I am pleased and honored to be able to tell you about
Sister Donna's wonderful work in Ethiopia.
No Sister Mary Elephant jokes please :/
- or Sister Donna and her All Girl Orchestra either -
THIS Sister Donna is the real deal and she is...
* simply amazing *
Pop some popcorn and settle in for some inspiration...
~ This is beautiful Sister Donna ~
Look at her lovely smile - she's just radiant :)
Her entire countenance shines of love and charity,
courage and generosity, selflessness and warmth.
She is smart, determined, and resourceful.
She educates her girls, gives medical care to locals,
and works harder and longer than anyone I know!
She moves mountains - literally and figuratively.
Sister Donna runs an orphanage for girls.
This is what it looks like now...
This is what it used to look like...
with the run-off water from the nearby mountains
first flooding Sister Donna's Heartland compound,
then becoming stagnant and causing deadly malaria.
Finally, after the U.S. army stepped in to fill the water,
local workers labored endlessly to build a barrier wall.
Over 1,000 donkey carts of dirt (20 per day, per donkey)
built this barrier wall to keep Heartland safe and dry.
After the barrier was built, cactus plants were added
to further anything from getting into the compound.
Local men worked hard to plant the cactus -
children worked picking up stray cactus needles.
Not much is going to get through this!
One BIG concern marked off for Sister Donna!
I wanted to show you some of her precious girls.
Look how hop-scotch is a universal game
no matter where you are in the entire world :)
Here the girls are dancing and playing for joy -
they have new tee shirts and are so happy :)
How sweet is that!
Playing a jumping frog game together -
even the little ones... so cute :)
One of the main sources of Heartland's income
is the beautiful rosaries the girls make by hand.
The income they generate is the backbone of Heartland.
I want to show you some pics of these dear girls...
Even the youngest ones can make rosaries :)
All the girls make their own type of rosary -
each with pretty beads and lovely sterling crosses.
Here is one of the older girls making a rosary.
They are all beautiful - the rosaries and the girls :)
~
Here are some photos I took of the rosaries
when I was fortunate enough to have them with me:
So here's where *YOU* come in if you'd like to help!
To purchase some of these hand-made rosaries,
please go to THIS SITE --------> RIGHT HERE!
On ayindisa.com you'll see Diana and Sister Donna -
Click "view all items"... POW! You'll see rosaries!
Some other important activities at Heartland
include drying hot peppers for "barbari" powder -
Measuring and bagging the barbari powder,
made from the dried hot peppers -
Barbari is a national flavor.
The girls also help in pounding salt,
as salt first comes to them in rock form.
This year's bumper crop was pumpkins.
Above, they are drying the pumpkin meat
and the pumpkin seeds for year-long consumption.
Corn (maze) is an important crop for Heartland,
as maze is the staple of their every day diet.
My friend Diana's organization, Engage Now Africa,
made this maze crop delivery possible.
(Engage Now Africa is in a previous blog post HERE)
Sister Donna teaches these girls EVERYTHING,
from cooking skills to jewelry making,
and certainly the value of hard work!
And that only touches the surface of their education!
But of course little girls love to play too!
The nearby lake, above, is a favorite place.
Sister Donna is trying to make sure every girl
can get one of these dollies to be their friend.
After all, everyone needs a special friend :)
And then there are bittersweet times as well...
This lovely girl was adopted by a nice family!
What a wonderful occasion - a brand new life!
Sister Donna is saying her heart-felt farewell.
I'm sure this girl will always be grateful
for Sister Donna and her Heartland home.
Something that constantly inspired me about Sister Donna
was that she has gratitude in nearly everything she says.
She works so unbelievably hard - tirelessly - and yet
she has a cheerful heart, sees the glass half full,
and finds the blessings and beauty in everything.
Bless you Sister Donna, for all you do!
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