FINALLY! Sister Donna's Heartland Orphanage in Ethiopia

 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!

from handiwork to gnomes(!) in Ethiopia

 My friend Diana brought me a handmade, doily-like hot pad,

when she returned from her most recent trip to Ethiopia.

It had a tremendous amount of detail... so pretty (above)

 Diana told me she had met this woman (left, above)

who had little use of her atrophied legs,

but had become successful since given the opportunity

to participate in a micro-credit program.  

Now she is able to run her own business,

and sell her beautiful hand-made wares for fair prices.

She is showing some examples of her lovely work, above.

Diana is right behind her :)

My lovely hot pad - I will cherish it :)

Thank you Diana - xoxo

~

And now, for an Ethiopian oddity...

 Gnomes in Ethiopia! SERIOUSLY...

Diana saw these "gnomes" on a hotel lawn.

I said, "But that's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!".

Diana said she'd suggested that to the grounds people,

but they had NO idea what she was talking about. 

"GNOMES. GNOMES!", was their answer, hehe.

Ethiopian gnomes - I love it :)

~

Remember me talking about amazing Sister Donna

waaaaay back in May (here AND here)

and how she runs a girl's orphanage in Ethiopia?

And how the girls make beautiful rosaries to sell?

Stay tuned, cuz I'm *finally* spotlighting them,

and the site where you can purchase their rosaries!

Diana's quest

Diana has been my dear friend for 22 years. She has held my newborn babies right after my husband. She has gone on trips with me. She has stayed in the hospital with me. She has helped my kids learn to swim. She has held my hand when the climb was too steep. She is the first one to roll her eyes over my germ phobia :) We have watched endless movies, exchanged countless gifts, eaten an insane amount of Mexican food, received who knows how many pedicures, cried occasional tears, and perhaps most importantly, laughed extraordinary amounts of laughter. Diana has been the most wonderful friend, but she is also the most wonderful person. She is loving, giving and has the most generous heart. I have to tell you about her amazing quest, because it is very important. 

This is Diana and her *awesome* husband Larry. Many years ago, while still raising their 3 kids and just after completing her RN degree, Diana went as a volunteer nurse on an expedition to Ethiopia, Africa. She and Larry took their whole family. It touched their hearts so much, Diana and Larry decided that helping the people of Ethiopia was their personal quest. They have since gone on many expeditions - usually twice a year. In fact, Diana eventually became the person in charge of them. And now, after more hard work than you could possibly imagine, Diana has finally launched her own non-profit organization for the people of Africa! The website is up and it is a beauty! So well done and so informative! You must go visit to see what her work is all about! Click below!

ENGAGE NOW AFRICA

Engage Now focuses on 5 main areas: to empower the women of the villages (the ones who really get things done) through micro-credit programs, to teach about basic health care and immunizations, to get clean water to the villages.....

..... to help with orphan support.....

..... and to help with education for all village children.

In May/June of 2009 my oldest son Daniel was an intern for Diana, as he is studying education in third world countries. He will always be so grateful to her for that amazing opportunity. It touched him deeply. He loved Ethiopia, especially the people. Please take some time to look at Diana's site and the difference she is making.

Never Too Late

I just received my Mother's Day poem from Daniel in Ethiopia. Hey, any mother will agree that these two old adages really are true: better late than never, and it's the thought that counts. Especially when it's something this precious :)

happy belated mothers day! i love you!

here is your poem:

so strange the way our heartstrings play
at times they brave so pure a faith
at times they break and fear to pray
but break or brave, the subtle tune
feels like one you always knew
and teaches in the way it soothes

her heartstrings whisper gentle tones
when love collides with fear and stone
when ice winds blow into her home
but ice or stone, the storm will spend
and she will hear the tune again
her heartstrings blessed and made to mend

love you mom!