Uryadi's Village

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Uryadi's Village

Uryadi's Village, empowering communities for children, in Soddo, Ethiopia. Out of this desire, Uryadi's Village was born.

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https://uryadisvillage.networkforgood.com/projects/253166-where-the-need-is-greatest In 2003, when Uryadi’s Village Founder and internationally recognized Equestrian Grand Prix rider, Jennifer Crooks and her family traveled to China to adopt her daughter Sophie her eyes opened for the first time to the world wide orphan crisis. Walking into that rural orphanage, where the most bas

ic needs of children were barely being met, her life changed in an instant. Jennifer knew at that moment that her life would never be the same, and a burning, heart felt desire to make a lasting impact on the orphan crisis began. Over the next 11 years Jennifer and her family adopted 4 more children from China, and 3 from Ethiopia. While her family is now complete with thirteen children of their own, the desire to create a safe, healthy and loving home for children in need is burning stronger than ever. Uryadi’s Village is a sustainable community development organization dedicated to supporting vulnerable children, and their extended families to live in dignity and good health through socially, economically and environmentally renewable systems and solutions. At the heart of our mission is a deep commitment to work as partners with those we assist in fostering sustainable, locally owned solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. We seek to empower, uplift, and transform the lives of the most vulnerable through international and local collaborations with others sharing our mission.

08/30/2026

We have another VERY BIG milestone to celebrate with you.
Last week, we celebrated our first high school graduates, which was such a huge moment for all of us, least of all the two amazing young men who did the graduating!
But as of this last week, we were informed that we have even more to be excited about.
In Ethiopia, every high school graduate has to take a national exam in order to qualify to attend one of the country's universities. The results of this exam are extremely important, as you cannot attend university without passing this exam. This exam also determines where you will go to university, so you can imagine how important this is!
Nigatu and Wondimu took their exams in July, and our entire team has been waiting and praying and hoping and wondering what the results would be. Both Nigatu and Wondimu studied ALOT, and were clearly determined to do everything they could to do well at these exams.
They have had the constant support our onsite education staff, who help tutor and guide our children on their academic and educational paths, something that many children in Ethiopia do not have access to.
This last week, we finally got the news and it is truly something to celebrate. Only 4-5% of the high school graduates in our region passed, and our two amazing young men were among them. Also, their scores on the exams were very very good!!!!
These two wonderful young men have come so far - they were little boys when they came into our care, and it has been such a gift to be part of their lives as they have grown up. We are incredibly proud of both of them, and cannot wait to see what they do in life. No matter what, they will always know that they are loved, supported, and that we are always here for them, just like a family should be.
This moment in time is truly special for us. This marks the very first in what we know will be a long list of children who grow to adulthood, and who's lives go in a direction very different from where they might have gone if not for YOUR support.
What our children have access to is truly life changing, and can make the difference between a life of struggle and suffering, or a life marked by growth, individual success, and feeling supported and able to meet life's challenges because they are not alone.
Each and every one of you who are part of our global village are part of making this possible. Your support and your presence as part of our village helps to make these kinds of outcomes happen.
Thank you so much for choosing to be part of our village, we cannot do this work alone, and we are so grateful for you.
With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

08/23/2026

We are always so proud to share about our Kindergarten graduates after our summer trips. And this summer was no exception.
Our onsite early education Montessori school, operated in partnership with amazing support from AEF Moringa, has graduated another class of kindergarten students, and we are so proud of them. Each and every child who graduated this year is now much more prepared to move on to the next stages of education than they would be if this program didn't exist.
And we want them to know how very proud we are of their success.
But we're also celebrating a very important milestone for UV - our very first high school graduates!!!!
Nigatu and Wondimu have officially graduated from high school, and are now ready to take their next steps into the world of higher education.
These two young men have shown what is possible when we give our children the support and opportunity to succeed, and we want them to know how incredibly proud we are of them, and the path they are paving for every one of our other children.
We cannot thank our amazing village of support enough for making this exciting day possible - for
Each and every one of you who are part of our global village are part of making this possible. Your support and your presence as part of our village helps to make these kinds of outcomes happen.
Thank you so much for choosing to be part of our village, we cannot do this work alone, and we are so grateful for you.
With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

08/18/2026

Here are a few goal highlights from the summer tournament our teams are competing in!

All of our teams have been playing incredibly well, and we are so proud of the dedication, teamwork, and determination the children have shown on the field. Their progress demonstrates what young people can achieve when they are given the opportunity, encouragement, and resources to develop their talents.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who continues to support Otona Uryadi’s Football Club. Your generosity makes it possible for these children to train, compete, grow in confidence, and experience the joy of being part of a team. We could not do this without you!

08/16/2026

One of our core values at Uryadi's Village is to keep our children connected to their heritage and culture in real, meaningful ways. We recognize and want to make sure that our children and our staff and everyone we are connected to know that we honor Wolayta culture, and want to keep it alive and enriching every aspect of life at the village.
Recently, we were able to take groups of our children to the Wolayta S**o University museum, where they learned more about their own culture. This turned out to be a truly wonderful experience for our children, helping them not only understand more about their own history and culture but getting the very clear message that their history and culture is important. We always want our children to know that who they are as individuals matters, but also who they are as a part of their heritage also matters.
This is also a very important element of our early education Montessori school curriculum. One of the reasons we love the Montessori approach so much is that it prioritizes keeping our children directly experiencing and connected to their own history and culture.
We hope you enjoy this short film from our local S**o filmmaker, Henok Tamir. He documented our field trip, and we love sharing his work, and giving all of you a chance to share this great experience.
Each and every one of you who are part of our global village are part of making this possible. Your support and your presence as part of our village helps to make these kinds of outcomes happen.
Thank you so much for choosing to be part of our village, we cannot do this work alone, and we are so grateful for you.
With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

08/10/2026

Caring for children with special needs has become such an important focus for our work. Not only do we provide a home for orphaned and vulnerable children, but we are also one of the only places where children with special needs are welcomed with open arms and all the love they deserve.
In May of this year, we had a goal to raise enough money to create Tegen's House, a house specifically designed and equipped to care for our most fragile and complex children with special needs.
Because of the amazing generosity of the Thunderbird Show Park Team, and everyone who pledged, we met that goal.
And today, we want to celebrate that Tegen's House is now complete, and our children are living in this beautiful new space.
Tegen's House is named in honor of Mike and Jennifer Crooks' son Tegen, and it is already helping us to give our children the best care possible.
We could not have done this without everyone who made our Jump for the Village event such a great success, and we want you to know that your support is making a difference.
Each and every one of you who are part of our global village are part of making this possible. Your support and your presence as part of our village helps to make these kinds of outcomes happen.
Thank you so much for choosing to be part of our village, we cannot do this work alone, and we are so grateful for you.
With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

08/02/2026

We want to share a very special adoption update today. Our local adoption program is a pioneering part of our work. This aspect of our work is creating very real change and impact through promoting and facilitating adoptions of our eligible children into local Ethiopian families.
As of this post, we have completed over close to 100 local adoptions, something we are so grateful for. That means there are that many beautiful new families that we have helped to create. That means that there are that many children who now have loving forever homes, which they would not have found if not for our work. That is such a real impact.

In July, one of our most special adoptions to date was officially completed. Our staff social worker, Asrat, finalized her adoption of one of our little girls, Tegegnech. This was such a sweet story, and one that we are so excited to share with all of you. Asrat has been part of UV for years, and has shown incredible dedication and love for all of our children. She coordinates all of our local adoptions, as well as overseeing alot of the important relationships we have with our local government offices. She has been such an important part of our team for so long now, and we are so grateful that she is part of our team.
Tegegnech has been with us since she was very small, and we have watched her relationship with Asrat grow into something so special. When Asrat told us she wanted to adopt Tegegnech, we of course were 1000% supportive of that.

Seeing the two of them together, as a new, very special little family unit, has made our entire team so happy.
And we want you to know that each and every one of you who are part of our global village are part of making this possible. Your support and your presence as part of our village helps to make these kinds of outcomes happen.
Thank you so much for choosing to be part of our village, we cannot do this work alone, and we are so grateful for you.

With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

07/26/2026

Every time we are onsite, one of the things that is crystal clear is the devotion and impact our amazing staff have on our children.
We have worked hard to ensure that we have the right people in the right positions at UV so that the care our children receive and their every day lives are as full of love and possibility as possible.
Did you know that we employ anywhere from 85-90 people locally at the village? We are one of the larger employers in our area, and the jobs we offer have become highly sought after in our community.
This means that we have been able to find some really wonderful people to help us keep our mission moving forward, and today we want to take a moment to recognize our entire team in Ethiopia.
Some of our team have been with us since the beginning, and some are newer. But one thing they all have in common, and that we are so very thankful for, is that they love our children. They love them and treat them like they are their own, and that is what we look for when we offer someone the chance to be part of our village.
We want our global village to know that over in Soddo, our team works tirelessly every day to make sure our children are safe, healthy, and loved, and that they have the chance to explore their own potential.
Our team makes so much possible. Without them, we wouldn't be able to do what we do.
And the same is true of YOU. Each of you reading this are such an important part of the impact we are able to have.
It truly takes a village to change the world, and we are so thankful to have you as part of ours.
Thank you so much for choosing to be part of our village, for choosing to make a difference. Your support truly is changing and saving lives, every single day.
With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

07/19/2026

One of the highlights of our recent time in Soddo at the village was the chance for our children, and also Jennifer (this was her first time doing this hike!!)to climb our local mountain, Mt. Damota.
This is quite a feat, for a number of reasons.
Something that you may not know is that our city, Soddo, already sits at around 6000-7000 ft of elevation! And the top of Mt. Damota is just over 9500 ft!
Which means that if you hike to the top, you gain about 3000 ft in elevation. So, you can imagine that this is a pretty big deal, and can be a pretty challenging physical feat.
What is even more incredible is that there is a village at the top of this mountain, and the people who live there hike up and down this mountain regularly, often with very heavy loads.
Our amazing team took almost 40 people on this hike, and we had an incredible day, hike almost 12 miles total.
Our children did an amazing job, and literally were dancing their way up the mountain - although mostly in the beginning!!
This was such a beautiful day for all of us, and we made some amazing memories with our children.

We want you to know that your support makes things like this possible. It enables our children to enjoy being children, to explore, to play, and to be healthy and strong enough to do things like hike 12 miles up and down a mountain!
We are so incredibly grateful for these moments, and for being able to share them with all of you.
You are what make these moments possible.
Thank you so much for choosing to be part of our village, for choosing to make a difference. Your support truly is changing and saving lives, every single day.
With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

07/12/2026

Our US side team has been at the village for the past few weeks, and as always, time onsite, at the village, with our children and our amazing team all together, is such a precious gift.
There is so much joy present in every moment, no matter what we are navigating together, whether it's celebrating our birthdays, or figuring out the best plan for a child's ongoing education, or hiking as an XL family up a mountain.
And no matter what is going on, this newest mural on our wall at the village says it all:
"Kindness Rules!"
Table tennis has become a BIG hit at the village - we have some amazing table tennis players developing!
Apparently, there is a quiet little in house competition going between our house mothers to see who can create the the most verdant and beautiful landscaping for the new houses we recently completed.
And of course, there are just so many smiles.
We are so incredibly grateful for these moments, and for being able to share them with all of you.
You are what make these moments possible.
Thank you so much for choosing to be part of our village, for choosing to make a difference. Your support truly is changing and saving lives, every single day.
With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

07/08/2026

Today, we want to send a very big thank you out to two amazing families who stepped forward to sponsor two of our children.
Dana and Laurel Matheson, the wonderful new owners of Thunderbird Show Park, were so kind and welcoming when we met them this past May at our Jump for the Village Fundraiser. Not only did they make sure that this very important fundraising event, building Tegens house, was a huge success, but they also chose to become UV sponsors, of a very special little girl, Zenabowa. Thank you Dana and Laurel for choosing to become sponsors, it means so much to this sweet little girl and our village!!
We also want to say an enormous thank you to Suzy Jackson and her family, who have been among the most impactful and dedicated sponsors for many years. Yubserra, one of our younger boys, needed a long term sponsor who sees how truly amazing he is. Suzy, you are such a special part of our village, and we cannot thank you enough for choosing to be part of our village, and for being such a committed and gracious sponsor. You are truly a gem!
Sponsorship is the foundation of our work. Sponsorship is what ensures that every child in our care has what they need to thrive, to grow, and to have the opportunity to reach their potential. We cannot do what we do without our sponsors.
Thank you to each and every one of our sponsors for choosing to make such a difference.
With Gratitude,
The Uryadi's Village Team

Address

PO Box 1086
Sandpoint, ID
83864

Telephone

(425) 785-6427

Website

http://www.uryadisvillage.org/

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