December | 2016 | Blessing the Children International

Genet and Yohannes Mamo are teenage siblings who have been through a lot together. They live with their mother in a very small house that is in poor condition. Their mother is blind and cannot provide care for them. Genet and Yohannes do all of the chores, including the cooking. There is no father present since he left the family when their mother accepted Christ. The children are resilient and do the best they can, but as they grow it is getting harder for them to make do in their current living arrangements.

Their uncle donated land for them to build an additional room on their house. Unfortunately, they have not had the finances to build the addition. What a blessing it was when a donor stepped up and offered to cover the cost of this addition. We know that having more space in the house and improved living conditions will make a great impact on the quality of life for this family and we look forward to sharing this wonderful Christmas blessing with them!

teenager-siblings-in-debre-zeyit-ethiopia

Genet and Yohannes Mamo

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Inside the Mamo Home

Genet and Yohanne’s Mother Outside the Family Home

plot-of-land-debre-zeyit-ethiopia Land for the New Addition

In Ethiopia, some people speak English, but most do not speak the language fluently or with correct pronunciation. At the BCI Academy, we encourage our children to speak English and we do our best to make sure their English is correct.

State policy in Ethiopia mandates that all subjects be taught in the local language of Amharic until 9th grade. The exception is English and Afan Oromo – another local language. Beginning in 9th grade, all subjects are taught in English, with the exception of Amharic and Afan Oromo.

We believe in challenging our students to excellence, so we created the English Club to help our students excel in the language. We take the top two students from each grade along with three invited guests, for a total of 19 students. These students do not speak perfect English, but they are the ones who speak better than most.

The students engage in activities designed to promote teamwork and challenge their English skills. We do this with competitions and fun brain games. The purpose of the activities is to show appreciation for the student’s achievements and to encourage others to do the same. The older students are able to practice leadership, while the younger students gain role models.

In November, the English Club had a special opportunity to work with someone who speaks the English language perfectly – our BCI President. It was a privilege for the students involved to have this time with a native English speaker, and they enjoyed the opportunity to develop their skills.