hunger

“Rabegn”. This Ethiopian word is taboo outside of one’s home. Inside the home it is usually only used by those who are younger than 4. Single moms typically hush their young ones when it is spoken. As young children grow they learn this word must not be spoken, the feeling behind it must be suppressed & the deep need that is felt will not be met. This word bears no dignity, only shame. What word could possibly carry this much power? It translates simply as “I’m hungry”. Hunger? Yes. It is a very casual word to all but those who have truly experienced it.

A single mom in Ethiopia (Addis Abba) had resigned her life to a vocation of begging. This life provided some food, some of the time to her 5 children. This fatherless family is in desperate hope for a brighter future. One that does not include begging, crime, child marriage, abandonment, rape. But of their hopes, lack of hunger is not mentioned. Some needs are too deep to be spoken.  Life doesn’t stop in the life of the hungry. Young children attend school, older children work odd jobs & mom’s labor on regardless - all with a deep aching, deep inside. It’s a longing for the unspoken never satisfied. There is a lot of life that happens in the process of wasting away.

Fortunately the story for this family of 6 does not end here. They are a family well known to those serving in the organization A Bright Future for Kids. I could tell you countless stories of how this mom is regaining dignity, how she has a small business & no longer is begging. How her children are encouraged to stay in school. They now have school supplies & clothes. They can see God’s light brightening their future. Those stories will come. But for today, I just want to share with you that they have food on the table 3 times a day, every day.  Rabegn - that taboo word no longer carries undue power in their home, in their hearts.

Solomon Dabe, founder of ABF4K knows first hand the hunger they have endured. He also knows that people hunger for more than food. As a fatherless child he never heard the words "I love you". Instead ‘diklla', a derogatory term for fatherless & unwanted, is what he heard from his peers and community. It wasn't until much later in life that realized that he needed love - in fact starved for love.

Solomon, with A Bright Future for Kids knows that it is not a simple fix giving children a bright future. But they start with food on the table. It is because they know when this basic need is being met, the children learn their needs are worth meeting. They learn they are able to acknowledge their need. Perhaps the most profound of all, there is hope that they will know their need for love & find it in the arms of their loving God. This family is re-learning that hunger has an answer & that the fatherless ARE wanted, celebrated & loved.