Clean Water Flows at Trees of Glory (Ethiopia)!

Progress continues at Trees of Glory CarePoint in Ethiopia, where we are currently serving and caring for 152 orphaned and destitute children.  This rural community, located about 2 hours North of the capital city of Addis Ababa, is severely affected by seasonal drought and a contaminated water source.  Grinding poverty persists here, generation after generation.

However, ever since Trees of Glory was established in mid 2010, the CarePoint has steadily expanded to serve more and more children and their families - and lives have been incredibly changed! 

Simret, the founder and director of the CarePoint, explained to me last year that her biggest challenge at this point (with 152 children) was the lack of fresh, clean and abundant water at the CarePoint.  Her staff was having to trek several miles to the nearest water spigot in the village and bring it back to the CarePoint on the backs of donkeys - every day.  Serving 152 kids with no running water!!!

I am thankful to be able to announce that the fresh-water well project at Trees of Glory is now complete and the well is functioning!!!  We had a team of volunteers at Trees of Glory in March, and the Program Director for Children's HopeChest (Steve Voyen) was at Trees of Glory a few weeks ago.  Since then - the project has been completed and the CarePoint staff is turning their attention to the completion of a poultry farm now that fresh, clean water is readily available!

We will get updated photos soon of the project fully completed - but the photos below were taken in March and April and show significant progress!  THANK YOU to everyone who supported this project at Trees of Glory CarePoint.  What an incredible blessing this is to the kids, the staff and the surrounding villages!

Photos taken in March when Joey Austin's team of volunteers visited the CarePoint. 
You can see the trench that was being dug by hand to bury the pipes that will
deliver clean water to the CarePoint. 

A guard shack and the playground at Trees of Glory CarePoint. 

More of the hand-dug trench that will bury the pipework from the well. 

Joey Austin's team at the well-head in March, while work was still underway. 

Pipe is being laid into the trench (April). 

Pipework from the well that will deliver water directly to the CarePoint!  (April)

Below - work continues on the building that will house the poultry farm. 

The CarePoint will start a poultry farm for a variety of beneficial purposes - to provide meat and eggs for the kids, to sell meat and eggs in the local market to produce income for the CarePoint (a step toward self-sufficiency!), to teach the children a vocation as they learn to raise chickens and produce chicks, and to provide chicks to local destitute families and teach them how to raise chickens to feed their families and create an income source. 

Now that abundant, clean water is available at the CarePoint, the staff is turning their attention to the poultry farm.  The photos below show the current progress on the building.

Below - Trees of Glory CarePoint has about 6 cows that they use for milk production - for the kids and to sell in the local market.  Yet another income generating source is the dung produced by the cows - which can be collected and made into patties.  Left to dry in the sun, they can be sold for use in cooking fires since firewood is scarce in this area.