Why Ethiopia?

The best answer for me is "why not?", but for those who'd like more. Here are a dozen or so reasons. Keep in mind that stats are variable. My brother loves to say, "56.7% of statistics are made up"...and that percentage varies every time he says it. Hahaha.

• There are approximately 5 million orphans in Ethiopia, including 1 million AIDS orphans. There are more orphans in Ethiopia than people in Norway!
  
• 1 in 10 children die before their 1st birthday. 1 in 6 children die before their 5th birthday.
• 44% of the population is under 15 years old.
• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years old.
  
• 50 million people are living in abject poverty. The average Ethiopian makes about $300/year [less than $1/day]. With many mouths to feed, some families are forced to relinquish their children for economic reasons. They simply cannot feed them.
• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition.
• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS [6th highest in the world]
• Ethiopia receives less aid, per capita, than any country in Africa
• 50% of Ethiopian children will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.
• Coffee prices [Ethiopia's only major export] declined 40-60% from 1998-2002. Buy GOBENA COFFEE for great, authentic, fair trade, organic coffee!
• Ethiopia's doctor to child ratio is 1 to 24,000. There are 59 OB/GYNs and 1,000 midwives for a population of 77 million.
• Severe drought struck country from 2000-2002 [1st year = no crops, 2nd year = no seeds, 3rd year = no animals]

I love how Jesus spoke to his disciples about the role of the Holy Spirit after he left earth. What a powerful image of his heart for belonging to a family...

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

Spread the word about Ethiopian adoption. It's critical and life-changing for so many. And it certainly changes the trajectory of a child's life. To our babies, we are coming. As fast as we can!!! There's no where we wouldn't go to bring you home. You have our hearts and we love you implicitly.

SOURCES:
The Boddies' blog
Melissa Faye Green's Web Site
Poverty in Ethiopia
A Walk to Beautiful