Fayo and Moti are twin boys born in a Mus!im village in Ethiopia. Securing a spot in our 2-year kindergarten program for the brothers was their mother’s strong desire.  The boys’ father, Abiti, is a farmer, but the land has been dry and unforgiving. It has not rained enough, and crops are stunted. Dad is also hampered by not having oxen to plough his land.

Shumba, the boys’ mother who is pregnant with her third child, works hard gathering firewood and hauling water.  She is weak from lack of food exacerbated by the strain of carrying another child.  Shumba leans heavily on the help her daughter, 12-year-old Makiya, gives her.

The family lives in an old, leaky hut that offers little protection from the elements. The five of them huddle together on the floor at night covered with a thin blanket.  It is no mystery why Fayo is plagued with unrelenting ear infections and has nose bleeds and Moti’s chronic cough racks his little body.

The family’s abject poverty won the brothers a place in our Mana Gammachuu (Joyful Place) kindergarten, and their education is paid for by sponsors in the U.S.

The daily lunch with protein and a multivitamin has helped with the boys’ energy level and they are now able to participate in soccer games or tag at recess.

Shumba and her husband have come to faith in Jesus but are struggling because of the intense pressure from their extended family and neighbors to return to Is!am.  They welcome visits from the pastor who listens to their problems, reads God’s Word to them, and prays.

Imagine the surprise when they learned that sponsors of the boys sent money to buy them clothes!  The family can hardly fathom why people in faraway America would care so much they would buy their boys brand new outfits.  It is the first time the twins have had shoes!