebook site 15 minutes for 15 orphans. Desalegn works with Friends of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (FOVC). FOVC is a nonprofit, non governmental organization working in one of the poorest zones in southern Ethiopia with a mission to assure orphans grow up in safe, permanent families and have quality education and the help they need to be successful in life.

Desalegn currently works with 26 orphans (see photo) in a town called Shanto.  Shanto is one of 12 small towns in the Wolaita Zone which is in the Southern Nations Nationalities Peoples Region (SNNPR). Shanto has a population of about 8,000 and is located about 225 miles southwest of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Shanto is an incredibly poor area and the orphans there have very little ~ not even an orphanage to call home.

Recently FOVC was given a large donation from a group called Ethiopian Orphan Relief (EOR). The money is going to be used to build an orphanage for these 26 orphans. In fact construction has already begun on a 4 room bathroom (they do not have an indoor bathroom). In December 2010 I will accompany 12 truly amazing people to Shanto to work with Desalegn and his 26 orphans. We will help with the construction of the orphanage, bring supplies, and spend time with the kids. I am so honored and thrilled to have been invited on this trip. We will change the world for orphans in Ethiopia; 26 at a time!