news and media: news archives 2004
2004 News
ALM Donors Help Kids from Leprosy
Village
Tutoring program gives children hope for the future
ADDIS ABABA: ALM donors support a tutoring project for children in one of the largest leprosy "colonies" in the world.
These kids ‚ about 1,200 of them -- come from among the most impoverished
families anywhere on earth. They have 
leprosy-affected
parents, and they know the experience of stigma and poverty. Many of their
parents eke out their living by begging on the streets of Addis Ababa.
The project is under the direction of Sister Senkenesh Mariam, whom ALM president Chris Doyle calls, "a modern Mother Teresa."
For years Sister Senkenesh has operated a ministry of love and compassion in the leprosy village, helping "the least of these" develop skills and resources to cope with their crippled lives.
Through this ministry, she learned that the leprosy-ravaged parents had one single, abiding dream: Help our children do better. Help them reach for lives beyond a leprosy village.
They knew that for their children to escape shame, stigma, and helplessness, they must become literate. The few ill-equipped, indifferent schools in their neighborhoods were not doing the job.
They had no money for classrooms, materials, or teachers; but with coaxing and encouragement from Sister Senkenesh, they came up with a plan: they would enlist older students, young men and women who had completed some high school, to tutor the young children.
With fingerless hands, blind eyes, and crippled feet, they constructed humble shelters for the children. Then they recruited the older kids.
Today, the program boasts 120 tutors. The tutors are rewarded with small stipends and scholarships to continue their own education. (ALM gifts support these scholarships).
"This is one of the most exciting, well-run projects in ALMís portfolio," says Chris Doyle. "Donors are investing in futures. The kids I met were miracles in the making."
According to Doyle, the high school tutors have gained a place of honor in their villages. The pride they experience is lifting them far above any dreams they could have imagined. Both the tutors and the tutored children are experiencing the excitement that comes with education ‚ and with hope.
Your gifts help kids all over the world break the chains of leprosy that have crippled their dreams. Please support this work by visiting our donation page and pledging a gift today.
