I come across people living in dire situations everyday. I encounter kids every single day that need more food. I pass homeless people everyday. Everyday I wish I was able to do more than pray. Everyday I have the urge to round up a truckload of kids and move them in with me. But I know that I can not help every single person that needs it.
So it makes me so excited when I am able to help someone who desperately needs it. I recently have had such an opportunity. There is a woman that I have grown to love over the past 3 years. Her and her family had a huge impact on me when I came to visit Ethiopia 3 years ago. When I was able to move here, she was one of the first women I went to visit. I love her so and I love her children.
She has suffered with the affects of HIV for a long time and has been very sick at times. In the past year, she was diagnosed with cancer. She has really had some scary moments, thinking that she would die.
Recently, I heard a rumor that she was pregnant so I asked her social worker to take me to visit her because I wanted to find out if this was true. I didn’t want to know because I was being nosy, I wanted to know to see if I could help her. Knowing how sick she is I am worried about her and the baby. I see her often and she is so tiny so I was in a hurry to visit her to see what I could do to help her.
She is in fact pregnant. She weighs 103 pounds. We are not sure how far along she is, but our best guesstimate is 6 months. I was floored when we calculated that. Like I said, I see her often and the last time I saw her a month ago I thought I saw a baby bump but I never would have guessed 6 months!!
I told her that I am willing to help her in any way that I can. I am in the process of finding a specialist in Addis Ababa that can help her. With her having HIV and cancer, there are so many issues to overcome.
But in the meantime, I am going to fatten her up!! I bought her 60 eggs, a huge thing of peanut butter, lentils, oats, juice, prenatal vitamins, and other assorted items. I will check on her each week to see what else she needs.
I think sometimes it’s easy for us to judge people and have thoughts like “You can’t properly support the kids you do have, why are you having more babies?” But I know her personal situation (which I will not air in public) and I choose to help her because I love her and I want what’s best for her.
Thank you so much to my financial contributors. It’s because of YOU that I am able to help people in this way. I am the one that finds people in need, YOU are the one that makes it happen.
