Thursday, May 8, 2008

Kolfe Boys


Since I had sent that one photo of Noah Arone and I with a few of the boys from the Kolfe Orphanage, I thought I better start with that since there have already been questions about the picture. This is a slideshow of the photos we took while visiting this orphanage. It's an orphanage in Addis Ababa for older boys, many of whom have 'aged out' of the adoptive system (maximum adoptable age is 14) so this is their home, until and unless they are able to find jobs and move elsewhere. Several of these boys are in school, a few of them are studying very hard. The blue room shown is their study room.

I'm still absorbing everything from the trip, and this is one of those things I just can't put into words. These boys have so little. And yet the ones we spoke to seemed full of hope. They were very smart and spoke good English and all were attending university, pursuing careers in everything from natural sciences to law. Not all the boys are this hopeful and ambitious but they are all full of life.

The photo I had sent Laura previously is probably the worst room we saw at Kolfe, so I wanted to quickly share the others. I'm trying to think of a way to make these kids lives better somehow. I know many others are also finding a way to help. I'll start by sending a few of these photos back for the boys we met. This small effort can mean the world to these boys. We have seen how they react when receiving a letter or photo. It's a tiny effort for us and just makes their day.

Much more to come...

4 comments:

Shelly Roberts said...

I miss little Noah Arone!!! David and I cracked up seeing this great photo of him in his new home and bed. We were so incredibly blessed by your friendship on this journey. Start scheming to figure out when/how we can see you again! Soon as we left you we ended up on a mad dash as our flight was severely delayed. We ran like mad people a LONG way in DC to get to another flight in the nic of time! Crazy!!! Hope your time home was less eventful. Ha. Big hugs, my friend! ~Shelly

Jennifer said...

Mr. Noah is a-dorable!!
Ok- as for Kolfe, can you email me items you think they can most use? I would love to start collecting items to take when we go over there to pick up our little one. Is it possible to send them mail/cards, etc...?

J, A, T and Y said...

Welcome home....I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

Jana said...

Thank you so much for sharing all of this. We can't wait to go.

So happy for you and Anil!!!!