Ashley Haven

Hi Everyone,

With all the news coverage regarding the famine in the horn of Africa, some of you might be wondering how the orphanage is faring and whether or not we have been affected in Lalibela. well, the Lalibela region has been in drought for some time now and because of this, the price of food has doubled over the last 12 months. It has not reached the point of famine yet, but if crops keep failing, it could be on the cards. The Lalibela region (North Wollo district) was one of the worst affected regions in the country during the famous 1984-5 famine, so people in the town are pretty anxious right now. Rising food prices has really put a strain on the orphanage's budget, however, as food is one of our biggest expenses and we are presently feeding 9 children with voracious appetites, as well as 6 adults! Since less than half of the children are being sponsored, we urgently need more sponsors to help with the shortfall. If you know anyone who is interested in sponsoring a child, please give them my contact details or forward this email to them! Why not organise for your workplace to sponsor a child and have co-workers put in $5 a month, or split the cost amongst a group of friends? It's very easy to make a huge difference to one child's life.

I am planning a trip to the orphanage in October, and if I can get a few more sponsorships (or donations!) for the kids, I would love to take in another 2 kids. We have 2 spare beds at the moment, but until I can secure more funding for the orphanage, I will not take more in (as much as I would love to!!).

I have just finished creating a facebook page for the orphanage, if any of you have facebook and would be so kind as to 'like' our page, it will help spread the word via facebook. The page is at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/The-Ashley-Haven-Project/111003365655931 you don't need an account to view the page. There are recent pics of the kids taken a few months ago there, with their new mattresses and blankets. The kids are in dire need of new clothes, but fortunately I can take 40kg of donations over with me in October!

Our manager, Solomon, is currently searching for a local to come to the orphanage of an afternoon to teach the kids a handicraft like basket weaving,so they will have more skills to help them earn their own living in the future (assuming they don't choose to go to university, which we are hoping they will!). Our eldest boy, Gashaw is also still studying art and has become quite the artist! We are applying for an official license to operate the orphanage in September, we have a court date for then. This will also help us with our application, as Ethiopian authorities like to see that we are equipping the children for their futures.

Hope you are all well!