Hello to all my grandchildren!
I feel so lucky to have all of you in my life. Do you know that I think of you every day?! I wonder about how you are feeling, if you are happy, how you are doing in school … if you have a good friend who you can share your feelings with.
I wish Canada was close to Ethiopia so I could come and visit you a few times a year. I am hoping that Ethiopia will be safe for me to come this summer. I am going to learn how to play the ukelele so I can play and sing and teach you some songs. A ukelele is like a very small guitar. I want to learn it because it is small enough I can bring it on the airplane with me when I come to visit you.
Maybe you could teach me a song this summer in Amharic? The song would need to be short and easy because as you all know, your grandma does not speak Amharic. I am going to continue to try and learn some new Amharic words and I hope that you will try to speak English with me. When I am visiting you, it is a really good opportunity to practice your English. I know you might be nervous or shy to try and speak English because it is not easy for you but I would really appreciate you trying.
Our volunteers are working hard to get ready for our big fundraising event called Gems & Java. We came up with that name because Java is coffee and Ethiopia is the founding place of coffee and one of the main activities of the event is for our guests to shop for jewellery and purses. The word Gems in Gems & Java is for the jewellery we have at our event. We also have an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, delicious food, a silent auction (I hope Tesfa or Kal can explain what a silent auction is) and I speak about some of the needs in Ethiopia and how our guest’s donations are making a difference in the lives of women and children.
We are expecting to have 180 guests and about 30 volunteers at Gems & Java. It is a special time for our volunteers because it brings us all together to work for a wonderful purpose … children and women in Ethiopia.
Our organization provides money for five projects in Ethiopia and Tesfa’s Shelter is one of the favourite projects of our volunteers and donors. Do you know why it is one of the favourite projects? First of all, people in Canada think of Tesfa as a hero because he is so brave and he gives so much of himself to help all of you and so many other children and women in Harar. The second reason why your shelter is one of the most favourite projects is because of YOU! Your sponsors and the donors who provide money to the shelter all care very much about you and want to help you reach your potential.
I know you cannot see in person all of the many volunteers, sponsors and supporters who care about you but I hope you can feel the love and care they have for you.
Our winter is almost finished and the next season called Spring is almost here. Most Canadians look forward to the Spring because it means that the weather gets warmer, the grass turns green, the trees grow leaves again, many of our trees flower in this season and the birds lay eggs and baby birds are hatched. Spring is a time of new life.
I take our two dogs for a long walk every morning. I know that is probably a very strange thought for you because dogs in Ethiopia are not walked on leashes but in Canada, many people have a cat or dog or sometimes more than one dog or cat and they live in our houses as a part of our families.
Over the past few days, I have been looking for the spring flowers that are flowering and other flowers that have just started to come out of the ground. Seeing these flowers and knowing that more are coming soon brings joy because I really enjoy the beauty of the colours of Spring.
I am really excited to share some good news with you. For many years, I have wanted to donate a library in honour of my daughter Julia. From the time that Julia came to live in Canada, she has loved books. Before she could speak English, she looked at picture books and I read a lot of books to her. She still likes to read and listen to books. She has learned a lot through books. Hearts for Ethiopia started because of the adoption of Julia. When I was in Ethiopia to bring Julia home to Canada, I saw hundreds of children who were living on the streets and others who were living without enough to eat or clothing to wear. After seeing so many children who didn’t have enough, I wanted to help as many children as I could.
Knowing that most children in Ethiopia would not have books in their homes, I wanted to provide books they could enjoy and learn from. Many people who love to read say that a book can help you learn about a different country, that you can feel like you have travelled to that country without having to get on a bus or on a plane. A book can introduce you to ideas and concepts that you may not have thought about. A book can help you create your own story and your own ideas.
Reading can help you learn new words and information. Do you like to read? Do you like it when someone reads to you? What are your favourite books?
The perfect place to have a library in honour of Julia is your shelter! The reason why it is the perfect place … because you are children myself and all of our volunteers and supporters love and care about. This summer, your shelter will have a small library with books that you can borrow in both Amharic and English.
We have a few volunteers working to select books that I will bring from Canada. There will be many Amharic books purchased in Harar for your library. We will have a special fundraiser to raise money for books. Each year, my plan is to bring some books from Canada and hopefully we can add more Amharic books.
Many of our volunteers and supporters love to read and consider books to be a very important part of their lives. We will all feel so much joy knowing that you will have books to help you develop your knowledge, understanding, imagination and love for reading.
Do you know what I would love to do when I come this summer? I would love for each of us to have a book and to sit and read together for 30 minutes. When those 30 minutes are over, we can share one thing that we learned or that we liked or an idea we had from that book. What do you think? Do you like that idea?
Until I can hug you again, I hope you can feel the hugs I am sending to you from Canada.
Love,
Grandma