Orphanage shower (2007-10-22)

(Originally posted on 22 October 2007.)

On Saturday, 20 October, I hosted an “orphanage shower” inviting friends to bring gifts not for me and my new son, but for the orphanage he has left. In addition, seeing as most of these children will eventually find new homes in Canada (or elsewhere?), I wanted to do something that would benefit the children who are truly left behind and are unlikely ever to find new families, either in a foreign country or in Ethiopia.

I chose two organizations / projects I’ve heard about via the Ethiopian adoptive network. The first is AHOPE, an orphanage that provides care to HIV+ children. They are currently housed in several rental houses but have dreams of constructing an “orphan village” where the children will be housed in family-style dwellings composed of “house parents” plus children of a range of ages. These children are provided with antiretroviral medications and nutrient rich diets that will enable them to stay healthy and live long and productive lives despite their HIV+ status.

The second project is the Kids Hope project. This is sponsored by an organization called Canadian Humanitarian, based in southern Alberta. The organization is associated with CAFAC, one of the two Canadian agencies currently licensed to facilitate adoptions from Ethiopia (but not the agency I am using). Seeing as Ethiopia has so many children without parents, the extended families are straining to care for them. When the burden becomes too great, some of the children will be taken to orphanages, but there are simply not enough orphanages to take care of all the children in need – and frankly, institutionalization is not the best option for children. Occasionally these children are taken in by other villagers or by friends, but all too frequently left to fend for themselves on the streets. The Kids Hope project, which began operations in January 2006, is a community-based project designed to provide an alternative to both institutionalization in an orphanage and life on the streets. The children come to the Kids Hope centres for “education, skill training, medical care, improved nutrition, adult guidance, positive peer interactions, and hope for their future” but live with extended family members or foster families who receive training and assistance in caring for them.

The evening went very well. Between me, my mother, and friend L., we had prepared some Ethiopian food, including injera, doro wat, siga wat, gomen, and a lentil salad, along with chai, coffee, popcorn and peanuts. I’d also printed up a lot of information about the 3 projects for which I was collecting donations, about Ethiopia, and about international adoption, and ordered about 2 dozen books on Ethiopia from the library (some of which I’d read but many of which were new to me!). I mounted some pictures of my son on a poster board and laid everything out on tables covered with some African-themed fabric that just happened to be lying around the house…

Since people were a bit slow in arriving and some of us hadn’t had supper, we started off with the food. It was tasty! The injera tasted perfect, though it was a bit thicker than the injera I’ve eaten in restaurants and the “eyes” were not as even or large. It was also darker coloured, likely because I used brown teff flour. (I can’t say that I saw any white teff flour in the store, but then I was just so happy to find some I didn’t look for any other varieties. But they must have some, since the injera in the restaurant that pointed me to the store was quite light-coloured.) The doro wat was adequate, though not as spicy as some I’ve had, the siga wat was very spicy though it contained only half the berbere the recipe called for (thanks, L!) and the gomen and lentil salad a good complement to the spicier foods.

After eating, I spoke briefly about Ethiopia (what I’ve learned), about the three projects I’ve chosen to support, and about international adoption. Then we all had a look at the gifts that people brought. We didn’t do an official “gift-opening” since most things weren’t wrapped, as they’re for donations, but I took things out of bags and displayed them. We received lots of toothbrushes and toothpaste, a variety of non-prescription medications, quite a few craft materials, some books, a few clothes and a couple of blankets. In addition, people donated a total of $160 that we will use to “fill in the cracks” in terms of items donated, by purchasing things here either in Canada or possibly in Ethiopia for some of the items.

Now we’ll need to sort through the items, organize them by which project is being supported, and pack them up accordingly. Seeing as I still have no word on Poppet’s medical form, I don’t yet have any sense of urgency… but once that dratted form comes through the countdown will indeed be on. Stay tuned.