Tsion’s* son, Abera*, was sponsored through the Ambo child sponsorship program. Tsion recently shared her story.
*Names marked with an asterisk (*) have been changed to protect privacy
Tsion was born in the countryside of Ethiopia. Her mother died when she was young, leaving her father to care for her and her two brothers. When she was old enough, Tsion started working at a restaurant in Addis Ababa. She worked there for five years, saving money for her education. However, when her father became sick, Tsion used all her savings to pay for his medication. Sadly, her father passed away.
Tsion met her husband at her job, and they had their son, Abera. When her husband died in active military service, Tsion found it nearly impossible to support herself and Abera on her own. She took odd jobs washing clothes or taking care of people’s houses, but the work was sparse.
When she finally got a job at a shop, the employers fired her after they realized she had a child and could not work as much as they wanted. During this time, a neighbor had compassion on Tsion and began to support her. They eventually married, but her new husband left after their son, Degu*, was born. Now Tsion had two boys to support on her own.
In the last few months, Abera was sponsored through the Ambo child sponsorship program. Tsion has made friends and smiles when she speaks of the other women in the program. Every two weeks, she goes to her self-help group where she receives skills training.
Now that Tsion, Abera, and Degu have food to eat, they can start to think of the future. Thanks to the program, Tsion hopes her boys will grow up to get an education and become respectable men. She hopes she can find a job and afford housing. She is grateful and spoke blessings over the people who sponsor her family.
Please continue to pray for the 11 newly sponsored children in Ambo, the 219 sponsored children in Addis Ababa, and their families who face many ongoing challenges. Thank you for helping to change their lives!
Would you like to sponsor a child for $40/month? Visit hopeinview.org/sponsorship to get started.