Hiya friends.
I have this little {and by little I mean her 4’11 petite body. Her heart on the other hand…huge} friend that I want all of ya to meet.
I have this little {and by little I mean her 4’11 petite body. Her heart on the other hand…huge} friend that I want all of ya to meet.
I am honored to introduce you to Jolene, her handsome hubby, and their three beautiful, precious, Ethiopian children.
{Are they not the most adorable family ever?!?}
Jolene and her husband adopted these three little nuggets over the course of the past 3 years. While it has been full of many ups and downs, they could not be happier.
During the adoption process, they spent weeks in Ethiopia-meeting the people-learning about the environment, both good and bad, seeing first hand the need that these people are in {especially the children}.
The devastation sparked a passion in Jolene.
She came back from Ethiopia with a strong desire and a heart full of hope to make a change. Not all of the children over there are as blessed as her precious babies, there are thousands that will not receive the love and affection that her little ones will.
After realizing all of this, and wanting to do something more, Jolene & her friend Danielle gave birth to Awake & Alive.
Here is Jolene to tell you a little more about Awake & Alive’s purpose:
“Kechene is a slum of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It would be comparable to camping, but with no electricity, or running water, that is the life style in about 85% of Ethiopia’s population.
Awake and Alive is plugging in to the “forgotten” area of Kechene.
We are going to give HOPE and EDUCATION to as many kids as we possibly can!!
We will be working with 4-8 year olds. The reason for this age group is because so often this age group gets left behind or put to work.
Here is a very typical scenario:
Dad dies (often from preventable disease or HIV), Mom is now responsible for all of the kids-trying to provide for the family. The older kids stay home to take care of the home, cook, and garden, while the young ones normally have to travel to work with mom(they are “easy prey”), so their momma keeps them close to her. Typical work in Kechene for many of these women is walking into the country side, about 5-8 MILES one way to collect sticks, then they load themselves and their young children with as heavy of a load as they can possibly carry and they WALK back into the city to sell their sticks for fire wood.
This means that these little 4 year old babies are having to sometime walk up to 16 miles, half the way back with a GIANT load on their backs to help provide for the family.
This means that these little 4 year old babies are having to sometime walk up to 16 miles, half the way back with a GIANT load on their backs to help provide for the family.
Awake and Alive wants to be able to be the CHANGE in their lives!!
If we can send these young kids to school we can stop this!
Awake and Alive school will also help provide the TINY TINY amount of $ to the family so that the mothers do not feel the loss of not having their young child not being able to help sustain the family financially.
We are talking like a dollar a week at the most!!
These people have no one to step in and stop this crazy cycle of poverty!
No one in Ethiopia will help them so WE ARE!!
I am so passionate about this and the HUGE impact this will make in SO MANY lives!
These kids have nothing but if we can give them an education… that is something that no one can take away!!”
Amazing stuff huh?
So how can YOU help?
Glad you asked 😉
1. Like Awake & Alive on Facebook to stay informed on ways to help make a difference
2. For all of you locals-Awake & Alive will be holding it’s first ever garage sale on June 3rd & 4th. You can help two ways-donate items for the garage sale, or come SHOP at the garage sale. All of the proceeds will go to Awake & Alive which will in return help those precious children pictured above. There is no better way to shop than with a purpose.
If you would like to donate items, please contact Jolene at jolene1021@gmail.com
3. Donate! You saw up above, all it takes to make a difference in the lives of thousands of families is less than $1 a week.
Please consider it.
4. Stay “in the know” through Jolene’s blog HERE, Danielle’s blog HERE, and Awake & Alive’s website HERE.
Jolene-thank you so much for sharing your passion with my readers.
I am SO excited to see the difference that Awake & Alive makes.
You are an inspiration to many{and the cutest mother alive}.
Thank you lovelies for reading today.
Hope your heart is as touched as mine.
Founder and creator of LIY, Erin turned her dream of a hobby blog into a full-time career which she now runs alongside the LIY team! When not in front of her computer screen [with a La Croix or wine in hand] or in front of a mirror taking mirror selfies, you can find Erin spending time on the water, cuddled up with her two pups and husband most likely watching the latest Shark Tank episode, or getting lost in an easy beach read.
