Meeting Chereka

I have someone I’d like to introduce you to. If you went up to her house, she would walk right out and shake your hand. That’s exactly what she did to me before she even realized I was her sponsor.

Quiet, sweet and affectionate, this is Chereka.

Chereka is five years old and lives in the small town of Jido, Ethiopia with her mom and dad.

I expected to be nervous to meet her, and wondered if it would be awkward.  But she put me right at ease with her warm smile.

We sat and talked through an interpreter, and I learned that she likes to play volleyball for fun and her favorite color is pink, just like Leila’s.

I showed her photos of our family.

She ran her fingers across each one.

As we talked, she sat very close, with her fingers wrapped around my bracelet.  Before leaving home, I had Joe and Leila pick out their favorite colors of embroidery floss so that I could braid and wear them around my wrist.

When Chereka held on, I knew I needed to give it to her.  I told her it was a friendship bracelet, and that I hoped it would make her think of us.

She seemed to like that.

For about a dollar a day, our family can make sure that Chereka gets an education, can get medical attention when she needs it, and have her nutritional needs met.

But what makes me even more happy than that is that because her basic needs are being met, Chereka is able to stay with her mom and dad.  So many kids all over the world are dropped off at orphanages because their parents can’t care for them.  Because of Food for the Hungry, this family will stay intact, and Chereka has a hope and a future.

I feel incredibly blessed to be able to see where our sponsor child lives, give her a hug, and tell her she is loved.

I hope to be able to see her again someday, but until then we will write letters, send pictures, and wear our friendship bracelets.

If you would like to sponsor a child like Chereka, click on the box below.

{Photos by David Molnar}