Training for Tomorrow

When I returned from Ethiopia, I wrote a post, Fridays in Ethiopia, about our experience visiting three orphanages. It was an incredibly difficult day but it's been memories of that day and the faces of the children we met that have partly been the impetus and inspiration for the volunteer work I am doing for Studio Samuel, a non-profit started by my friend and fellow adoptive mom Tamara Horton. There are nights when I am in bed and I can't fall asleep and my mind wanders to Ethiopia. I think of the kids we met and their living conditions. I think of the older girls getting ready to age out of the orphanage with no support system or skills and that sadly many of them will end up as prostitutes. I tear up as I think of them and the heart ache can be unbearable. But that heart ache is not enough. My tears are not sufficient. 

Of course, my mind also wanders to LB's family. What are they doing? Do they have enough food? The loss that they sustained is enough to bring you to your knees. My love for LB and his Ethiopian family is the other big piece driving me to work past my tears. There have been countless times when I have gone over the details of his story and what led to his arrival at an orphanage in Southern Ethiopia. I know his story is not unique in Ethiopia. So what could have been done to prevent it? Was there a way to keep more children with their families? I couldn't shake these thoughts. The underlying answer always went back to women and mothers. Better education for women. Less child brides. Access to pre-natal care and birth control. I read statistics and quotes like:

The number one cause of death for girls 15-19 is childbirth. - World Health Organization

Educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school. - UNICEF

and

"When you educate a girl you educate a nation." - UNICEF

"If we are going to see real development in the world, then our best investment is women." - Desmond Tutu

I also felt strongly that I didn't want to be part of something that felt like a handout. The Ethiopian people are smart, capable and proud and I think all of us who have been there see that they are on the rise. It's amazing what one can do with education, resources and opportunity. In 2012, Tamara launched Studio Samuel with the mission of providing life skills to vulnerable young women with the mantra Empowerment Without Pity. I knew I had found my place. I was so excited when Tamara asked me to join the board. Studio Samuel has accomplished a lot but we have more we want to do.

Our newest program, Training for Tomorrow, is quite the endeavor but we are committed and believe it will make a huge difference. 

Training for Tomorrow is a  two year sponsorship program that will provide 40 young girls with:

Occupational Training

Life Skills Training

Healthcare Courses

Counseling & Mentoring

Karate Classes

We have partnered with Children's Heaven, an organization on the ground in Addis Ababa that provides programs for vulnerable young girls. Most of them have lost one or both of parents to AIDS. 

The sponsorship fee is $30/month. That is less than $10/week and about a $1/day. 

You will receive a photo of the girl you are sponsoring along with her name, age and her goals. You will continue to receive updates on her progress and will have the opportunity to exchange letters. You will be making a difference in the life of a girl. And if all the data and research is true then you are impacting a family and a community as well. This project is so important!

Will you join me?

You can sign up now to sponsor one of these precious girls. Thank you so much, friends!

International Day of the Girl - October 11th

As most of you know, I am on the board for the Studio Samuel Foundation. It was founded by my friend and fellow adoptive mom, Tamara Horton. Our mission is to provide sustainable skills to young women so they can break the cycle of poverty with dignity. We'll be launching an occupational training sponsorship program soon, Training for Tomorrow, and I will act as the the liaison between the young women chosen to be in the program and the sponsors. I am really excited about it and will post about it as soon as everything is finalized.

In the meantime, Studio Samuel is continuing with our 1 Hundred Girls program and we are looking for your help. You may remember back in January we launched a bra campaign and we were able to collect well over 500 bras for young women and girls at an orphanage in Addis Ababa. We've recently teamed up with the organization, Days for Girls, to provide sustainable sanitary supplies for young women who don't usually have them. Did you know in places like Ethiopia girls will miss school and work due to the lack of menstrual supplies? That can mean DAYS without income. Girls will use leaves, mattress stuffing, newspapers, anything they can find but still miss up to 2 months of school every year when they have their period. Studio Samuel now has dedicated sewers that are making the Days for Girls reusable supply kits! Here are the first 50 assembled kits ready for distribution! So amazing!

October 11th is International Day of the Girl and in honor of this day Studio Samuel is collecting panties to be used as part of the kits and we're asking for an $11 donation to help fund our programs.

Will you join me in supporting these women? CLICK HERE to donate. I would be so appreciative if you would share this with your friends. Thank you so much! 

*Email me at ekbuster@gmail.com if you'd like to mail some underwear.

1Hundred Girls

A few months ago, I posted about my friend, Tamara, and the amazing work she is doing through Studio Samuel Foundation(SSF) to empower young women who are aging out of the orphanage system in Ethiopia with life skills and the confidence to break the cycle of poverty. Recently, Tamara asked me to join the board and take a more active role in the projects and goals that Studio Samuel is embarking on this year. My answer of "Yes!" was a no brainer. I believe whole heartedly in their mission and am hoping, for reasons close to my heart, to be especially involved in their upcoming projects focused on women's health. If it isn't obvious, I am pretty excited about all of this!

Yesterday, SSF launched the 1Hundred Girls Campaign. I wanted to share two easy ways you can get involved and make an impact on the life of a girl in Ethiopia.

BRAS! Yep, you read that right. SSF is trying collect 260 new or gently used bras for teenage girls at Kechene orhpanage in Addis Ababa. I visited Kechene while we were in Ethiopia and I would love nothing more than to help provide those girls with self esteem, even if it's something as small as owning a bra. Here is the LINK with the mailing information to send a bra or bras. SSF needs to receive all the bras by February 1st so they can be sent to Ethiopia in time for the event.

KARATE!! I think it's pretty well known that karate not only teaches self defense but builds self esteem as well. Sadly, many of these young girls find themselves in situations where defending themselves against rape is not uncommon. For only $27 you can sponsor a girl to take karate classes for 6 months! Think about how easily and quickly you can spend $27 at Target (or your favorite store to putz around) on stuff that is simply that. Stuff. But $27 would provide a young woman with possibly life changing skills. Here is the LINK for more information about the karate program and you can read why each girl in the program has a desire to learn karate.

If you are able to send bras or sponsor karate class, would you please let me know? I would love to send you a personal thank you.

"Invest in a girl and she will do the rest."