Booked my flight:)

This past Friday, I booked my flight to Ethiopia! I'm leaving February 25th and will be returning March 6th. I'm going with Ryane's mom, Pam, and we will have a very busy and productive week!

We will try to spend as much time in the Mt. Entoto community as possible. Right from the airport, we will head to Mt. Entoto to observe the Saturday school program. This is a program for kids in the community to attend to work on their English, sing songs, and have a good meal. Mesfin, the man who started the program and who was funding it out of his own pocket until Connected in Hope came along, says that many families in this community only eat one meal a day. So, to receive a meal is a big deal. Mesfin has been reporting to Ryane each week the number of children attending the program. It seems that around 120-140 kids come each week, with new kids every week:) Mesfin has also appointed people in the community to serve on an Advisory Committee. This ensures that the ideas we come up with are truly fitting the needs of the community. Pam and I will meet with the Advisory Committee while we're there. I am also hoping to put my newly acquired photography skills to good use. We need to get pictures of the families and children in the program as well as pictures of the Saturday school in progress and the community itself. I can't tell you how excited I am to have a totally new environment to photograph!

We're also currently brainstorming ways to help the families in the community better support their families. We would love to establish as women's cooperative in which select women would make a product that we would then buy from them at a fair price. We would bring the product back to the U.S. and sell for a profit. The money made would then go back into the Connected in Hope funds and help support our programs. Another idea is to help families establish a "business" through microlending. We would loan them money to get started say beekeeping or raising chickens and they would pay us back over time.

We have so many ideas for this foundation...it's really exciting to be a part of. I think this trip will be a great way to find out what is feasible and what may be a bit of a stretch. But, one thing I know for sure, with God on our side, Connected in Hope is going to do GREAT things!