Chamah! Chamah! Chamah! Elsa and Ashagre’s Friends Are in Need of Shoes!

The next few weeks should be pretty fun. On top of the building holiday excitement, our friends and colleagues have been planning “kid showers” for us in celebration and anticipation of Ashagre and Elsa’s upcoming homecoming. We are really looking forward to sharing our excitement about our growing family with so many wonderful people (and passing the time in good spirits as we wait for our next trip to Ethiopia).

As first time parents we can definitely use a little help getting geared up for the kids’ arrival; however, after visiting each of the kid’s orphanages the needs of the kids that still wait for families is always near the surface of our consciousness. For that reason, we have decided to organize a supply drive, specifically shoes, for the kids living at Layla House – the orphanage that Ashagre currently lives at and the one that Elsa will be transferred to soon.

I figured I would spread the word about our shoe drive beyond the boundaries of our kid showers in case any of you that have started reading this blog might be interested in helping out.

I contacted AAI’s (our agency) Director of Development, Susan, and she informed me that currently the greatest need at Layla is for chamahs, or shoes, for the older kids – sizes child’s 12 up to an 8 in womens or 9 in mens. The shoes can be new or gently used and should be sturdy – sneakers and crocs are very popular and practical.

I particularly like the idea of collecting shoes because they remind me of Ashagre. He had these bright green croc-like sandals while we were in Ethiopia visiting him. They seemed to be a size or two too big and were constantly falling off of him. I learned the word chamah from Ashagre. I can’t even tell you how many times I was carrying him somewhere (he loved to be carried, especially by his momma) and he would start screaming chamah! chamah! chamah! I pretty quickly figured out that he was upset because one of his shoes had fallen off and we were leaving it behind. It didn’t help that he liked to let his legs hang straight down when he was being carried so I could knock his chamahs off with my legs as I walked. Finally, on the last day of the trip I told him we were going to try something different and wrapped his legs around my waist so I could carry him more on my hip without loosing his chamahs. It was an arrangement that worked out better for everyone involved.

If you would like to contribute a pair of shoes to our drive, please make sure they are in our possession by the beginning of January, let’s say January 5th, so we can pack them up and take them with us to Ethiopia when we go to pick up our kids. Don’t worry Emirates has pretty generous luggage allowances and Brent and I pack very light – we should have plenty of room for chamahs. If you need our address to send some shoes, feel free to email me at dakotacorey at hotmail dot com (in the traditional email address format, but spelled out on this blog to avoid spam).

If shoes aren’t your thing but you would still like to help out, consider donating to AAI’s Holiday Project. Each year our agency fundraises to provide a holiday celebration for the children in their care, as well as to support their humanitarian projects, including educational sponsorships, feeding projects, and work with special needs and HIV + children. If you contribute $30 or more AAI will send a special acknowledgement card to a recipient of your choice. You could give double – to the kids in Layla’s care and to someone close to your heart that already has everything they need this holiday season. AND...Elsa and Ashagre will both benefit from contributions to the holiday fund since they will be spending the holidays at Layla House.  You can donate to the Holiday Fund and learn more about it by following this link to AAI’s blog. 

Thanks in advance to all of you that choose to help us support the kids at Layla House.  I can promise you they will be thankful for your efforts.