Meron Masrecha, 9, was adopted by her aunt, Tadeletsch, when her mother died of AIDS. The Meserete Kristos Church gave Tadeletsch a grant to help her raise her niece. Ethiopian church responds to AIDS
Nancy Charles Nine-year-old Meron Masrecha lost her mother to AIDS two years ago, becoming one of an estimated 1.2 million Ethiopian children who have been orphaned by the disease. Meron was fortunate to be adopted by her aunt, Tadeletsch, who has children of her own. "It was difficult to feed another mouth," Tadeletsch says. "But family is family, and God wants us to stay together." Still, Tadeletsch did not have the means to adopt Meron's sister, who is being raised in a distant town, and the two have not seen each other since their mother's death. "She lives far away, and I can't see her," Meron says with tears in her eyes. AIDS is taking a heavy toll in Ethiopia, where the United Nations estimates that 5,000 adults are infected with HIV every week. Although Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world, the government and nongovernmental organizations are working hard to combat the disease. Tadeletsch asked for support from her community to be able to raise her niece. She found it from a local congregation of the Meserete Kristos Church, an Ethiopian denomination that belongs to Mennonite World Conference. With support from MCC and German Mennonites, the Meserete Kristos Church helps its congregations respond to the effects of HIV/AIDS in their communities. Local initiatives include drama presentations to lessen the stigma of living with HIV/AIDS and small grants to help orphans. Ika Kejella, a regional HIV/AIDS coordinator for the Meserete Kristos Church, gave Tadeletsch a grant of 300 Birr, or $44 Cdn./$35 U.S., to help her raise Meron. Kejella advised Tadeletsch to invest it by buying and raising sheep, which she did. "I fed the sheep until they became fat, then my aunt sold them at the market," Meron says with a smile. The profits are helping Meron go to school, which she enjoys very much. "My favorite subject in school is math," she says. Meron says that someday she would like to become a pilot — a dream to travel as far as she wishes to go.
Nancy Charles teaches English at Meserete Kristos College, Addis Ababa, as an MCC worker in Ethiopia.
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