Project HOPEFUL,NFP

04/06/2023

hi everyone!

it’s been a while since we updated you on the work we are doing in Ethiopia. 🇪🇹
Here is A little breakdown of the three arms of our work there.


🇪🇹HOPE Works🇪🇹

Korah is a community with unique and overwhelming needs. Over 100,000 people are living tightly packed alongside the city dump. Poverty and lack of resources compete with the smell of garbage to be the thing that grabs your attention first as you walk the streets. Most families have multiple members who are struggling with the effects of leprosy, HIV, tuberculosis. Begging is the most common profession on these streets which leaves entire families at the mercy of uncertain provision.

Our partners on the ground have identified motivated young adults who are eager to learn a trade at a vocational school in order to support their family.

Please join us as we give one young adult at a time a chance to WORK! Trade School sponsorship will give these shining young adults a hand up and offer their entire families HOPE. Once person at a time, you can help us change the story in Korah.

🇪🇹HOPE Risers🇪🇹

Korah is a community with unique and overwhelming needs. Over 100,000 people are living tightly packed alongside the city dump. Poverty and lack of resources compete with the smell of garbage to be the thing that grabs your attention first as you walk the streets. Most families have multiple members who are struggling with the effects of leprosy, hiv, tuberculosis,etc. Begging is the most common profession on these streets which leaves entire families at the mercy of uncertain provision.
As we have worked with moms though sponsorship in Korah another need has become apparent. Every day around three o'clock, the streets fill with school age children wearing uniforms and carrying backpacks. Their parents are desperate for them to have a better life but are without the means to give it to them. Schooling seems like the only way. Unfortunately, the public school situation in Korah is less than ideal.
Among these children who swarm us as school lets out are many very bright students who could take a small advantage and rise into a whole new life. Private schools are available in the area that provide a solid education at a price that thought insurmountable for the residents of Korah, seems small to us.
Please join us as we give one child a time a chance to RISE. Private school sponsorship will give these shining kids a hand up and offer their entire families HOPE. Once child at a time, you can help us change the story in Korah.

🇪🇹 HOPE Positive 🇪🇹

This program (HOPE +) has been the flagship program of the work that we do in Ethiopia.

Project HOPEFUL’s desire to support mothers in need and preserve families – particularly those mothers with an HIV+ diagnosis – was born out of our love for birth mothers. Women living with HIV often are faced with terribly difficult and unfair decisions regarding the care of their children. Out of this desire, the HOPE + ETHIOPIA program was born.
We are passionate about supporting these mothers because most of our women who are HIV positive are single mothers, either by widowhood or abandonment. HIV positive mothers are facing this challenge along with the added burdens of poor health and poverty. Without a "hand-up," these women are often unable to develop and sustain an independent life. Many will be confronted with the terrible, painful decision to give up their children for adoption in order to preserve their child's life. Women living in extreme poverty may possibly abandon their child(ren) to an orphanage so that their child might receive more support or care. We believe in providing an alternative to the local orphanage by creating opportunity and empowering women.
The program seeks to offer hope to potential orphans through family preservation and orphan prevention. Through sponsorship, a small business capital grant will allow these moms to dig out of extreme poverty and start a business. For some, it will be the difference between giving up their children and being able to raise them successfully.
Once selected for the program, the women work with our program staff to identify potential small business ideas that will provide long-term sustainability for each of them. They will also be required to attend a series of training sessions on topics such as medication management, hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, money management and saving, and interpersonal communication. The skill training has proven invaluable to our women as they strive to stay healthy and strong enough to work their new business. These trainings are mandatory before they receive their startup capital grant. In addition, we now offer adult literacy classes that continue on for as long as our women want to attend them. This has proven to be an extremely valuable addition to our curriculum as most of our women are partially or fully illiterate.
Once a viable small business is identified, our staff and mothers will work together to develop the skills necessary for our mothers to be successful. They will be provided start-up capital in the form of a grant and their new life will be born. As they begin their work, they will be monitored and supported by both our Ethiopian and American staff for a period of 2 years.
Your monthly partnership of $65 for six months (or a one-time $390 donation) will support a woman through the training program, through the 2-year monitoring period and onto independence! When you join the HOPE+ ETHIOPIA, you will be assigned a woman. Each Ethiopian woman will be matched with up to two US hope partners. Once you have contacted us and are matched, you will receive a photograph and basic information about your sister.

The HOPE+ ETHIOPIA program provides a wonderful opportunity to walk alongside a mother interested in parenting her children. Your support will let you join the front line battle against poverty and the orphan crisis. You will have the opportunity to form a personal connection with a woman and watch her life bloom into something beautiful. It's so much more than a sponsorship,
Your partnership in the HOPE+ ETHIOPIA will be life changing for one family.

The women’s program would not be in existence were it not for the generous partnership of Marla Ann Hodes/Ethiopia Family Fund

03/29/2023

•UPDATE MARCH 2023•

Addisu told us, “I am actually amazed by her. She is thriving.”

Since we last saw A, she has moved her clothing business into a retail
space, and she told us business is good!

“The HOPE+ program gave me new skills, new goals, and a new life. I had only a dream, and because of the trainings and capital money I achieved it!” 😊

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
BACKSTORY
A, a sweet woman from rural Ethiopia, is (approximately) 35 years of age and the mother of four children. She was only able to attend school up until grade 5 because of extreme poverty. She had to quit school in order to start working as a servant. It was at this job that she met her first husband, and together they had two kids. She describes him as physically and verbally abusive especially when he drank. At one point, he simply stopped bringing money home to support his family. With no other options, she took her two kids to her parent’s house and went to Addis Ababa in search of work.

Unfortunately, the only job she could find was that of a servant/housemaid. It was at this job that she met another man. She was hopeful that he would be good to her, but instead he left her while she was pregnant with her third child.

A was left alone with the baby and worked a string of odd jobs in order to feed her child. It was during this time she met her third husband. She now admits to being “very naïve” at the time, but in the moment, she felt she had few options and nowhere else to turn so she married him. Once again, she found herself with child and sadly once again was abandoned during her pregnancy.

It was during her post-pregnancy follow up that she discovered her HIV status. She suspects her third husband was the one that infected her. “Shocked and hopeless” were the words she used to describe her feelings at the time. She has continued to do odd jobs to feed the two children at home (the oldest two still live with her family in the countryside). She says she is highly motivated to improve her situation.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
UPDATE 2021

We were able to meet with A at her home yesterday. She told us the government granted her a small shop space where she sells her new clothes. When asked how her life is different she said “I feel strong. I don’t even think about my HIV status. I totally forget about it. I enjoyed all of the training sessions. I learned how to maximize my profits so I can better support my kids.”

She expressed much gratitude to her financial partners who provided the capital money and the business mentoring!

04/18/2022

👋🏿 HI!!

Well we just returned home from Ethiopia 🇪🇹

We wanted to provide you with a breakdown of the three arms of our work in Ethiopia.


•••HOPE Works•••

Korah is a community with unique and overwhelming needs. Over 100,000 people are living tightly packed alongside the city dump. Poverty and lack of resources compete with the smell of garbage to be the thing that grabs your attention first as you walk the streets. Most families have multiple members who are struggling with the effects of leprosy, HIV, tuberculosis. Begging is the most common profession on these streets which leaves entire families at the mercy of uncertain provision.

Our partners on the ground have identified motivated young adults who are eager to learn a trade at a vocational school in order to support their family.

Please join us as we give one young adult at a time a chance to WORK! Trade School sponsorship will give these shining young adults a hand up and offer their entire families HOPE. Once person at a time, you can help us change the story in Korah.

••••HOPE Risers••••

Korah is a community with unique and overwhelming needs. Over 100,000 people are living tightly packed alongside the city dump. Poverty and lack of resources compete with the smell of garbage to be the thing that grabs your attention first as you walk the streets. Most families have multiple members who are struggling with the effects of leprosy, hiv, tuberculosis,etc. Begging is the most common profession on these streets which leaves entire families at the mercy of uncertain provision.
As we have worked with moms though sponsorship in Korah another need has become apparent. Every day around three o'clock, the streets fill with school age children wearing uniforms and carrying backpacks. Their parents are desperate for them to have a better life but are without the means to give it to them. Schooling seems like the only way. Unfortunately, the public school situation in Korah is less than ideal.
Among these children who swarm us as school lets out are many very bright students who could take a small advantage and rise into a whole new life. Private schools are available in the area that provide a solid education at a price that thought insurmountable for the residents of Korah, seems small to us.
Please join us as we give one child a time a chance to RISE. Private school sponsorship will give these shining kids a hand up and offer their entire families HOPE. Once child at a time, you can help us change the story in Korah.

•••Hope Positive•••

This program (HOPE +) has been the flagship program of the work that we do in Ethiopia.
Project HOPEFUL’s desire to support mothers in need and preserve families – particularly those mothers with an HIV+ diagnosis – was born out of our love for birth mothers. Women living with HIV often are faced with terribly difficult and unfair decisions regarding the care of their children. Out of this desire, the HOPE + ETHIOPIA program was born.
We are passionate about supporting these mothers because most of our women who are HIV positive are single mothers, either by widowhood or abandonment. HIV positive mothers are facing this challenge along with the added burdens of poor health and poverty. Without a "hand-up," these women are often unable to develop and sustain an independent life. Many will be confronted with the terrible, painful decision to give up their children for adoption in order to preserve their child's life. Women living in extreme poverty may possibly abandon their child(ren) to an orphanage so that their child might receive more support or care. We believe in providing an alternative to the local orphanage by creating opportunity and empowering women.
The program seeks to offer hope to potential orphans through family preservation and orphan prevention. Through sponsorship, a small business capital grant will allow these moms to dig out of extreme poverty and start a business. For some, it will be the difference between giving up their children and being able to raise them successfully.
Once selected for the program, the women work with our program staff to identify potential small business ideas that will provide long-term sustainability for each of them. They will also be required to attend a series of training sessions on topics such as medication management, hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, money management and saving, and interpersonal communication. The skill training has proven invaluable to our women as they strive to stay healthy and strong enough to work their new business. These trainings are mandatory before they receive their startup capital grant. In addition, we now offer adult literacy classes that continue on for as long as our women want to attend them. This has proven to be an extremely valuable addition to our curriculum as most of our women are partially or fully illiterate.
Once a viable small business is identified, our staff and mothers will work together to develop the skills necessary for our mothers to be successful. They will be provided start-up capital in the form of a grant and their new life will be born. As they begin their work, they will be monitored and supported by both our Ethiopian and American staff for a period of 2 years.
Your monthly partnership of $65 for six months (or a one-time $390 donation) will support a woman through the training program, through the 2-year monitoring period and onto independence! When you join the HOPE+ ETHIOPIA, you will be assigned a woman. Each Ethiopian woman will be matched with up to two US hope partners. Once you have contacted us and are matched, you will receive a photograph and basic information about your sister.

The HOPE+ ETHIOPIA program provides a wonderful opportunity to walk alongside a mother interested in parenting her children. Your support will let you join the front line battle against poverty and the orphan crisis. You will have the opportunity to form a personal connection with a woman and watch her life bloom into something beautiful. It's so much more than a sponsorship—Your partnership in the HOPE+ ETHIOPIA will be life changing for one family.

If you are open to partnering with us in offering a hand up to our new group of women please contact Lori at [email protected]





08/06/2021

Do you know the difference between HIV and AIDS? HIV is a virus, while AIDS is a late-stage condition if untreated. With appropriate treatment, people living with HIV often lead long, healthy lives and avoid progressing to AIDS.

Do you know the difference between HIV and AIDS? HIV is a virus, while AIDS is a late-stage condition if untreated. With appropriate treatment, people living with HIV often lead long, healthy lives and avoid progressing to AIDS. Credit: NIH

07/26/2021

This program (HOPE +) has been the flagship program of the work that we do in Ethiopia.

•••Hope Positive•••

Project HOPEFUL’s desire to support mothers in need and preserve families – particularly those mothers with an HIV+ diagnosis – was born out of our love for birth mothers. Women living with HIV often are faced with terribly difficult and unfair decisions regarding the care of their children. Out of this desire, the HOPE + ETHIOPIA program was born.
We are passionate about supporting these mothers because most of our women who are HIV positive are single mothers, either by widowhood or abandonment. HIV positive mothers are facing this challenge along with the added burdens of poor health and poverty. Without a "hand-up," these women are often unable to develop and sustain an independent life. Many will be confronted with the terrible, painful decision to give up their children for adoption in order to preserve their child's life. Women living in extreme poverty may possibly abandon their child(ren) to an orphanage so that their child might receive more support or care. We believe in providing an alternative to the local orphanage by creating opportunity and empowering women.
The program seeks to offer hope to potential orphans through family preservation and orphan prevention. Through sponsorship, a small business capital grant will allow these moms to dig out of extreme poverty and start a business. For some, it will be the difference between giving up their children and being able to raise them successfully.
Once selected for the program, the women work with our program staff to identify potential small business ideas that will provide long-term sustainability for each of them. They will also be required to attend a series of training sessions on topics such as medication management, hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, money management and saving, and interpersonal communication. The skill training has proven invaluable to our women as they strive to stay healthy and strong enough to work their new business. These trainings are mandatory before they receive their startup capital grant. In addition, we now offer adult literacy classes that continue on for as long as our women want to attend them. This has proven to be an extremely valuable addition to our curriculum as most of our women are partially or fully illiterate.
Once a viable small business is identified, our staff and mothers will work together to develop the skills necessary for our mothers to be successful. They will be provided start-up capital in the form of a grant and their new life will be born. As they begin their work, they will be monitored and supported by both our Ethiopian and American staff for a period of 2 years.
Your monthly partnership of $65 for six months (or a one-time $390 donation) will support a woman through the training program, through the 2-year monitoring period and onto independence! When you join the HOPE+ ETHIOPIA, you will be assigned a woman. Each Ethiopian woman will be matched with up to two US hope partners. Once you have contacted us and are matched, you will receive a photograph and basic information about your sister.

The HOPE+ ETHIOPIA program provides a wonderful opportunity to walk alongside a mother interested in parenting her children. Your support will let you join the front line battle against poverty and the orphan crisis. You will have the opportunity to form a personal connection with a woman and watch her life bloom into something beautiful. It's so much more than a sponsorship.
Your partnership in the HOPE+ ETHIOPIA will be life changing for one family.

ISO Hope Partners for these 10 women who will be starting their training sessions this week.

05/25/2021

Alemgrew up in rural Ethiopia. She was born to a very poor family and was not able to attend school. When she was just 15, her older sister arranged for a marriage between Alem and a much older man from Addis Ababa. It was done secretly, and Alem's parents were not aware of it until after it happened. But it was too late. And without Alem's consent, she was married and taken to Addis Ababa.

Alem's husband “became ill” a couple of years after the marriage, shortly after Alem became pregnant. While she was still pregnant, her husband died. She discovered her HIV status, shortly after birth of her baby, and the baby boy was also HIV+.

Alem said she was in a terrible situation, with no place to live and no way to care for her child. She went to the Mother Theresa home for help, and stayed there for a while, eventually finding a place for them to live.

Alem isn't sure what business she would like to be involved in when she starts the training program, but she says she will consider any business that will help her to become independent.

05.21 update

“Hope is everything,” Alem told us as we sat down in her home. “I I am doing so well in my business is very profitable.”

Her Business was initially impacted by Covid but now it is “much better.” “I live my life without any worries. This program an enormous impact on my life. I learned very useful information that changed my life. I actually forgot my HIV status“

Her next goal is to expand her business of clothing sales and she is eagerly waiting our literacy program to restart now that some restrictions have been lifted. “I I want to read and write”

She is so grateful to the American partner who lifted her out of extreme poverty.

05/24/2021

Beautiful Selam, a 40-year-old mother of one, was born in raised in Addis Ababa. She attended school through the ninth grade. Due to poverty she had to stop her education and worked various odd jobs in order to support her family. It was while she was working as a servant that she met her partner, a carpenter, and together they had one child. She discovered her HIV status during a post-natal checkup. When she confronted her husband, according to Selam, he was nonchalant and “not surprised at all.” Nor was he remorseful. Over time, he developed a drinking problem and became extremely physically abusive to her so she left him.

She returned to her parents’ home because she “had nowhere else to go.” They let her live with them but they are too poor to provide much else in terms of food or support for her daughter who is now 10 years old. Prior to the program she worked various odd jobs for school fees and food but would love to have her own home and be completely independent.

•••We did a follow up visit with Selam recently, and she was beaming!

She told us she benefited “tremendously“ from the program. “It opened my mind!” She particularly enjoyed the communication training and customer service training. Our program director said she is an extremely energetic individual with big dreams. Afyer finishing the training sessions and receiving her start up capital grant, Selam was able to start a small business because there is a space attached to her house that serves as a mini shop. She serves different varieties of breads and recently added french fries as well as multiple other items. Even with Covid, she has been steadily adding to her savings account.

“This program made me very strong. I can support my mom and my child. Expect even more success from me next time!”

05/22/2021

Alem, a sweet woman from rural Ethiopia, is (approximately) 35 years of age and the mother of four children. She was only able to attend school up until grade 5 because of extreme poverty. She had to quit school in order to start working as a servant. It was at this job that she met her first husband, and together they had two kids. She describes him as physically and verbally abusive especially when he drank. At one point, he simply stopped bringing money home to support his family. With no other options, she took her two kids to her parent’s house and went to Addis Ababa in search of work.

Unfortunately, the only job she could find was that of a servant/housemaid. It was at this job that she met another man. She was hopeful that he would be good to her, but instead he left her while she was pregnant with her third child.

Alem was left alone with the baby and worked a string of odd jobs in order to feed her child. It was during this time she met her third husband. She now admits to being “very naïve” at the time, but in the moment, she felt she had few options and nowhere else to turn so she married him. Once again, she found herself with child and sadly once again was abandoned during her pregnancy.

It was during her post-pregnancy follow up that she discovered her HIV status. She suspects her third husband was the one that infected her. “Shocked and hopeless” were the words she used to describe her feelings at the time. She has continued to do odd jobs to feed the two children at home (the oldest two still live with her family in the countryside). She says she is highly motivated to improve her situation.

••We were able to meet with Alem at her home recently. She told us the government granted her a small shop space where she sells her new clothes. When asked how her life is different she said “I feel strong. I don’t even think about my HIV status. I totally forget about it. I enjoyed all of the training sessions. I learned how to maximize my profits so I can better support my kids.”

She expressed much gratitude to her financial partners who provided the capital money and the business mentoring!

05/13/2021

Afrike is about 45 (or so). She was born in a very rural area, to extremely poor, illiterate parents, and does not really know her exact birthday/age. She was never able to go to school and is illiterate.
She came to Addis Ababa as a teenager, hoping to get a decent job. But she ended up finding work as a housemaid, making the equivalent of about 25 cents per month. It was very hard.

She was from the Oromean area of Ethiopia, and so did not speak the same dialect as her employer. The household was very abusive to her. But because she didn't really know anyone else, and knew what her family's poor situation was, she stayed. Eventually, she met her husband, who was a daily laborer. Thinking that she would be happier than her current situation, Afrike married the man. She said she was shocked to find that he was an abusive drunkard. Her life was miserable.

Afrike says she saw him taking pills sometimes, but she didn't know what the pills were for. She was illiterate, so she couldn't read the print on the medicine bottles. Soon after Afrike gave birth to their son, her husband died. She wasn't sure what he had died from but says people had been gossiping about him having been HIV positive. Afrike thought back to her husband taking the pills and became afraid. When she went to the clinic for HIV testing, her fears were realized.

Afrike was devastated and was afraid of what would happen to her baby if she died. Thankfully, her husband's family offered Afrike and her son a small room at the back of their house for them to live in.

Since her husband's death, Afrike has been earning money by doing whatever odd jobs she can find; from washing peoples clothes to making injera (a local food staple) for people on their homes.
Afrike wanted be in the Hope + program to learn how to become self-sufficient and able to care and provide for herself and her son.

MAY 2021

When we visited with Afrike, we found her in good health and she told us things are “going well” for her despite the Covid pandemic.

With her start up capital she was able to purchase bulk clothing for resale. She is still able to put profit into savings even with business being slower than before the pandemic. She also shifts at certain times during the month to selling cultural items.

She says her “life has improved a lot” since entering our program. “It was life changing. I never knew this organization existed. I was recommended by someone I know (a past graduate). I learned so much: how to prepare nutritious food and balance my diet. I made frieds and finally have a savings account. I’m grateful to my hope partners and this program because I now have friends who I can share my business stories and my life with.”

12/01/2020

♥️it’s Giving Tuesday and World AIDS Day.

we would be supremely grateful for tax deductible donations of any amount to help the people we serve living with the virus in Ethiopia.

link to give in comments ♥️

It's time to more firmly plant the need for an HIV cure on the policy agenda, write Dr. Mark Dybul and Dr. Sharon Lewin. While interventions that lead to a meaningful cure are at least decades away, we know that such a cure is possible -- and we must begin planning for it sooner than later.

11/12/2020

heartbreaking news out of Ethiopia. our hearts are with the people of that beautiful country. 🇪🇹

Thousands of Ethiopian civilians have fled into neighboring Sudan to escape escalating conflict in their country's northern region, with many more expected to follow, according to Sudanese officials and the United Nations (UN).