“In forty minutes, we raised enough money to support the education, school supplies, transportation and school lunches of Mahlet, our adopted student. That’s crazy!” said one OLS student.
“It is incredible that we have changed the possibilities of one girl’s future,” said another.
“It’s not just the future of one,” concluded the last student. “We are changing the face of Ethiopia. Because Mahlet has received an education, she has the potential to impact others…the possibilities are endless.”
These recent comments by 8th graders at Our Lady of the Snows Parochial School in Reno, Nevada, moved me to remember the very human need to create meaning out of our lives.
Two years ago, these students seized an opportunity to help Mahlet, an Ethiopian student (one of Roman’s Girls). They remain committed to helping her with her education today. We have found that as Mother Teresa says, “[We] alone cannot change the world, but [we] can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
As a teacher I have witnessed my students bring in their own money to contribute to Mahlet, enthusiastically support our fundraising bake sales with delicious homemade treats, donate their birthday cash gifts, happily write loving letters, and create handmade gifts to send to Mahlet and her classmates. Better yet is the understanding that our generosity has been repaid ten–fold. Our class loves to receive Mahlet’s letter written in her language, we love the images of Ethiopia we have seen, we love that we have somehow been able to create a ripple in the waters of life that can make a difference.
We urge you to support the Ethiopian Family Fund and change the life of a child.