Hope for Korah

The van bumped along the rocky road as we arrived in Korah. I braced myself for the sights, the sounds, the smells; the absolute poverty.  It had been nine months since I had been here, but Korah isn’t a place you easily forget.  The first moments were a blur of warm and precious welcomes. So many hugs and kisses.  I stopped for a moment to redistribute the weight of my bags. And there it was! In the middle of Korah, above a rusty torn metal fence – a rose bloomed – a single, vivid red rose.   What a contrast it seemed, a beautiful delicate flower blooming in the midst of such destitution and yet, that soon became the reoccurring theme of my visit. Amidst all of the hardships I kept finding little bits of hope and new beginnings.   Twenty-five of the most impoverished families are being sponsored. They have rent, food and their children can go to school.   The Berta program is feeding children a nutritious breakfast five days a...

Having raised three sons, I can attest to a commonly known fact - boys love new shoes!   There are few items my boys wear with more pride than their shoes.    Growing up in the West, boys shoes are more often a symbol of status than of necessity.   Our closets overflow with pairs to choose from.    Not so if one lives in Korah… Here, some people go without shoes and most others are taped, pinned, full of holes and worn thin.   Korah shoes are a symbol of poverty.         When someone gets a new pair of shoes in Korah – it is a big deal!   Recently we had the opportunity to bring shoes to Korah and on one particular day our van had a crowd of boys surrounding it, just waiting and hoping we would have a pair for them.         Two of the boys, Warkesaw and Habtamu stood there, with