M.O.R.E. Stories
Board Member Visits to Medhen
Despite a global health crisis, rising inflation, and civil war, MSC perseveres.
A conversation with longtime M.O.R.E. supporter, Lynn Devereux
Board member, Nancy Holland, is featured on New York Fox 5 as the Everyday Hero for April 2, 2021. Her work with CardsForMORE , and other contributions to the children of Medhen, are featured.
The emotional account of the loss of Rakbe's parents amid the aftermath of the disastrous dump collapse at Koshe, and how MSC helped Rakbe to pick up the pieces of her life and move on.
The inspiring story of Mebratu's journey to Addis with his mother and grandmother, and the transformative services that they received from the Medhen Social Center upon their arrival.
The gripping story of Mare and her brother, which details how the Medhen Social Center made their education possible.
An overview of the Medhen Social Center in Addis Ababa provided by its inspiring founder, Sister Senkenesh Gabremariam.
Dear M.O.R.E. Family, We come to you with the hope that you and your family are staying safe and healthy during these challenging times. This international crisis has left many of us feeling anxious, fearful, and uncertain about the future, yet we still wish to connect with and help others who are much less fortunate than we are. COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in every part of the world, however the people in Ethiopia are facing significant challenges because of the hardships of the virus mixed with extreme poverty. Without access to food, clean water, and other necessary supplies including medicine, the Medhen Orphan Relief Effort (M.O.R.E.) community of orphaned and vulnerable children, their caregivers, and the support staff at our Medhen Social Center (MSC) in Addis Ababa are suffering . Sheltering-at-home is a hardship considering the size, conditions and number of people living in the small homes and very densely populated neighborhoods. Further, the impact of COVID-19 has almost doubled the demand for services that M.O.R.E. provides because many previously successful and independent program graduates, who are now simply struggling to survive due to loss of employment and other unimaginable hardships, are returning for assistance – all without any government support or special funding. They are out of jobs, they cannot find food, and they feel trapped in a world of distress. Remembering a source of comfort and past support, they are asking MSC for help. While we cannot entirely fix this unfortunate situation, with your help, we can give the people of MSC a glimmer of hope during an unpredictable time. This is truly an emergency with life or death consequences. We kindly ask you, our M.O.R.E supporters, to extend your generosity to help us create an emergency fund for the vulnerable people being helped through MSC. We have pledged initial support of $27,000; anything raised in excess of this amount will be used to create an ongoing emergency fund to be distributed based on future needs. While we all may be feeling a little stir-crazy in our homes, it is important for us to find balance and celebrate the “tiny wins” in our everyday life. With your donation we can create a “big win” as we support this fragile community together during this turbulent time. Please donate today!
In celebration of the Ethiopian New Year, and to support the orphaned and vulnerable children that M.O.R.E. has sustained for more than a decade, a very special event was held in New York City on September 11. Over 60 guests attended an evening reception at the famed West Harlem restaurant, Settepane located at 196 Lennox Ave. Settepane’s owner and M.O.R.E. Board of Directors member, Leah Abraham was the host for the evening, along with fellow M.O.R.E. Board members Jennifer Baxter and Yodit Amaha. This date was selected for the fundraising event to show our gratitude for the many years of successful service by all of our donors and friends… and to welcome the New Year with hope, love and peace for everyone involved in the truly wonderful community of hundreds of kindhearted people who have been so generous in providing life-saving and essential care for over 2,000 orphaned and vulnerable children of the MSC program in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event’s highlight was the screening of a wonderful New Year’s festivity video message from a group of the children who are supported by M.O.R.E, along with a greeting of appreciation and warm wishes from Sister Mariam Senkenesh, the Founder and Director of the Medhen Social Center (MSC). New Years (or Enkutatash) marks the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the Spring sunshine with daisies blossoming everywhere. The lyrics of the song welcome the New Year with hope, a wish for a better year to come, and gratitude for the past year. The yellow color of the daisies represents peace, hope and love. I want to give special thanks to Leah, Jen, and Yodit for their amazing work putting together the delightful event, along with Nino (Leah’s husband and Settepane co-owner). Also my deep appreciation to Executive Committee Members of the M.O.R.E. Board: Nancy Holland, Bob Holland and Dr. Sam Parsia, for their essential support of the event and their deeply heartfelt remarks provided to the crowd. Not able to attend, but providing great support from afar were our other M.O.R.E. Board Members, Dr. Leelie Selassie, Dr. Ashley Meredith, and Dr. Asqual Getaneh. Also special appreciation goes out the Bekele Mekonnen, the artist and filmmaker, and his students Daniel and Yosef, for shooting and producing the video and to Jack Baxter for all of his technical assistance. Lastly, I want to thank all of those generous souls who provided contributions - your gifts will help “MORE’s” children welcome the New Year with hope for future opportunities.