There is an awesome new ministry at First Baptist Church in Hendersonville, NC. The members of a beginners quilting class are using their new-found skills to make a difference in lives of orphans by wrapping them with God’s love.
The needs of children in Ethiopian are staggering. Here are a few facts:
- Nearly 15% (800,000)of children are orphans due to AIDS.
- Four out of five people in Ethiopia live on less than $2 per day.
- Ethiopia is listed in the top 10 countries for the worst human development index worldwide.
- Only 6% of births are attended by a trained attendant.
- One in every 13 Ethiopian children dies before reaching a first birthday.
- UNICEF lists the number of orphans in 2005 to be 4.8million.
- The Ethiopian Aids Campaign lists 5.4million orphans in Ethiopia for 2007.
The goal of the quilting ministry is to give each child that goes into Acacia Village, a facility run by Christian World Adoption, a quilt of their very own. “We want the children to have something to take home on the airplane that has the smell of Ethiopia on it” says Lynn Easler one of the quilting instructors. “Also, we would hope that one day they would understand that they were prayed for during this very pivotal time of their life,” says Easler.
They hope to have 80 or more quilts made by May of 2009. To achieve this goal, they will need some help. A few of the needs are:
1. Quilters or anyone that wants to learn to make these simple children’s quilts.
2. Donations of fabric, anything bright and colorful
3. Donations of money to buy more fabric
If you would like help in any of the above ways, please leave a comment with your contact information. Hands of Hope will forward your information on to the leaders of the quilting ministry so they can contact you directly.
