Morrell Family Charities

In 2004, Steffanie Reeder, a special education teacher, went on a week-long humanitarian expedition to the  rural village of Kersa Ilala in Ethiopia with an organization called the Village of Hope, based out of Heber City, Utah.  After returning home, the images of children in tattered clothing drinking dirty water and living in mud huts were seared into her mind.  She resolved to move back to Ethiopia to help the organization establish their High Risk Children’s Center (HRCC), a safe place for children to live who have been abused or neglected. 

By September 2005, Steffanie had quit her job and uprooted her life to move to Ethiopia to work as a volunteer for the Village of Hope.  Since then, Steffanie has spearheaded an effort to ship thousands of books for the public school in the village, successfully started the HRCC, and building on her own passion and love of youth, organized a youth group for  100 youth ages 14-18. 

This Youth Group focuses on four core areas: mental, physical, spiritual and social with a strong emphasis on the value of giving service.  The youth meet two times a week to receive training in these areas.  Some of the lessons have focused on topics such as first aid, honesty, and goal setting.  The youth have also provided dramas, musical numbers and community festivals for the villagers.  Additionally, the youth participate in large service projects twice a month such as harvesting crops for the widowed and elderly, planting shrubs and trees for the local government and repairing roads damaged by the rain. 

At the same time Steffanie was considering making the commitment to move to Ethiopia for this work her cousin, Carolyn Moore, was looking for an organization in which to fulfill her practicum requirement for her Master’s degree in Intercultural service, leadership and management.  Carolyn received her undergrad degree in International Relations and has worked in several countries in Africa.  She has always been compelled to humanitarian work and helping others who are less fortunate than she. 

Carolyn also moved to Ethiopia in 2005 where she conducted research to help support the HRCC.  Her research also led to helping in the establishment of a father’s working group in the village called Dagoo Harawaa.  Seeing that the youth and the fathers were receiving benefit from programs targeted at them, it was decided last year that it was time to focus on the women of the village and helping strengthen them. 

In October 2008, Carolyn started the women’s group with 50 women from the village.  The women will work through a certification program which focuses on six areas: First Aid, Finance and Budgeting, Health and Nutrition, Communication, Community Service, and Arts and Crafts.  Each area has a number of certification requirements which the women must complete.  If they are able to complete all areas they will receive a Woman In Action award.  The goal is for the women to gain new skills and abilities that will help improve their confidence which they will then be able to spread to the rest of the village.  To date, the women have completed the First Aid and Finance and Budgeting requirements and are beginning work on Health and Nutrition.

Steffanie says she is dedicated to the work “because the youth are so talented and some of them will never know if they could be the next Bach or Beethoven simply because they don’t have the opportunity or materials to explore their talents.”  Although a lot of people donate money and clothing, she is looking for materials that will help the youth develop their talents such as musical instruments or sports equipment.  She believes that this is the place to start with helping the youth to discover the talents that will make their lives better.

Carolyn also believes that change will not come from simple material goods but from allowing each woman to improve her own self image and giving her a skill set to make changes for herself, her family and the village.  “When foreigners, particularly Westerners, go to a place like Kersa Ilala, all they see is the poverty and the filth and they don’t see the people for what they really are—people;  people who have talents and skills and who, given the tools and the opportunity, can flourish and grow and change their lives through their own ability.” 

Both women feel a great love for the people and the opportunity to help them realize their worth and potential.  They have seen remarkable changes in the people they have been working with even in this short amount of time.  They also believe there is a lot of potential just waiting to be tapped into.  They have made the commitment to continue working in Ethiopia for as long as they can be supported in their efforts.

For more information about the organization please visit www.villageofhope-ethiopia.org