- Contact
- Follow us:
We are particularly saddened to hear that Kalkidan, one of the little girls supported by our Feeding Fund, partnering with Life To Live for Korah, was killed in the landslide. There are times we hear of a massive disaster on the other side of the world and we can’t even wrap our heads around it. It’s too big. And yet Kalkidan was small. And affectionate. She had a soft voice, a sweet nature and a smile that would melt you. But see for yourself. We filmed this only one year ago:
We were devastated to learn about the disastrous landslide in Korah, Ethiopia on March 12th. In this already vulnerable, impoverished village, where we have returned multiple times over the years, been generously welcomed into homes, laughed with children, built a feeding kitchen and worked to support a feeding program, there are estimates of hundreds of people buried. At this time over 60 people have been reported to have died and many more are injured, while family members search frantically for those in need of rescue. The people of Korah are urgently in need of medical supplies, food, water, and fundamental shelter.
In response to this tragic event, we are creating a Korah Relief Center, which will include supplies like teff – used like flour in Ethiopia – as well as water, mattresses and blankets (especially important now due to cold temperatures at night and the immense destruction of homes).
How did a massive trash landslide happen? The village of Korah is built around a giant landfill. For years, villagers survived on the trash – scrapping for plastics to sell, finding food in the rubble. All that changed over a year ago when the government made plans to move the dumping. Due to multiple resistance issues, however, they recently resumed the dumping at Korah. Fisseha Tekle, the chief researcher for Amnesty International in Ethiopia, shares, “people are living in the middle of that…It’s not a landfill anymore, it’s like a mountain.” The triggered landslide destroyed homes and lives.
With the colder weather in Addis Ababa this season, those displaced are in dire need of mattresses and blankets as well as food, water, and medical supplies. We will be traveling to Korah very soon and will be bringing much-needed funds to purchase these items in country, which further supports the local economy and the people of the area.
100% of donations to this project go directly to purchasing items in support of the families impacted by this tragic event.
You can see the truly beautiful faces of the children and familes who live in Korah, as well as scenes of the village, in the gallery below.
