Special needs family in Ethiopia needs help

Hi – my name is Frehiwot and I’m hoping to raise money for a struggling, poor family in Ethiopia with special needs children. A few days ago, I watched an EBS interview of Shewaye Girma – please watch it to get the full story of this family.

https://youtu.be/r1nIhMgso-A

The short story is that Shewaye and her husband have 3 kids – two boys and a girl. The two boys, Abel and Eyasu, have special needs which their mom describes as intellectual disability. They live in a rented shack in Addis Ababa. Shewaye works as a cleaning woman at a church, and her husband works as a security guard. But their income is very low and they are struggling due to the skyrocketing cost of living in Ethiopia. They can barely afford to pay rent and feed their family. The boys are not allowed to leave the house because they could get lost, be bullied by other kids or bitten by stray dogs which has happened to them in the past.

At EBS studio with their sister, Tsion

I watched the interview on YouTube and was heartbroken. I also have a 16 year old special needs son but I live in the US where there are resources. Thankfully EBS put Shewaye’s mobile number below the YT video, so I called and spoke to her twice. The family is desperate for affordable housing. They were given 3 months notice to move out as the landlord plans to knock down the house to re-build a new one. She says if they have to move farther out from the city, they will do it. I got Shewaye’s permission to try and raise funds on her family’s behalf to help them rent a new place.

PLEASE HAVE A HEART and give whatever you can. Even $10 or $20 is a big help for a poor family. Imagine having to lock your kids in the house so they will be safe because you have to earn a living to feed your family. Imagine if this family becomes homeless – she has to stop working to watch the boys and will end up begging for food. These beautiful, innocent boys will not survive the streets of Addis, they will be bullied, hurt or lost. This is really hard to think about – just writing this brings me to tears. PLEASE – I plead with everyone reading this to help whatever you can. If 150 people give just $20 each, we can reach the goal.

50 ሎሚ ለአንድ ሰው ሸክሙ ነው:

ለ 50 ሰው ግን ጌጡ ነው::

My hope is to raise as much as possible to pay for their rent as long as possible. I intend to post updates every 1-2 weeks on this page to report progress and show the impact your donated funds had on this family's very survival. Any of us can be put in this situation at any time. It is only by the grace of God that we are better off than this family. Please help!!!

God bless you!

Frehiwot

www.etdiaspora.com