AHOPE

Just thought I would post about an amazing organization affiliated with our adoption agency, AAI. It is called AHOPE and stands for African HIV Orphans: Project Embrace. You can find them on the web at www.ahopeforchildren.org.

Many orphaned children test positive for HIV. Because there is so much misinformation and superstition surrounding HIV and AIDS in the Ethiopian population, relatives are often reluctant to take in children whose parents have died of AIDS.

Adoption Advocates International (AAI) screens all of the children who come into their care for HIV. ONE in SIX children tests positive, so AAI established a special facility to care for these children. The executive director of AAI encouraged a friend to establish a non-profit organization in the U.S. to fund the home for HIV orphans. That is how AHOPE came to be.

AHOPE for Children provides:

• Pleasant and well staffed children's homes that care solely for children who have tested positive for HIV.
• A loving and stimulating environment for the children as long as they live.
• An ongoing community program to educate about how to curtail the spread of HIV and how to live safely with a person who is HIV positive.

Fortunately, it looks like the Ethiopian government is about to allow the importing of ARV drugs (anti-retroviral medication) into their country, which will offer these children a much brighter future. So, AHOPE will also be preparing these children to lead independent, adult lives as well. The HIV positive children at AHOPE are also no longer considered "unadoptable," so many of them have been finding "forever families." There are two AHOPE homes in Ethiopia now caring for 60 HIV positive orphans.

The website has a wonderful, short video on these precious children who are just happy as can be, singing Bible songs, etc. They need people to be sponsors ($30 per month to sponsor a child and you receive photos and info on the child, plus you get to correspond with them, etc.) or you can also make a one-time, tax deductible donation. And of course they need your prayers!

I was not aware that there were so many orphans living with HIV and AIDS. We're hoping to travel to Africa to get our child (when the time comes) and if we're able to do that, we hope to spend some time with the beautiful children at AHOPE.