The group welcomed Kevin Morley to the evening meeting when he gave an enlightening talk about the origins of the Saltergate Children’s Home in Ethiopia.
Kevin was born and raised in Chesterfield and after working in London, he returned to this area to study at Sheffield University, subsequently becoming a maths teacher. Feeling the need to expand his horizons, he became a teacher in Eritrea, living as one of the locals in a very small hut. It was during a visit by a United Nations truck to the village, that he was introduced to one of the workers selling bead necklaces made up of 30 beads, representing days of the month, a few of which were of a different colour.
These he found out were to help in trying to reduce the birthrate at the time. However, the sale of these was later banned by the military dictatorship running the country, since there were then not enough boys being born to become soldiers in the army. Kevin later became a trainer of teachers, and for personal reasons, was given help by the Red Cross to relocate to Ethiopia where he continued to teach maths. So, he had witnessed the state of both countries first-hand, also meeting many influential people along the way. The state of the country is such that travel to much of it is advised against.
After moving back to Chesterfield, Kevin had word from a local doctor in Ethiopia that a young baby, Amanuel, had been abandoned, which prompted Kevin to try and help in some way. So, the Saltergate Children’s Home was set up in the capital Addis Ababa on 6 June 2015 just 10 years ago, it’s aim to take children off the streets. It relies on donations from many sources, including St Thomas’s in Chesterfield who helped to finance a pipe to run water to the Home. Now the Home is able to sell water to those others in need.
The Saltergate Children’s Home aims to care for children who do have a surviving family member e.g. a widowed mother. All the children do not live in one big house but in various huts, off street, in areas around the capital Addis Ababa. They are given independence, and of the 190 children catered for over the years, 58 are now completely independent. Every penny raised goes to the children for food, clothes and education.
We did get feedback on some of the children including Amanuel, who is now 10 and, we were shown a photo of him looking very happy on his first day at school. Another lad, born without arms, has learned to use his feet for many tasks including using a mobile phone, etc. and now enjoys judo, whilst a young girl, born with club feet has had one foot straightened and is awaiting an operation to straighten the second. A further young girl born with HIV has become a successful accountancy graduate, and yet another was shown working at a sewing machine and has set up her own sewing business. A set of twin girls both born blind, were educated at a German school in Addis Ababa and in 2025 have
become celebrities, and another young girl born blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other has become a Special Needs Teacher.
It all sounded an amazing, very worthy and successful venture and, it was a privilege to be able to listen to Kevin and to hear what could be achieved. What makes the whole venture even more onerous is the fact that Ethiopia is a country speaking 80 different languages. The influence of Chesterfield on the children was seen with some holding the Spireites flag and a youngster playing with a football.
The Group were so overcome hearing Kevin’s talk that he wenthome with much more than the general donation given to allspeakers. A sewing machine was also donated.
The Annual Day Out for the Women’s Group is to take place onWednesday 25 June when a trip to Cromford Mills is in the offing.No meeting will then take place in July. Any further details will be available from myself, Trish or Marilyn James. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 3 September when we will be having a return visit from Anna-Louise Pickering, this time speaking about ‘The Kingdom of the Jaguar’, and we would welcome all on the night.
In the meantime, do enjoy your summer break.
Wendy Drake