"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die~but where you invest your love, you invest your life." -Mumford and Sons
Have you ever loved someone you didn't even know? Out of situation or circumstance you find yourself yearning for their life to be great, to know love, God's love. That is my heart for our friends who are adopting a baby from Ethiopia.
A little back story: Our beautiful friends Cory and Shannon Church took the amazing step forward to adopt a child in Africa. This step comes with many challenges such as finances, laws and time. But through it all they have been hopeful and full of love for their little baby. They have such a passion the children there, and through them I have heard stories of such despair and sadness concerning the situation there and why they have such a urgency to do this NOW! Here is a just a run-down of some of them:
In General
- Ethiopia is ranked by the UN’s Human Development Index as one of the four poorest countries in the world
- Annual per-capita income is less than $1,000.00
- Over 65% of the population lives below the poverty rate
- Population: 79,455,634
- Average Ethiopian woman gives birth to 5.2 children
- Population is expected to double in the next 20-30 years
- Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, Traditional 4.6%, Other 1.8% (1994 census)
- 1 in 4 women dies in pregnancy or childbirth
- 4 million children are orphaned, nearly 1 million by AIDS
- 1 in 10 children die before their first birthday
- 1 in 6 children die before age 5
- Over 50% of children are stunted
- Malnutrition is the underlying cause of more than half of all child deaths
- Average life expectancy is 53 for men, 58 for women
- 1 physician for every 34,988 people
- 1 in 4 women dies in childbirth or from a pregnancy-related illness
- 22% of the population has access to improved drinking sources: 81% in urban areas and 11% in rural
- 13% of the population has access to adequate sanitation facilities: 44% in urban areas and 7% in rural
- Unlawful kidnapping and forced seizure of young girls for marriage is common in certain parts of Ethiopia, especially in the SNNPR (13%) and Oromia (11%).
- 80% of women and about 50% of men believe that there are at least some situations in which a husband is justified in beating his wife.
- Rape is a serious problem. A study on street violence among girls ages 10-24 in Addis Ababa found that 15% of the respondents had been raped, and during their first sexual activity, 43% had been coerced into sex.
- Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 22.5 million people are living with HIV in the region – around two thirds of the global total. In 2009, around 1.3 million people died from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and 1.8 million people became infected with HIV. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 14.8 million children have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.
But out of all this comes the hope of saving a child to a better and fruitful life. So as a community we have taken the burden along with the Church's to bring a baby home to them. I can't tell you the excitement and love that surrounds this little child. It has just been amazing to see people stand up and help, from tattoos,scarfs, jewelry, to gifts of love from complete strangers over the internet. It has been one of the most incredible stories to be apart of, so blessed by this family and community I find myself in.
For more information please check out their website @ http://www.findingchurch.net/ and help bring this baby home.
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