International Hope & Heritage - Christian Ministry, Orphan Advocacy, Missions, Evangelism, Education, Water Wells, Ghana, China, Ethiopia, Christian Orphan Ministry

Our work for education and nutrition in Ethiopia is made possible due to public support from individual contributors to this ministry.

Please consider supporting the work of IHH in Ethiopia. More information on how you can support can be found here.

UNICEF's 2007 report on the state of the world's children shows that 47% of Ethiopian children under age 5 have moderate to severely stunted growth.

Only 30% of Ethiopian children attend primary school. For secondary school attendance, that number drops to a staggering number of 12%.

Compare those statistics to the U.S. statistics of 92% in primary school and 90% in secondary school.

In Ethiopia, IHH has joined in partnership with Compassion Family International (CFI), an Ethiopian charity that focuses on helping children in the name of Child at Lafto drop-in center Christ. CFI operates two drop-in centers in Addis Ababa.

Unlike traditional schools, the drop-in centers are not run by the government. For the children served by these schools, they cannot typically afford to attend the public schools.

Also, these children's parents typically work very long and hard days, leaving the children without adequate care between the time that the public schools are over and the children's parents return home from working.

CFI's solution to helping these children is to create an extended school day, where the children are taught throughout the day and cared for until their parents return to them in the evening. Children in Lafto

CFI programs not only teach the children their basic skills, but they teach the children about Christ through the Bible. Each child grows up with a love of the Lord and a right perspective of hope for his future and the plans God has for his life.

Knowing the importance of nutrition for these children, CFI provides two meals each day for the children. In many cases, these meals are all that the children would receive in the day. Without the nutrition efforts of CFI, these children would not receive adequate nutrition, as they come from severely impoverished areas.

Twice a week, the children's families are invited to fellowship at the center to be fed and to learn for themselves of God's love and redemption.

Peter Abera CFI has operated a drop-in center in Kechene for a number of years, and has recently added a drop-in center in the Lafto area of Addis to reach out to children in that area. At Lafto, CFI is also training single mothers a trade so that they can provide a stable source of income for their families.

Peter Abera is the leader of CFI and has been involved in ministry his whole life. His vision and passion is to care for children physically through nutrition, to give them an education, and to give them the Biblical foundation for a life of service to God.

If you wish to contact Peter directly to learn of his ministry in Ethiopia, please email him at: peterabera@yahoo.com or call at (251) 911-415294.

To run the Lafto drop-in center, Peter's monthly budget is $2,500, of which $2,000 monthly is currently unfunded. Please consider giving to CFI through IHH to support Peter's ministry.

Visit the Support IHH page for more information on how you can be part of Peter's efforts through CFI and IHH to help the create opportunities for stability and to end the cycle of poverty for the children of Ethiopia.