Medicine for Kolfe Orphanage
Donation protected
I'm Hey Friends!
My first four weeks in Ethiopia have been incredible. A certain quote comes to mind when I think about the children of Selamta Family Project:
“A small heart gets used to misery and becomes docile, while a great heart towers above misfortune."
These children have great hearts and are thriving in this environment. Unfortunately, this is not the reality for every orphan in Ethiopia. The most heart-wrenching experience I’ve had here was my visit to the orphanage for boys age 8-18. The conditions there were deplorable. There was no clean, running water in the bathrooms or available for the TWO HUNDRED+ boys being housed there. Filth and the smell of human waste were everywhere. The young boys had to sleep 2 or 3 to a twin size bed. It may come as no surprise then that most of the children I observed had acute skin conditions: fungal infections, suspected staph infections, stye’s, lice, scabies, who knows what else. The “clinic” was a dirty room consisting of a first aid kit and a nurse unable to treat the majority of her patients. I’m currently putting together simple, OTC medical supplies to relieve some of the short-term needs of these poor boys. Medicine is CHEAP in Ethiopia, so it was be immensely preferable for me to supply them with these medications before I leave in three-weeks. I had originally planned on fundraising just $300, but everyones immense outpouring of support has caused me to increase that goal and the goal of what we can provide these children. We are now going to expand to the nearby girls orphanage, which is also suffering from a huge lack of resources and medical supplies. Keep the support coming!!!
My first four weeks in Ethiopia have been incredible. A certain quote comes to mind when I think about the children of Selamta Family Project:
“A small heart gets used to misery and becomes docile, while a great heart towers above misfortune."
These children have great hearts and are thriving in this environment. Unfortunately, this is not the reality for every orphan in Ethiopia. The most heart-wrenching experience I’ve had here was my visit to the orphanage for boys age 8-18. The conditions there were deplorable. There was no clean, running water in the bathrooms or available for the TWO HUNDRED+ boys being housed there. Filth and the smell of human waste were everywhere. The young boys had to sleep 2 or 3 to a twin size bed. It may come as no surprise then that most of the children I observed had acute skin conditions: fungal infections, suspected staph infections, stye’s, lice, scabies, who knows what else. The “clinic” was a dirty room consisting of a first aid kit and a nurse unable to treat the majority of her patients. I’m currently putting together simple, OTC medical supplies to relieve some of the short-term needs of these poor boys. Medicine is CHEAP in Ethiopia, so it was be immensely preferable for me to supply them with these medications before I leave in three-weeks. I had originally planned on fundraising just $300, but everyones immense outpouring of support has caused me to increase that goal and the goal of what we can provide these children. We are now going to expand to the nearby girls orphanage, which is also suffering from a huge lack of resources and medical supplies. Keep the support coming!!!
Organizer
Emily Gallagher
Organizer
Austin, TX
