A Widow's Mite

“We will contribute Irish potatoes, milk every other month, butter every other month, 50 kgs (110 pounds) of wheat, 50 kgs (110 pounds) of roasted barley, and one set of new clothes for every child every year.”

These were the words of the Management Committee of the Father’s House in Koncko, Ethiopia, when I was visiting recently to encourage the local church in their ministry to care for the most abandoned and abused children in their community.

Koncko is in a very rural part of Ethiopia and most of the members of the church are subsistence farmers. As I was listening to them explain what their local contribution would be in caring for the “least of these” children in their community, I thought to myself, “This is what the ‘widow’s mite’ looks like today in Ethiopia.” The little that they had, they were willing to share with God’s children.

Koncko Father’s House Management Community and children above

This seems to be the way of life for this local Kale Hiwot Church (KHC). Almost every spare square foot of their church land is being cultivated with food crops in order to supplement the church’s budget. They started a school and constructed it out of very local materials and their own labor. Unfortunately, the government came in and closed it down because the structures were not up to code. But, they had offered what they had.

With such enthusiasm from a local church, how can we at GO Project not respond and add on to what they are doing? So, GO Project helped bring the school buildings up to code, and the government has blessed it. The first school year is now complete, with 50 children who advanced from the church’s nursery school having now completed 1st Grade. Construction of a school block for 2nd Grade is almost completed and those 50 children will be able to continue their education.

The Father’s House can currently accommodate 16 children, but they still have four beds that are not yet filled. The church wants to make sure they are not splitting up families, but are bringing in children who are truly abandoned and have no one to care for them or champion their care.