It's That Time of Year Again - Join Our Team and Sponsor a HIV+ Child in Ethiopia!

E's favorite actor is Jackie Chan. His favorite animals are dogs, and he loves to eat hamburgers. He loves to play soccer and dance while listening to Michael Jackson. He used to want to be famous when he grew up, but now he just wants to play professional soccer.

E is a child in Ethiopia living with HIV.

Last year I organized my first cooperative group to sponsor a HIV positive child through AHOPE for Children. Ten friends from all over the country joined our team, each pitching in $42 (that's $42 one time, not $42 a month) to support E. Our combined funds helped E attend school, receive the medicine that helps him thrive, and eat nutritious food.

Since E lives at AHOPE he is also benefiting from programs designed to one day help him transition from life in the orphanage to life as a productive citizen of Ethiopia. He lives in a community that is working to break down stereotypes and stigmas about what it means to be HIV+ in Ethiopia.  AHOPE has developed a Child Development Center that both benefits the local community, and also gives people the opportunity to work and play next to HIV+ kids, thereby learning that they really are just kids living with a very manageable disease (and preparing to live out their dreams of being the next big soccer star).

Not convinced yet?  Here's a little more information about AHOPE for Children from my blog post requesting people to join our team last year:

Why sponsor a child at AHOPE?  While the number of children in AHOPE's orphanages fluctuates, they operate at or near capacity at all times.  AHOPE does more than just care for HIV+ orphans though.  Through its Child Development Center it also supports 105 HIV+ children that are still living with their families.  This sort of support keeps families together.  Kids stay out of orphanages altogether.  Twenty-five additional children are provided full education sponsorships.  There is still quite a stigma associated with HIV in Ethiopia, so AHOPE started "stigma" programs that foster friendships between HIV+ children and their HIV- peers.  Finally, and this is the big one for me, AHOPE has developed a Youth Development Program to help orphaned HIV+ children that "age out" of the orphanage system transition to healthy and productive lives in Ethiopia.  Adoption WILL NOT alleviate the hard realities that have resulted in millions of orphans in Ethiopia.  Many orphaned children will need the skills necessary to become happy productive members of their communities.  Programs like AHOPE's Youth Transition Home are working to make this happen and stand as an example for others to follow. Want to learn more about AHOPE? Check out their new website by clicking on the logo below.

$42. One time for the  entire year.  You'll get periodic updates on E (he's quite handsome), but more importantly, you'll get to go to bed at night knowing that you're sending the message to an orphaned boy in Ethiopia that he matters and that he can accomplish his dreams.




Postscript: From what I can tell right now, E's team is about 70% full. I would really like to start an entirely new team this year on top of the one currently sponsoring E. I estimate that means we need 10 to 15 new team members.  That's not many; from the stats on this blog its only 1/10 of the readers on days when I actually post something. A couple of members currently on E's team have already mentioned that they would join a second team if I could get another one organized, so that number might even be less. What are you waiting for? Join our team!