The goal for Mana Gammachuu orphanage: Every abandoned child brought to us will be given a permanent home through adoption
Our Mana Gammachuu (Joyful Place) orphanage is a response to God’s heart for orphans. When we opened in 2012 as a care center for abandoned babies, our focus was to place the children with Christian Ethiopian families through adoption. In order to do that, we knew we had to change people’s understanding about adoption. Adopting someone else’s child is contrary to Ethiopian culture. For the past five years we have implemented adoption seminar workshops explaining God’s heart for adoption as well as the steps necessary to legally adopt an orphan. Several families have stepped forward and we joyfully placed 17 children into Christian Ethiopian families.
In 2015, the government extended us the privilege of placing a few of our children for international adoption. Over the past two years, 9 children have found permanency in American homes. Since our work began in 2008 we have helped place 138 children into 90 families and we have rejoiced over each placement.
Ethiopia has permanently closed inter-country adoptions, no longer giving us that option. We find ourselves back where we started in 2012. Mana Gammachuu consistently has 20 babies and toddlers in care. As soon as one child leaves with their new parents, another abandoned baby is brought to our door. Over our 5-year history in-country adoption never wavered and remained a first option. But now, with more children needing local adoption, our efforts to recruit Christian families to parent the orphans of their community need to increase. This necessitates more 2-day workshops offered in more towns.
NewLife is glad to be on the forefront of bringing adoption education to Ethiopia and we are pleased with the results thus far. However, with the doors to international adoption shut, much more needs to be done to create a social climate that embraces adoption.
YOU CAN HELP ETHIOPIA’S CHILDREN
If you are asking yourself what you can do to help parentless children in Ethiopia, here are four wonderful choices!
1 – Support Mana Gammachuu orphanage monthly or with a one-time gift
2 – Provide funds for an Ethiopian family to adopt
3 — Fund or help fund an adoption workshop ($2,500 to $3,000/each)
4 – Sponsor a baby or toddler in the orphanage @ $50/month. This provides for education (if old enough), food and clothing.
Thank you for standing with these voiceless children who need a family!