Photos from Christmas day, 2012

the boys posing in front of the t.v Christmas present! L-R Desalee, Tesfa Michael, Bereket, Temesgen holding one of the caregiver's son.

Girls posing in front of the t.v L-R Winishet, Gabbayaw, Ytinet, Asrasi and Mekedes

watching the t.v installation

skyping me on Christmas day

installing a satellite dish

Sindu holding a coffee ceremony for Christmas

YES! Ashley Haven is still going strong!

Looking over the statistics of page views for the this blog, I realised that there are still plenty of people stopping by this blog, either because I've told people about it, or they are being directed here via google. Regardless of how you ended up here, thank you for your interest in the Ashley Haven project! Lately, I have been mostly sending out emailed updates to sponsors and supporters of the project, but I am going to resurrect this blog because the project is still going strong and people outside of my immediate network of supporters should know about it!

So the project in a nutshell, is called the Ashley Haven Project. We work in Lalibela, Ethiopia and our main project is a children's refuge which has been home to 11 kids since November 2009. I sometimes call it an orphanage, but in reality it is more a refuge because not all of the children are 'true orphans' in that some do have a living parent, but they are unable to care for their son/daughter for different reasons, mostly mental health problems. This project provides employment currently to  a full-time guard, 2 live-in caregivers, a full-time cook and a tutor. We have recently started a partnership with the Hamlin Fistula Foundation in Ethiopia, where we are hiring ex fistula patients who have no family or community to return to post operation, as caregivers at our refuge. We hired our first carer through the foundations recommendation several months ago and it has been a huge success. Our new caregiver Sindu came to us with her 3 year old son and he has been a great playmate for our youngest girl at the refuge. Sindu has embraced the opportunity to create a new future for herself and her son by immediately enrolling them both in night school and kindergarten. We are thrilled to be able to help her create this positive future.

We are also in the process of opening a crèche at the refuge and are presently converting one of our school rooms for this purpose. We plan to offer a day time crèche service, where single mothers/ parents who need to work to survive and have no family backup, can drop their babies or toddlers off for the day and pick them up after work. There is no service of this kind in the area and we hope that it will be received positively. The local Kebele is very supportive of the idea, so fingers crossed! If there is enough demand, we will look at hiring a day time carer for the crèche. 

As for the kids themselves, they are all absolutely thriving! It's hard to believe they are the same kids that we took in only a few short years ago. The physical transformation has been huge. More than that, the personal changes have been just as monumental! They gave us a fair amount of trouble to begin with (to be expected) but these days are just the most kind, generous and respectful kids you could ask for! They are all towards the top of their classes in school and all work and take their education very seriously.

We are still located in a rented compound, but are hoping someday soon to find a block of land on which to build our dream permanent home with more space! Using eco-friendly techniques and create some lovely permaculture gardens where we can have gardens again and keep animals.

Anyway, must go.. will update again with pics soon!

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!

Happy Ethiopian New Year!

Well the new year has begun in Ethiopia and I feel really positive that this year is going to see some real progress for the orphanage. I am already planning a trip back in March/April next year and am really keen to kickstart a few new projects while I'm there. There are also a few things that need to be sorted out, I need to look at the accommodation and whether or not we can keep renting the property for another year and if not, alternatives etc. I want to assess the kids bedding, I think it must be really getting to the stage where we need new/more beds and definitely more sheets/blankets. New gardens need to be planted, I want to build a proper chicken coop so we can start raising chickens (we had half a dozen chickens who were living on S's grandmothers property as it is fenced and bordered by other houses as opposed to our property which backs onto a hill..regardless, the chickens are now deceased..)
the kids love the eggs though and they're such a great source of protein, vitamins and minerals!
It's also high time the first steps were taken towards self-sufficiency. I have plenty of ideas for this and am SO keen to do some serious fundraising between now and next year so that I will have the funds to take those first steps. My plan is to open 2 small businesses that work together to achieve two aims. The first is obviously generate funds to sustain the orphanage. The second aim, however, is to help the wider community. It is all well and good to help the 11 kids fortunate enough to be given this wonderful chance in life, but it's also important to spread that help a little wider to the community as a whole and one of the ways I want to do this, is by empowering community members to help themselves. Oh I am ITCHING to just spill the beans about these plans! I am hesitant though, because there are plenty of people out there looking to cash in on the boom that's happening in Lalibela at the moment and even though I'm talking about charitably business, business IS still business and I would hate for my ideas to be poached before I have the chance to implement them!

For now, there is a lot of work to be done fundraising and organising before next March/April. I will really need every cent I can raise through fundraising if these ideas are to become reality, so if anyone has frequent flyer miles they would like to donate to help me get to Lalibela next year, let me know! Sometimes I kick myself for opening an orphanage in the furthest possible place from Australia.. while studying full-time and earning a very meagre income.. but then I remember how malnourished Bereket was or I wonder how long Wineshet would have lasted living on the streets and I'm glad I chose this path. They couldn't have just waited around for me to finish my degree and establish a career for myself. They would have become another UN statistic of child mortality in Ethiopia.

long time, no post!

Well it's been far too long since I've updated the blog, so here's the latest news:
An Incorporated Association has been formed in Australia which will oversee orphanage business, manage funds, fundraise etc. The corporation is called "The Ashley Haven Project" and I am in the process of opening a new bank account in it's name so that any donations or sponsorship monies can be paid directly into this account. I will have those details tomorrow and will let people know the new account number then. Next goal is a new website! I am also looking at options for a fundraiser to be held later in the year, so stay tuned for that..

As for news from the orphanage itself, the kids have a month left of their 'end of year' school holidays and they were getting more than a little restless (I don't like the term 'bored'..)and requested a school tutor be hired to teach them for the rest of the holidays. Of course I was more than happy to oblige them, so a tutor was found and hired for the month on the proviso they focus particularly on studying english (as well as Amharic and maths)because they really are quite lazy when it comes to learning english despite the many fun english learning aids I've bought over for them!

I think I updated last time that our main full-time caregiver Sabilah left us, sadly! Sabi was only 16, despite looking a LOT older and she didn't want to be tied down to such a demanding full-time job, which I can understand. Sabi has been a huge help to us over the past 8-9 months particularly when the orphanage first opened and we couldn't afford a second caregiver. So it is sad to see her go, but fortunately when I was in Lalibela in February/ March I was able to hire a second caregiver Zidal who has turned out to be the most delightful, trustworthy, genuinely kind hearted girl and after Sabi left, Zidal stepped up into her role as main caregiver and has been wonderful! We have now found another caregiver though, an older lady named Tesfa who so far has been working out just fine. I haven't met Tesfa yet and am quite keen to, however, our manager's grandmother recommended her to us and this lady has not yet steered us wrong!

So we have our quota of staff once again and I have since asked the orphanage manager to ensure that each staff member is assigned one rostered day and night off per week on top of the time off here and there they all take when needed. Hopefully this will improve staff working conditions and morale etc and we will be able to keep staff longer. Of course it's all a matter of trial and error and we will work things out as we go!

The other thing I wanted to include in this update is some financial information about the working of the orphanage for those interested. I know when I was researching the prospect of opening an orphanage in Ethiopia, I found it very difficult to find this kind of info.

A basic breakdown of our costs per month:

Food
bread- 780 Birr
shiro- 100 Birr (ground spicy chickpea powder made into a stew)
lentils- 200 Birr
teff- 750 Birr (to make injera, the national bread)
sugar- 320 Birr
tomato paste- 100 Birr
Pasta- 400 Birr
Vegetables- 300 Birr
meat- 1000 Birr

Food total of approx. 4000 Birr ($295 USD/ $330 AUD)

Rent 4500 Birr ($335 USD/ $372 AUD)

Wages 2900 Birr ($212 USD/ $235 AUD)

---------
All up per month the orphanage costs $842 USD per month/ $937 AUD per month to run.

This bare figure does not factor in the kids clothing/ shoes and school equipment 9pens, books etc into consideration as I don't send this money over on a monthly basis, I take as much clothing and school equipment as I can carry whenever I go to Lalibela (aiming for twice a year where possible!!) as the stuff you buy there is very poor quality and wears out far too quickly! If I can't make it over though, or someone else I know isn't heading there, I send a couple hundred dollars over and get the manager to buy them what they need. Oh the other thing I haven't listed is soap- the kids go through A LOT of soap. soap for washing themselves and their clothes.
I send around $550-$600 a month to cover the expenses of food and wages plus incidentals (hospital, clinic, medicine, pens etc) and I send over the rent every 3 months as I can scrounge it up!! So far we have 5 kids fully sponsored and 1 half sponsorship per month which provides $440 of the monthly cost of running the orphanage, but there is still a $500 deficit per month. A lovely American family have been helping us cover some of this shortfall by paying the last 3 months rent, which has helped a lot!! However, what we really need is to get every child fully sponsored to ensure that we can continue to provide for them adequately each month. If anyone reading this would like more info on sponsorship, please email me at sheridan.ohara@gmail.com or if you know of anyone who is interested in joining with you to collectively sponsor a child, that is an option too! Just send me an email and I will happily talk to you about different options.

Well that is all for now, will update again soon with new banking details and hopefully a new web address!

Sheridan
xx

Photos from February

Hi guys,
Once again, I do apologise for not updating more regularly but as I've mentioned probably a billion times before, I'm a little swamped with work at the moment! Uni finishes in June, so once that is over, I should have alot more time to work on getting the new website up and running (www.ashleyhaven.com) at present there is only a temporary page up there, but expect a lovely new website post-June!

As for orphanage news, it is the rainy season in Ethiopia now and the kids are going a little stir crazy being indoors alot, but I took a lap-top over with me in February for orphanage admin and also for the kids to learn to use and it just so happens it plays DVDs as well, so I believe it's getting a workout at the moment.. after schoolwork is done, of course!

The new staff members have settled in well and Sabi is enjoying being able to spend more time just looking after the babies. Zaidal is still tutoring the kids every afternoon and the kids grades are already improving because of it.

The kids all celebrated Easter with a lovely big feast, the compound was thoroughly decorated and our 3rd goat was brought in from the countryside to be the main course. I was a little upset initially as I was always from the 'you don't eat pets' school of thought, but it wasn't really a pet and as the kids pointed out, it was nice and fat from it's holiday in the countryside..

Now, a couple of pics!



The newest member- 5 year old Mekedes!



Kids and Staff all together


The babies eating a spaghetti breakfast!

Plenty of news!

I do apologise for not updating the blog more regularly, but things as always, have been hectic! I guess that's just life when you work, study and open an orphanage on the other side of the world :)
I have lots of news though! Last month I held my first fundraiser for the orphanage- a charity screening of the film 'Up in the Air'. I was very fortunate to have had so many people turn up to support the orphanage and came close to selling out! Even better was that quite a few people who came, were motivated to make donations to me afterwards and as a result, I was able to make a last minute trip back to Lalibela (before university started). Boy was I glad I did! Everything was running nicely in my absence, but the hardworking staff were really starting to reach the end of their tether, so they were very grateful when I was able to hire 2 new staff members to assist them. Poor Habtum the cook was ready to tear her hair out as she was spending all day every second day in a hot little hut slaving over a wood fire, cooking 30 or so giant pieces of injera (the local sour pancake that is the main staple) for 11 very hungry kids as well staff. This was in addition to making and seving breakfast, lunch and dinner for them. Once I saw just how much work she was doing, I was able to order an electric injera machine for the orphanage so that she can make the injera at the orphanage itself, without slaving over a wood fire. This also means that the huge injera basket doesnt need to be carried from Habtum's house up to the orphanage every day, saving alot of work. I was also able to hire a second caregiver who can assist Habtum with some of the meal duties.
Sabi the caregiver was also well and truly overworked, so hiring a second caregiver who primarily looks after the older kids, allows Sabi to concentrate on the two toddlers and all their washing and cooking etc.
Fortunately, the new caregiver, Zidal is also a grade 12 student who speaks excellent english, so she can help the older kids with their school work.
the second employee is Marag- a lovely young man who for the past 3 months has been carrying the heavy injera basket twice a day for Habtum, unpaid! He has joined staff as a part-time guard to assist the guard, Ayalsew(I've been spelling it Ayatil, but thatis incorrect). He is also tutoring the older children of an afternoon with Zidal.

While I was there, I also took in a 5 year old girl who was previously raised by her grandmother who passed away recently. S's elderly grandmother found her way to the town this girl was living in, picked her up and brought her back to live with her (I think in the hopes that I would take pity on her and take the girl in). Her plan worked, so 5 year old Mekedes has joined the gang! Mekedes is quite malnourished like Bereket was, so hopefully I will see her healthy and happy like the others, next time I return! It was too late to enrol mekedes in grade 1, so we enrolled her in Kindergarten, and although she is older than the other kids, she loves it & very seriously sits down to practice her letters with the other kids in the afternoon.

I also sorted out licensing issues once and for all, I went to Addis to apply for the license and was told by the gov. department responsible that Ethiopia is no longer granting orphanage icenses and is in fact in the process of shutting down some of the larger ones as a recent inquiry brought to light some unsavoury practices at some of the larger orphanages. We were told that in the future, licenses will only be issues for centres that offer temporary accommodation for kids in crisis, until a local foster family can be found for them. As for our orphanage, we were told that the fact that it is small and a family-like setting, means that we don't have to have any kind of license and can continue to operate as we are, however if we grow any bigger, it would be a different story. So as it is, Ashley Haven will continue for the forseeable future as it is, 11 kids living together as a family, going to school together etc and they will continue to do so until they graduate from High School and if they wish to study further, then I will make sure they have that opportunity by creating some kind of education fund for them.
But Ashley Haven will not stop there, it is very possible that in the future I will create a separate crisis centre that offers short term care and finds/trains local foster carers... but one thing at a time! Right now, I am primarily concerned with securing the future of the 11 kids Ashley Haven cares for. I have more to say about this, but will make a separate post on that.

Hope everyone reading this is well!