It’s been 10 months since Abby and I were in Ethiopia. We’re still maintaining many of the friendships we started and providing support. Since then our family has undergone some big changes which I’ll share more in future posts.
Through all this God’s sustained us and we’ve come through this process trusting there’s a greater plan. I feel grateful.
For new readers, the purpose of our project is help orphans and sustain families (prevent more orphans due to poverty) in Ethiopia. Long term, we want to see more orphans be domestically adopted and stay in their birth country. This requires a holistic strategy, resources and committed people to developing solutions.
I’ve thought a lot about how to approach this huge issue and asking myself this question? What’s the best way to help people get out of the cycle of poverty? Is it sustainable work (work skills, education?) or is it business development and entrepreneurship? I think it’s both.
To underscore why, I like this blog post, “Capitalism takes more people out of poverty than aid” which features Bono (yes, the rock star) who is putting a huge investment into raising support and develop businesses in Africa. In the following video he explains why.
In the video, Bono states, “Aid is just a stopgap… Commerce [and] entrepreneurial capitalism take more people out of poverty than aid. We need Africa to become an economic powerhouse.”
This aligns with part of our vision to help business development (think small businesses growth) in Ethiopia by empowering young entrepreneurs who will ultimately have a positive impact on families (who need jobs to prevent more orphans) and orphans (funding local adoptive families) in the community.
I’m looking to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders who want to make difference in the life of a new entrepreneur in Ethiopia (not necessarily with your checkbook) with your business talents, wisdom and life experience. If this describes you, contact me here or connect with me on LinkedIn.
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