Birhanu and Decallin First, the happy ending… Birhanu is now reunited with his mother and little brother. WhereLoveIs, is assisting them in finding ways to increase their family income and become self sufficiant. We are now sponsoring Decallin as a foster child with Birhanu's family and sponsoring their education.          Birhanu and Decallin… The rest of the story: In March, 2007, while I was volunteering at the Mother Teresa Home for the poor in Addis Ababa. I became good friends with a boy named Birhanu. One night while trying to sleep on the streets (in an area near Merkato) Burhanu had tucked his arms and legs into his shirt to stay warm, and then tipped over in his sleep and cut his face. He came to the clinic to be treated for the resulting infection that had swollen one side of his face to about the size of my fist - I was afraid he'd lose his left eye. The wound was irrigated and dressed daily until it was looking pretty good (like in the picture). At which point he told me he was leaving the hospital and going back to his spot against the wall of a small shop that offered some protection from wind and rain. I had him wait until I could walk with him because I wanted to check in on him for a few days to make sure the infection didn't come raging back. When we reached the area of the city that he'd been sleeping at night, I just couldn't leave him. The family I was staying with were kind enough to let him stay with them for a while, but we all agreed he'd be better off reunited with his mother and younger brother in Lalibela. It was quite obvious to us that this could only work if we addressed extreme financial hardships that broke up the family in the first place. We decided that I should travel to Lalibela with him, and do my best to stabilize his family’s financial situation. So… on to the first of my bumpy 2-day bus rides to his hometown!  Being the only foreigner on those bus rides was really neat, and gave me many opportunities to make new friends. Birhanu introduced to some of his street friends in the towns as we approached Lalibela. The kids showed me around, showed me their different jobs (lifting crates, shoe shining etc.) One of the boys got us a room in the ramshackle hotel where he worked as night guard (quite an experience).  In Woldia, one of the stops along the way, I met a thin boy with baggy, ripped clothes named Decallin. I quickly learned he was one of Birhanu's good friends. Decallin had been driven out of his home by his father a few years earlier, and had been working in different cities ever since. He was obviously a bit hardened by street life, but I saw a glimmer in his eyes when he told me that his dream was to learn to read. After talking for a while over injerra, the three of us decided we’d try to have Decallin live with Birhanu and his family. We planned to get them both into school while I was there. Birhanu's Homecoming was a beautiful and tender moment.  His family shared a mud and tin shack with two other families, and they obviously all loved him very much. It was wonderful to see the excitement as Birhanu gave his little brother a pair of pants I’d brought from the US (hand-me-downs from my little sister). His brother only owned a couple baggy t-shirts, so he was proud to finally have pants to put on, and Burhanu was proud to bring home this wonderful gift.  I could also see why Birhanu had to leave his home in the first place. There was inadaquate water, sanitation and food, and that lack of necessities touched every area of their lives. It was heartbreaking when one little boy brought me to his mother who was dying of AIDS, and I had to tell him that I couldn't help her... she died a few days later, leaving him an orphan under his teenage cousin’s care. That day I knew that I needed to do more to help.   I've always hated shopping, but market day in Lalibela is unforgettable (in a good way). I bought several goats in hopes of giving Birhanu and Decallin some work that would provide a little bit of income to his family. I also purchased a couple months worth of staple grains, a couple of sleeping pads and blankets, and some clothes for Decallin. It was a great start and we all knew it was a good decision to bring them home. We also knew that we would need to continue supporting and guiding them through some tough times that they would still have ahead. Since that first trip I’ve worked through some struggles with Birhanu and Decallin and some of the other children we’re helping... a goat being stolen, sickness, etc. We even had to deal with teachers who didn’t want to let "bad street kids" back into the school. Finally though, we've been able to get Birhanu back in the 6th grade and start Decallin’s schooling in 1st grade!   Helping this way - person to person, one child at a time - comes with many challenges and some let-downs. We form strong emotional ties to the children and their family’s. It’s almost like being a part of the child’s family. We laugh with them; we council them when they're confused; we discipline when they get in fights; sometimes we cry with them...   The reward that makes it all worth it is to see lives change. Burhanu ranked 7th in his school class (of 63) this semester, and loves his job herding his goats. Decallin ranked second in his class. Burhanu’s family is together and Burhanu is playing the role of provider for his widowed mother and little brother.