ET-NewHope

The New Hope Project has developed from a series of donations that started
with $50 that was sent to us while we were in Ethiopia. The donation was
from our daughters' best friend, Anna, who spent hours making Christmas
cards that she sold to raise these funds to send to us. She wanted the money
to be used to help people in need in Bahir Dar. I asked Demelash Yimer for a
recommendation of how best to use these funds, and though it was hard to
choose, because there are so very many needs, the money was used for food,
blankets and tarps, which the people who received them were very thankful
for. Other donations followed and we decided that it might be better to use
the money in a way which might continue to provide funds for the families
who would be receiving it. Demelash bought and gave a family some chickens
for eggs and gave a young boy a shoe shine kit to start using it to generate
income for his family. The shoe shine kit made such a wonderful impact in
this family's life that after that we decided that any future money we received
we would use to encourage people in starting little "businesses". Soon after
we realized that, since these people were now making money, it would be
better still if, (for future funds that would be given out), we asked those who
could, to pay back the loans so that others could benefit as they had. This has
been a real success and the fund has grown to the point where it has now
become an official Devxchange project.

From the contact that Demelash has had in the community, he has had the
opportunity to get to know people more personally and to try to help them
with their problems and to talk to them about spiritual things. From the
genuine interest that some people have shown, and the desire expressed by
different ones to have a Bible of their own, we also want to be able to make
Bibles available to those we get to know who really want to have one.

When our family left Ethiopia, with the kind help of an Australian volunteer
named Ally, we brought some Bibles & books from the Christian book store in
Addis and left them with Demelash as a small "library". He has told us how
very much these books are appreciated and are being used, so we'd like to
continue to expand that library as well. (These books are in Amharic.)

So this is our vision for bringing help and encouragement to people who really
need some "New Hope".