Help MotherstoMothers to open the doors for Day Care Center in Ethiopia

Network 355 met with a founder of MotherstoMothers (www.motherstomothers.net) Pamela Parlapiano, who expressed her urgent need in the immediate funding for $4,000 to finish the building construction of a  Day Care facility in Ethiopia, which is currently half way through.

Ms. Parlapiano is a recognized leader in the field of women’s empowerment.  She is a keynote speaker about women in developing countries and their ability to move beyond their circumstances.  She is a founding member of IDEA Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement in 1994 for people who have had Hansen’s disease and has identified regional leaders for IDEA in several countries.  She continues to work with governments, non-governmental agencies, not for profit agencies, and the media all over the world, bringing a human face to individuals, who in spite of life’s challenges lead lives of dignity and courage. Her work, “Quest for Dignity”, photographs and words of people who once had Hansen’s diseases/leprosy, is an intricate part of an exhibit that has been translated in seven languages and continues to travel around the world. She works on several committees including Provision 1325 for women and empowerment and her projects are known to be geared towards empowerment and not charity.

Mothers to Mothers is an international not-for-profit 501(C)(3) organization that works in refugee camps, slums and villages, listening to the needs of mothers and works together with the mothers to create individual special well thought out projects that will facilitate their lives. All the projects have some things in common. Mothers learn skills to work, daughters who have been caring for babies go to school through our scholarship program and babies are made safe through projects that provide safe space for them.  All projects are created to be on-going but sustained though a business once overhead is established and other initiatives are put in place.

The Latest Project in Ethiopia is to build a sustainable day care center in Amacho Wato Kebele. Many of the mothers in the village have no choice but to have their babies with them as they make pottery in their homes to sell at the market for .50 to survive. Children are exposed to so much dust that many of them have severe bronchial illness. Most also have bacterial conjunctivitis, so bad that many babies simply have their eyes shut. And, many of the children have signs of severe malnutrition.  Dr. Khalid from SOS visited and did the assessment.

The answer for these mothers and their children, faced with such dire problems, problems is a Day Care Center. MotherstoMothers is working with the mothers of Amacho Wato Kebele to make that happen. The Day Care Center will be a safe place for the children to stay while the mothers work, that would provide two meals a day, so hunger would not be an everyday concern. A Day Care Center would allow daughters, who now care for younger siblings to go to school through the scholarship program. Within one year of opening it will put in place an expansion plan so that mothers will run and sustain their own Day Care Center. MotherstoMothers was founded on the concept of empowerment. It is imperative that women own their own destiny. This Day Care's success will spark others to be built: mothers will have safe options for their babies while they work to enable themselves and their babies to survive and thrive!

Speaks Pamela: "When last visited Amacho Wato Kebele there was nothing to do but cry and sing and all of us did just that as we walked to the land that would become the Day Care Center for the Mothers of Amacho Wato kebele who have been living with pride and desperation. With Social Land now secured the Day Care will be a sustainable project with a business we can build to support it.  In two years we will give mothers the key and they will own their own destiny".

In two weeks motherstomothers director will go to Amacho Wato Kebele to advocate for water for the Day Care Center, plant a garden for food for the toddlers and draw the outline of the Day Care Center with the mothers of Amacho Wato Kebele and begin to train mothers in sustainable life skills so they can support their family.  Unfortunately we need $4,000 to complete this building of empowerment that will change lives. The Day Care Center is almost finished but at the moment they had to temporarily suspend the construction to secure additional $4,000 to add the doors and windows and the roof.

If you would like to be the donor to help finish this most important place that will keep children safe and free of malnutrition while their mothers work send your check to MotherstoMothers 451 West 50th Street New York, New York 10019 or use Pay Pal on our website...... http://www.motherstomothers.net  

For more information please contact Pamela Parlapiano at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it