Bringing Macy Home: What made my heart happy today...

Why Ethiopia?

• One in six children die before their fifth birthday
• 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old
• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition
• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years
• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)
• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone, and there are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia.
• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa
• In the 90s the population (3%) grew faster than food production (2.2%)
• Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals)
• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.
• Coffee prices (Ethiopia’s only major export) fell 40-60% from 1998-2002.
• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.
• In 1993, after 30 long years of war, Eritrea broke from Ethiopia and became an independent nation leaving Ethiopia landlocked without any major seafaring ports.

Friday, January 28, 2011

What made my heart happy today...

I just now went to the mailbox and was tickled to find a cd with pictures on it that another traveling family had taken. This adoptive father traveled to Macy's hometown to visit with his children's birthfamily, and was able to meet with Macy's birthmom and older brother as well. (Thanks, Jim!) Above is pictured Macy's sweet "tummy Mommy" with a picture of our precious girl! I think of this woman EVERY SINGLE DAY as I am sure she thinks of her sweet daughter every day as well. It makes my heart VERY happy to see her smiling while looking at pictures of Macy (with her Daddy in the background). Oh happy Friday for me!