A PLEA FOR FUNDS FOR FUN!!

I know I have asked for money in the past and everything that I receive goes directly to the children - all of which is extremely important either to their health, development, or for just being kids. The money I am about to ask for is for fun. Please let me explain.

The streets of Addis are brightly decorated in yellow, red and green - the colors of the Ethiopia flag. It is a beautiful site and a great change from the otherwise rolling landscape of big, plain buildings and slums. It makes the environment more playful for children and their eyes upon passing Bole Road, where most of the decorations are concentrated, light up.

The lights are for the Millennium celebration to be held Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. In addition to the lights there are festivities, plays, the grand opening of the first public playground, football (soccer) matches, concerts, and joyous celebrations in the houses of every Ethiopian no matter how poor. It is a holiday marking a change, of which all are hoping for is for the better of Ethiopians after they have suffered so much pain, much of which has been at the hands of its government for decades and decades on end.

All these celebrations, parties, and playground playtime is inaccessible to the 200 children at Kechene Children's Home. ALL OF IT. A few lucky ones will be able to visit living relatives while the others will be celebrating the Millennium just like any other day at the Children's Home as they simply don't have the funds for a celebration.

So… I will be providing the funds for their Millennium Party, and your help would be much appreciated. The agenda is full of fun for all children of all ages and will surely be a memory that they will cherish forever. Donations of all sizes from $5-$50 are more than welcome and will assist me in providing a fun-filled atmosphere for the children of Kechene. Please consider donating, it takes so little time and what may seem like a small amount of money to you will provide an enormous amount of laughs, playing, and fun for children who honestly don’t experience enough of it. Please…

The agenda is as follows:

Dinner celebration (complete with goat meat for which I will be purchasing 4 goats for the children. They cost about $35 dollars each. Soda and cakes for the children to cost about $75).

Circus (the Children’s circus will be performing. All child performers are vulnerable children –including orphans, street children, and children from extremely impoverished households).

Dance (all children will be taking part in the traditional Ethiopian dancing. There will be a special guest who has traveled Europe to perform. He is my Ethiopian dance instructor, a former refugee and street boy who now provides for his family at the most famous traditional dance club, Fandika. He provides free lessons to orphaned children and I greatly appreciate him for donating his time at Kechene even though he’ll be performing later at the Sheraton, the largest Millennium celebration in the city).

In addition, if I can receive enough donations, I’ll be providing little gifts for the children, including some already donated jump ropes from Rachel, my friend who will be visiting at the end of month!

Thanks for reading this and I hope you’ll be inspired to make a small contribution.

(There will be video of the celebration and I can send it home for your viewing…. Come on now… ACT!)