New info

We are lucky enough to live just down the street from another family who is adopting from Ethiopia through our agency! Brandon and Sunshine just got back from picking up their twin boys who are a year old. They were able to visit Z in the care center, and brought back the good news that he has been moved up to the facility in Addis! This means that he is with fewer kids and in the facility that we're going to pick him up in, hopefully in just a couple of months! 

We are so thankful that Sunshine and Brandon were able to see Z and give him love for us. Sunshine said he was content and alert to what was going on around him, and very sweet! They are exhausted from their trip and dealing with jet-lagged toddler twins (seriously, could you think of a more difficult combination?) and have not gone through all their photos yet, but they assure us they got plenty of footage of the care center. There are strict rules regarding photos so they weren't allowed to take photos of him, but we're hoping they got a picture of his bed or something :) We're still waiting for a court date and updates from our agency with new pictures but this news was enough to keep us going for now. 

Lucy Exhibit

We were able to go up to Seattle on Monday to visit Stefan's sister and her family, and to see the "Lucy Exhibit" at the Pacific Science Center. 

The exhibit was partially about Lucy (the 3 million year-old hominid fossil that was found in Ethiopia in the 70's), but also about the "Treasures of Ethiopia", detailing the history of the country and culture. It was so wonderful and completely worth the trip to see all these amazing artifacts from a country we feel very connected to. 

We were able to see some beautiful artwork, basketry, ancient weapons and tools, as well as see Lucy's skeleton and learn a ton about her and how she fits into our history. I have read a lot about Ethiopia, so I knew a lot of the history and had read about the culture extensively, but seeing everything was incredible and I learned a lot. 

I didn't know much about Lucy, so that part was also fascinating. In Ethiopia her name is Dinkenesh, which means "wonderful thing", and she really has been very important for the country. 

This exhibit was intended to educate people about Lucy, but also to make people more aware of Ethiopia's culture. I think that it does both very well, but unfortunately it hasn't been as popular as the museum had hoped. This is probably due in large part to the economy, but it has been discouraging for the museum and other museums have opted out of the exhibit because of that. All that to say . . . go see it! It's only in Seattle until March 8th so you don't have much time, but it's definitely worth the trip if you're within a few hours drive.

Famine

We know that Z is in Holt's intake facility in Durame, which is in southern Ethiopia. They have mentioned before that there are a lot of children coming into care because of the current famine, but right now the Sr. Vice President of Holt is over in Ethiopia visiting the care centers and giving update on their blog.

He went down to the intake facility and was astounded at the number of children (over 50!) and the fact that there are infants being abandoned on a regular basis (he guessed that there was a new baby or toddler coming in almost every day).

Holt really wants families to stay together, so if a child is brought in and the parent just can't provide enough food, Holt provides them with food and a tries to help them get back on their feet so they can keep their children. Sometimes there just is no way to do this, or if the child is abandoned, Holt can't do much to help the family.

The fact that there are that many children coming into care means that the situation in that area is very, very serious and they need our help. At this point it sounds like the intake facility is somewhat overwhelmed and has huge needs as far as beds, formula, etc. Can you imagine 50 infants and toddlers? If you feel called to do so, Holt has a link to a place that you can donated to help with these needs (the blog has the link).

We are selfishly hoping that Z is moved up to the facility in Addis soon, and that we get a court date so that we can go get him, but I'm also so glad that the children who are at the intake facility are being cared for and fed, even if they are crowded! Unfortunately, that is the reality of orphanage life, and that's why it's so important for these kids to get out of that situation and into a home and a family.