Help Sisay restore adoptive family search business

Hello, my name is Emily and I am and adoptive mom to three Ethiopian children. Five years ago, we decided to hire a family searcher to try to find with my children's families. We were incredibly lucky to hire Mr. Sisay Tilahun--a local entrepreneur in Addis Ababa who ran his own adoptive family search and tourist agency. Sisay found both families for our children. He arranged a three-week in-country visit for our oldest daughter to reunite with her Ethiopian family and to tour her birth country. The trip was transformational for her and for our entire family. Sisay has stayed in touch with us and helps us to maintain connections with our children's families. He interprets our phone calls, we relays messages translated into Amharic, and he helps our children and their families keep healthy connections. Sisay has helped countless other adoptive families find their children's birth families.

The process of reuniting is emotional and intense and transformative and necessary. Sisay is witness to profound joy and pain during each of the reunions - it is not work for the feint of heart but he does it happily and often without pay. He considers it his mission to connect Ethiopia's adoptive children with the families left behind. We have personally seen how important this work is for our children. Research has shown that maintaining a strong sense of identity, knowing where one comes from, is crucial for the self esteem and well-being of adopted people. We trust Sisay with our story and our children's stories. And we hope you will consider contributing to his goal to rebuild his business so he can continue to help more families.

When Covid-19 hit, Sisay's business plummeted. There has been no in-country visits or tours and he and his family have been devastated by the impact. The political turmoil in Ethiopia has made it even harder to get back on track. If we can raise enough money for Sisay to buy his own van, he will be able to transport himself across the country to find families (rather than pay drivers). Once it is safe for tourists to return, he will use the van to guide visitors and adoptive families across his beautiful country. We hope that the funds we raise will help him rebuild his business so he can continue to enrich the lives of other Ethiopian and adoptive families in years to come.

Note: Because I am setting up the Go Fund Me page on Sisay's behalf, we have a system in place to be sure that all funds go directly to Sisay.I will be responsible for withdrawing funds from the donation site which I will then transfer to Sisay via Western Union. Sisay and I maintain frequent contact via Whats App. Fees for the transfers will be paid by me and will not be drawn from the donations raised here on the Go Fund Me site. Receipts for the transfers will be made available on request.