In September, I was able to return to Ethiopia and be reunited with my family and the Omo Child kids. What a blessing to have met so many wonderful people in the United States who are partnering with us to rescue and care for Mingi Children, and support our mission of education and advocacy.
Since my return, I have been very busy managing the start of school at Omo Child Primary School, meeting with various local leaders to move our mission forward, and just enjoying being with my family after one year away.
This month, I visited my home village in the Omo Valley. While there I was able to speak with families and elders about Mingi and how to stop the practice.
I was also able to share the mission and vision of Omo Child on national Television! One morning while working in my office, I received an email from a new EBS TV show. The subject line was "We appreciate your work." When I read the email I could hardly believe it... the email was from a very popular international lawyer named Dagi who is Ethiopian. Dagi has a new show and wanted to interview me on national TV. So on November 21, I travelled to Addis Ababa to meet Dagi and be on the show.
Dagi asked many questions, and I was able to share how we can stop the practice of Mingi in Ethiopia, and indeed in the world.; I also told her about how there have been 43 children killed recently, and shared a tragic photo of one of the murdered babies. It was very sad.
I also shared that we do not have enough funds to reach all the villages in the Omo Valley to raise awareness and save the lives of the Mingi children. We discussed my recent trip to the village and how when I interviewed a father who killed his own child and an elder who has killed many children, they regretted their deeds after I spoke with them about the evil of the practice. She said, "It is essential to raise awareness for all people to support the Omo Child ministry and expand the school project".
We are glad that awareness of our misison is being raised in Ethiopia in addition to our advocates and supporters across the globe.
Would you join us in saving the lives of children in the Omo Valley and in stopping the practice of Mingi?