Korah

And we prayed, "God, help us to not forget what we saw. We don't want to return to the rat-race of life at home and lose desperation for these people in need. Give us wisdom to know how to help. We want to make a difference. Give us tenacity to act upon what we experienced and to not lose heart for the people of Korah."

On our last day in Ethiopia we visited the poorest of the poor in Addis Ababa...the village of Korah. Left and right, we had been hearing about Korah for the past year or so. It wasn't until this trip to Ethiopia & building a relationship with our translator, Maste, that we decided to get involved. After all, Masti grew up in Korah, so his heart and passion are to help the people there, for he knows the desperation.

On our first home visit we met this 30-year old ___ sitting on a tiny stool in a dark room the size of my bathroom. She has been hiv positive for the past four years, but as of lately, is very sick. Immediately at looking into her eyes we saw she was in deep pain. I talked with her and tried to touch her as much as possible, to show her she was loved. We brought her gifts of cooking oil, pasta, personl hygeine items, & gave her money. We asked her what was on her mind and how we could help. All she cared about were her 3 kids she would be leaving behind when she died. Riley and I promised to sponsor them and make sure they could go to school. I held her (she was too weak to stand alone), wept with her, prayed with her, and said goodbye.
There's so much to tell and I wish I had time to sit down and gather my thoughts a little more, but this will have to do for now. This family was our 2nd home visit. The man above has TB and can't work so his wife is the sole provider for the family. We were able to buy food, etc for this family & their 3 children.
A few facts about Korah:

• Korah in Amharic means "cursed".
  
• 75 years ago the Ethiopian government moved everyone with leprosy to this area of Addis Ababa.
  
• Approximately 100,000 people live in the slums of Korah - the "outcasts" of society.
  
• The city dump is located in Korah.
  
• The people, both adults and children, spend their days digging through the dump searching for anything to eat or sell.
  
• God is alive and well in Korah thanks to Pastor Sammy Liben and Project 61 Ministries. They have started an education sponsorship program for the children of Korah.

A teenage boy happily feeding one of the men with leprosy

The beautiful children of Korah

Until we gather our thoughts a bit more, I challenge you to google Korah and Project 61 and read about real need. And read about real testimonies of all the amazing acts people have done to help those living in Korah.

Maste, our fantastic translator, with a couple of the boys

Link