We received an email yesterday from our adoption agency highlighting the below sad statitics for children in Ethiopia.
Issues Facing Ethiopian Children
In 2005, Ethiopia had an estimated 4,414,000 orphans and 1,563,000 of these were AIDS orphans. The estimated number of children living in the streets of Addis Ababa alone is currently 60,000 - 100,000. These street children sleep on the dangerous city streets and the city's garbage containers are often where these little ones find food.
* 43% of children (5 to 14 years) are involved in child labor.
* 74% of women (15 to 49 years) have undergone some form of female genital mutilation/cutting.
* Malnutrition is responsible for more than half of all deaths among children under age five.
* The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is 4.4%, Approximately 1.5 million people are living with HIV, some 120,000 of them children.
Proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Have you read "There is No Me Without You" by Melissa Fay Greene? I've been reading it for 2 months and am only about 100 pages into it because I get so emotional reading about how the AIDS crisis in Africa has impacted so many children. The actual stories are incomprehensible. If you haven't already read it, it's a "must read."
ReplyDeleteYes! We're reading it right now! And I want to cry after every chapter!!! love you friend.
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