Letter from WHFC Ethiopian Director

A letter from Dr. Tsegaye, WHFC's Director in Ethiopia.

Dear Adoptive and Sponsor parents:

“……I tell you the truth, what ever you did for theleast of those you did for me” Mathew 25; 45

I just want to take this opportunity to share my joy with you all for having been blessing to my country and me. It is now over two years since we started our program in Ethiopia. Over these last years, we have placed 143 children in the good hands of 118 lovingAmerican families under our adoption program. We havea lso able to assist 282 children with their biological relatives under our sponsorship program.

All of these children are indeed the very few lucky Ethiopian children among the five million needy children in our country. On top of these, we are also able to improve the very poor situation of the medical facilities ofthe pediatric departments of three hospitals in the N.region and in the S. region of the country from your donations to WHFC. The result has been amazing and a miracle of what we have done in the last two years.

It was after the visit of Vicki Peterson and Sarah Mraz to Ethiopia in the fall of 2002 that the program started with out anyprecondition but only with trust. Both put their trust and confidence in me though they knew very little about me at that point. Both ladies have a very soft heart and amazing love for children and respect for our country and its people. As a result, shortly after our meeting and realization of our common mission to help children living with out much hope, every thing continued to go smoothly and show unbelievable change in the life of the children and their family. So all the above achievements in the program and wellbeing of the children would never be possible with out your unlimited generosity and wonderful efforts ofthe leadership and staff of WHFC.

All of you {adoptive parents and sponsor families} are truly God sent saints for us both for choosing to help Ethiopian children and for your understanding to our country’s situation as well as the support you pour out into our land and people in the last two years. I had the privilege of visiting your beauty full country and homes along with the government officials last summer. The officials and I witnessed with our eyes how the adopted children are being unconditionally loved and living comfortably. We were thrill and very great full to every one of you who dedicated your self to bring the precious and beauty full Ethiopian children to your home and to your family. We all were amazed how much these children are fully accepted as they are and loved by their parents and by all the family members.

Being the father my self, I love the lines below that many of the families expressed their gratitude in their letters to me in different occasions. Let me share some of them with you.
“Our home is now complete because of this child”
“We all are blessed by having this child”
“Our child is the precious gift of God in our life”
“We don’t know how would we live with out having this child in our family”.

And other very touching expressions which some times make us cry.

Dear brothers and sisters. Christ, The Son of God was born from a poor family in very uncomfortable Place (manger) where none of us even none of your adopted children were born. Though he is the Son of God and the king of kings, he prefers to be born as the poorest of the poor in order to experience the life of the poor, the life of orphans and the abandoned. At present, when the adopted children are enjoying the white Christ mass with you all in the US, the sponsored children are also thinking of you parents from Ethiopia. Most of the sponsored children and their families have written a Christ Mass letter tothe foster parents in the US. Even though we are faraway across the ocean, but let us join together, be glad, rejoice and be thank full to God for his uncountable blessings on this important X- mass season of the year. I am very thank full to God for His blessings to you with the precious Ethiopian children and you to those children who needed you so much.

We also would like to thank God for the blessings to the leadership of wide horizon for children and all the people who works there to make our hope true. May you all be filled with His joy and blessings in this Christ mass, and wish you happy and peace full new year.

On behalf of my self and the entire Ethiopian wide horizon for children staff.
Tsegaye Berhe