Art Washes Away from the Soul the Dust of Everyday Life.

Art Washes Away from the Soul the Dust of Everyday Life.
– Pablo Picasso

At the BCI Academy, we work with many poor and disadvantaged children. These children come from families that cannot afford to feed them or provide them with clothing and shoes, let alone provide them any comforts or luxuries. Some children come from a one parent household and don’t often see that parent because they are out working and trying to support the family. In turn, many responsibilities fall onto these little shoulders and gone is a childhood of carefree fun, replaced with stresses and burdens that someone so young shouldn’t have to bear.

We want to give these children back some of their childhood. We want to spark in them creativity, imagination and excitement. One way we do this is through Art class, encouraging the children to reach beyond their circumstances and use their imagination to create whatever they want. Art class is an exciting time for many children and BCI Academy Principal, Mulugeta, saw this and wanted to highlight it.

Welcome!

Principal Mulugeta decided to open the BCI Academy Art Gallery for the students. This art gallery displays many drawings from different students and allows the children to not only use their own imagination but to also look into the imaginations of other students.

To make the day special, a ribbon was set up and all the students lined up with excitement for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the gallery. Once the ribbon was cut by Blessing the Children Canada’s Sheila Lamb, the children rushed in with enthusiasm to see all the art pieces that had been selected for the gallery. The gallery was filled with the buzz of activity and joy as the students walked around and enjoyed the art pieces.

The children waiting with excitement. Principal Mulugeta & Sheila Lamb cutting the ribbon.????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Praise Report | 142,560 Meals Arrive in Ethiopia!

We are so excited to announce that after 10 long months, the 142,560 meals that we’ve been working on sending to Ethiopia with Kids Against Hunger have finally arrived!

You can read more about the container here: https://blessingthechildren.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/praise_report_142560_nutritious_meals/

It was a long and tedious process with unexpected barriers and set backs, but the meals made it to our office in Ethiopia! In the process, the container incurred additional charges that we were not aware of.

The government allows the sending of food to a registered Ethiopian NGO (non-government agency) to be duty free and since Blessing the Children is a registered NGO in Ethiopia, we were able to receive the meals duty free. What they did not tell us until the meals were in the country is that there is a consumables tax, container insurance, storage and transport fees that totaled $6,800.

In order to stop the container from incurring any additional charges, our staff borrowed these funds to pay the taxes and release the container from the customs office.

The good news is, we have the meals!

KAH Meals at the BCI Ethiopian Office

KAH Meals at the BCI Ethiopian Office

The bad news is, we need to repay the funds that were borrowed to obtain the 142,560 meals.

We have already begun blessing families with these meals and doing family training on how to prepare the meals.

In Ethiopia, their staple food is Injera and Wot. Injera is like a sourdough crepe and Wot is a type of stew (made with various types if meat) that is poured over the Injera. Rice, the main component of the KAH meals, is not a commonly used food item so many Ethiopians don’t know how to prepare these meals and cannot read the English instructions on the package. For this reason, we have begun holding training sessions for the families at the BCI Academy, showing them how to prepare the meals and how to add fresh onions, garlic and oil to enhance the flavors of the meals.

Injera & Wot, traditional Ethiopian dish

Injera & Wot, traditional Ethiopian dish

We are already seeing the blessing that these meals are having on the community and we pray that you would consider making a donation to help us repay the borrowed funds.

If you or someone you know can help with this urgent need, you can make your donation online, via mail, email or phone.

Online | http://www.BlessingtheChildren.org/Donate

Email | Info@BlessingtheChildren.org

Phone | 989-667-8850

Mail | Blessing the Children, 2265 Fraser Road, Kawkawlin, MIĀ  48631

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Meal Prep Training at the BCI Academy

Meal Prep Training at the BCI Academy

Meal Prep Training at the BCI Academy

Meal Prep Training at the BCI Academy