Where are the children in Ethiopia?

I have repurposed a couple of pictures of the Heitritters Family Blog. (With their permission of course, Thanks Steve and Laura) They just returned before Christmas from Ethiopia. They were there picking up two sisters. They took some great pictures that will better explain where the children come from and where they stay while they are waiting for their families to pick them up.

This picture is the Hosanna Drop off center. Hosanna is the name of the town which is located approx 6 hours south of the Capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. This is the place to where the children are brought when they are found. There are several different ways that children come to be here. Perhaps there parents have passed away and extended family cannot take care of them. Sometimes parents themselves will bring the children in when they are unable to care for them any longer. Sometimes the police will bring children here when they have been abandoned. Abandonment is the most common for infants whereas relenquishment is more common for toddlers and children.

Next time you complain about doing the dishes, remember at least you are not washing in a bucket with the garden hose.

Here is a picture of the kitchen at the drop-off center.

Here is a sign pointing the way to the drop off center.

The children only stay at the Hosanna center for a short period of time before they are transfered to the main care center in the Captial of Addis Ababa. Here is a picture of the outside of the care center where the families stay when they are in Ethiopia. All of the families that we talk with tell us how impressed they are at the care the children recieve at the care center. The ratio for child to caretaker is 2:1 for infants and 3:1 for toddlers and children. Children are tested for HIV and other basic illnesses prior to being referred to a family. The children receive excellent care under the supervision of CHSFS Ethiopian staff which includes a full-time pediatrician, full-time nurses and an English teacher.

These two pictures are of the CHSFS compound.

This is a picture of inside the school at the CHSFS compound.

Here is a picture of the nursery at the care center.