Sunrise over Children's Village Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.…
In October 2008 Jette Hansen and her husband had the opportunity to visit their sponsored child, Hayat Ali, in the SOS Children's Village in Bahir Dar in Ethiopia. Here she tells us about their time in Ethiopia:
- Lisa
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Sunrise over Children's Village Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
In October 2008 Jette Hansen and her husband had the opportunity to visit their sponsored child, Hayat Ali, in the SOS Children's Village in Bahir Dar in Ethiopia.
Here she tells us about their time in Ethiopia:
"It was such an amazing experience and hard to describe our emotions when we finally met her, after having known her for 7 years. She lives with her family of 1 Village mother, 5 brothers and 4 sisters one of who is her real sister. On the front door was a "Welcome to Hayat's house" poster.
We had the most fantastic reception and were shown round the house and garden. The children speak English very well and they were able to show us round. Hayat - being the youngest in the family - sleeps with her mother but soon they will have a new baby arriving so Hayat will have to move into the big girls bedroom, which she is very proud of. Every child has their personal photo album and Hayat proudly showed us hers. Half way through the album were photos of my husband and I, which we sent her years ago. It was so touching. All the cards we have sent over the years were on display around the house and she was even wearing the hairclips we got for her birthday. She was very shy at first, but eventually she took our hands and showed us round. She really is the most beautiful little girl you can imagine.
Hayat's family had prepared a delicious Ethiopian lunch (injera) for us and we were treated to a full coffee ceremony where the floor is covered with flowers and straw, the coffee beans roasted in the frying pan before being crushed. Absolutely delicious.
The children showed us how they tended the garden themselves, grew mango and papaya fruits from seeds and it looked very beautiful.
The village manager - Ababa - sat down with us and explained in detail the whole concept about the SOS Children's Village. She is a very caring and loving person and it was clear that the children respect and love her. We were a group of 7 (all Danish friends) and we had asked everybody to please bring some stationary for the Village school. We had a whole suitcase in the end and they were very pleased. Two of our friends will be contacting the SOS office in Denmark regarding sponsorship so it was also a very good PR exercise.
My husband and I now know that our sponsorship money do make a difference to children's lives. A big thank you to everybody for all your hard work."
- Mary
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Children standing outside in Children's Village Chennai in India.
SOS Children's Villages suffer only little damage in Indian rain and floods.
On the 28th of November 2008 it was reported that the children's villages in Chennai, Pondicherry and Nagapattinnam, the latter two of which had been constructed in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, suffered only material damage from the Indian rain and floods.
All the mothers, children and co-workers are safe in SOS Children's Villages Chennai, Pondicherry and Nagapattinnam in South India, where thousands were left homeless in persistent rain and many precious lives were lost as cyclone Nisha left behind a trail of destruction.
SOS Children's Village Pondicherry and Nagapattinnam experienced a two-day blackout but electricity was restored today. Water flooded into the SOS Children's Villages, so children and mothers had to be moved to the SOS Social Centre building inside the grounds at Nagapattinnam.
Water is being pumped out with the assistance of diesel motors; a drain that got blocked is also being repaired. In some areas, roof tiles were destroyed and builders were called in to take care of the problem.
City roads were flooded and water also flowed into many houses in low-lying areas near Chennai. People gave a sigh of relief as the rain stopped today.
The SOS Children's Villages in Pondicherry and Nagapattinnam were established in the aftermath of the tsunami in 2005.
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