Hello friends at Tesfa’s Shelter! This is a VERY exciting month because this month, we not only got to write to you, we got to SEE you!
We had a very fun Zoom call with many of you where we got to hear your thoughts on volunteering and get to know your names, ages and the grade you are in school. It was so special to be able to see you through video on the computer screen. Wow, that was so amazing for us.
Thank you for practicing your English and for taking time to share with us through Zoom! We are so impressed with the English you have all been practicing! We need to work on our Amharic and other Ethiopian languages so we can introduce ourselves and use the basic phrases. You all are a big inspiration for us - you are working hard to learn new languages, which is not easy!
Your smiles were so big and could you see how happy you made us? We were smiling the whole day after we got to “meet you” on video! I am including a picture of our video call and our happy faces. We even saw some of you in your Canada shirts!
We loved hearing from Siti, Kirabel and Nati and their thoughts on volunteering. We know it takes time to build up a culture of volunteering. It can also take some work to find the right opportunities where you would like to contribute (and make sure you can do so safely).
Siti, we love your mission to reuse and recycle school books and other supplies so children who don’t have them will have the materials they need! What a great idea you have had! How is it going? Have you collected many items? I have had several writing jobs so I am always finding notebooks around our home. I try to rip out the used pages and put the notebooks onto a desk so we remember to use them up. Your effort also helps the environment by ensuring the paper and other supplies don’t go to waste.
Kirabel and Nati, you had such wonderful reflections and questions about volunteering! You were asking about the right age to start volunteering and where to start volunteering. It’s great to volunteer your time around the shelter and also to share your blessings with people in the community. You are all role models for other children and even adults in your city who can learn from what you are doing.
What do you think is the best age to start volunteering?
How is your season going? We have fall here right now, so all the beautiful trees have leaves changing colour! We also have to start getting ready for winter, the very cold season when many of our plants will go to sleep for the winter and we have to make sure our homes are ready to keep us warm.
We are getting some unexpected warm temperatures, though, which is unusual for October. It was PERFECT timing, because we had a fundraiser to help support the shelter and other projects for women and children in Ethiopia.
Our event was called A Walk in Their Shoes - do you know the phrase “take a walk in someone else’s shoes?” It encourages people to imagine they live someone else’s life, by pretending to put on their shoes and walk through that person’s day-to-day realities. Our fundraiser has that name because it is all about teaching people about life in Ethiopia and raising money for children like YOU!
The same way you like to learn about Canada, and the cultures, seasons, holidays and practices here, Canadians also love learning about YOUR country, and all the facts and features that make it unique. We had a great time walking outside in the sunshine, and walking indoors in the building where there were learning activities.
We raised money to support projects in Ethiopia and we even added more sponsors to Team Tesfa - the program to raise money for your needs. We want to make sure all of you at the shelter have clothing, books, school supplies, food to eat, medication and health care when you are sick, and opportunities for some fun, like your monthly birthday parties and board games to play.
Thank you for teaching us about Ethiopia. We tried to share some of our knowledge with other Canadian friends this month.
Please know we are thinking of you every day and cheering you on!
Megan
On behalf of Friends Ink