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Published: December 10th 2013
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Shared bed
These five young ladies share that bed (blankets on the dirt floor). They are living without their parents. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9
For years I have been speaking up for the children in Kenya, before that it was Romania…now it is both. However, I am compelled to speak up for another group of children of whom I just learned about. They are refugee children living in camps in Ethiopia. I heard their story and I must share it. If I were those children I would hope that those that have the power to help would hear my story and respond. On Tuesday I was in a class called, “Perspective on the World Christian Movement” (www.Perspectives.org). I saw pictures of children that live in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. They are children that had to leave their country of Eritrea. It wasn’t a trip where everyone loads up in the comfy vehicle with their suitcases full of beautiful clothing, their i-phones, smartphones, DVD players and snacks going to a fancy destination (as many of us will do on this Holiday season). It was a trip where they got up and fled as fast as they could for their lives by foot.
Their government is one of the most oppressive governments in the world… According to the Center for Victims of Torture, “Many Eritrean refugees are young men fleeing forced and indefinite conscription into the Eritrean military. As the government also targets the families of young men who flee to avoid military service, more women and children also are forced to leave. Eritrean refugees are faced with horrifying experiences. They are routinely raped or held hostage. Many survived multiple persecutions, at the hands of the government as a result of a family member fleeing the country, then, forced themselves to flee, being accosted on the long and dangerous journey to the Ethiopian border. Eritrean refugees that are returned face indefinite detention and torture. But those who flee also risk a perilous journey that includes risk of torture, capture, imprisonment and death. Human traffickers exploit the situation, profiting from Eritreans paying to be smuggled across the border.” The unique thing about this refugee camp I will be going to is that it is a camp set up for minors. There are ONE THOUSAND CHILDREN IN THIS CAMP WITHOUT PARENTS: 200 girls and 800 boys under the age of 17. Some of the children are orphans and some hope against all odds that their parents are still alive back in their country. Regardless…these are children raising children. They are easy prey for human traffickers.
These children left home with the clothes on their back, running from terror in the hot baking sun by day and pitch blackness of night. Their mouths were parched, their stomachs famished and some saw their friends and siblings die along the way. Some were caught by the military… Why am I telling you this you may ask? It is because when I saw the pictures and heard the stories I was moved. My heart is broken for these children. I was not moved to feel sorry for them and to walk away. I am talking the “moved” in that I will be getting on a plane January 18, 2014 to go and meet these kids. I will travel with a team that will be going to spend two week with these ONE THOUSAND children that have nothing…they live in one room shacks, they share beds (oftentimes a "bed" is a blanket on the dirt floor), they have no way to have a job, to buy a piece of clothing, to buy a snack. They are completely at the mercy of the government for any type of aid…and they are at the mercy of strangers that will come and offer them help and hope.
I am telling you all of this because WE CAN make a difference. We, in our opulent wealth (half the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day…let that soak in) can make a difference. I do have anxiety about the conditions; the flies, the mosquitoes, the rats, the food. However, I realize for me it will be only two weeks, and for these children it is a lifestyle. My goal is to help raise $25,000 in order to purchase gifts for the children as well as to help hire social workers to go into the camp to teach the children about keeping safe, to document their stories, to protect the children, etc. My 3 ½ year old is a wild man at times and he has two parents. Can you imagine a place with 1000 kids and no parents?! It is truly devastating.
We are looking for 50 people to donate $500 however any amount will help! You can buy a whole outfit, soap and new shoes for one of these children for $21. I usually do not come right out and ask for funding but I would rather make needs known. However with Christmas around the corner and our country going stir crazy buying stuff for people that have so much stuff (I am not condemning as I love to give/receive presents). We celebrate the birth of Christ with a frenzy of gathering when His life was all about giving. I wonder how that makes Him feel...So, with that in mind I feel I can ask on behalf of the children that have received nothing but hardship. Can you help purchase some clothes for these children? Please pray with me for the children, and if you could pray for our team to be safe and effective that would be great as well. Many thanks...oh so many thanks go out to you for blessing so many already! Spring Valley, HOREC, our sponsored girls, and the Hosanna House are all blessed by your kindness. Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Jennifer Phillips Lawrence If you would like to donate, please earmark your check with a sticky note and make it out to ITHM 23223 South Warmstone Way Katy, TX 77494 Or, donate on-line at facebook.com/ITHMinc
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