One of the major reasons, Ethiopia made sense to Scott and I was because of the level of extreme poverty-- it is one of the poorest places in the world -- and the high number of orphans living there today. Some 5 million orphans (about 12% of the population) live in Ethiopia today. That's the same number of children under age 18 who reside in Massachusetts, New York State, and Washington DC combined. If every parent in those places died tonight - that would be similar to Ethiopia's orphan crisis. On an individual level, each child is someone's daughter, or son; someone's sister or brother; someone's friend or grandchild. Someone made in the image of God. That child has a name, a birthday, and a great need for a new family. For that child to be available for adoption, some tragedy has struck the birth family. Scott and I want children, and feel that adopting from Ethiopia is one way to help. We feel strongly that adoption is just one way to help the 142 million orphans around the world, but that there are many ways to get involved with helping end this crisis. Please spread the word.
In Ethiopia:
* 1 in 10 children will not reach their 1st birthday.
* 1 in 6 children will not celebrate their 10th.
* Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Over half the population lives on less than a $1 a day. The average income in Ethiopia is US$100 a year. Almost 82% of the population lives on less than $1 a day.
