Kelly Putty with a family of five children who she seeks to help find a home.

Local team brings hope to Ethiopian orphans

 Ordinary Hero is an organization made up of people with many hopes and big dreams.  Sometimes it pays to dream big and this organization is proving that through their many ministries.  I cannot possibly cover all that Ordinary Hero does, but I want to focus on two of their specific ministries and I hope you will check out their website and blog to find opportunities to serve and support.

First I will mention that Ordinary Hero is only one year old, about as old as BHP and I am continually amazed what can be accomplished in a year.  In June, the group took their first Ordinary Hero sponsored mission trip with 22 people from all over the country on board. 

Kelly Putty, we will call her the ‘fearless leader’, first visited Ethiopia with her sister when she went along to pick up her newly adopted niece, Lucy.  By the time she returned home, her dream was to take a team back to visit the orphanages and to see how she could expedite adoptions for the children who were presently available and “paper ready.”  What she found when she was there were orphanages which had never been visited and which had children who could be adopted.  Putty took pictures and video and brought it home with her to spread the word.

Her “Speak Up” email list formed and continues to grow.  Putty cannot post photos or video on the internet for the safety of the children and regulations required by Ethiopia.

“People signed up to receive the email and we blasted the photos,” said Putty.  “Others forward the email to friends and all those kids got adopted.  One boy who was about six was adopted by a friend of mine in Franklin and I got to be at the airport when he arrived.  He gave me a big hug.”

Putty goes on to tell that another Franklin family adopted a pair of siblings who were friends with that boy.  They are now reunited in the here in Tennessee after surviving the ravages of poverty.

In Ethiopia, one can find living conditions that would shock any American.  One place that is almost beyond comprehension is in Addis Ababa. 

“One day we ventured into a trash dump to find scenes that we will never forget,” shares Putty on her new video depicting the trip. “There are precious people that live in this area. These people have lived there all their lives with no hope of a better future.”

Putty met her friend, Sumer, earlier this year.  Sumer was in the process of moving her family to Ethiopia to help these forgotten people.

Sumer started a summer school this year and continually seeks sponsors for the children to move them from the trash dump.  Sumer has successfully moved over 150 children out of the destitute life of the dump.

Sponsors pay $700 and this provides books, tuition, three meals per day, clothing, hygiene necessities and more.  The children move from the dump to a boarding school where they will get a very good education and be able to better their lives.

“After discovering this area for ourselves and seeing the difference that Sumer and her Project 61 team is making, we have made it our goal to partner with them to bring as much help and awareness as we can to such an impoverished area and people. Visit ordinaryhero.org for more info on how you can help,” says Putty.  “When we went she had 12 sponsored children.  She has 200 spots and only 15 older kids that need sponsors.”  The older boys seem to be the forgotten or lost children.  If not adopted early, they are on their own and work many different angles each day to get a meal.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child or know someone who might be interested, check out www.P61.org and see how you can help.

I asked Putty why she thought this generation seemed to be so globally aware and reaching out for missions and adoptions. 

“People’s friends and neighbors are close to it.  It is right in front of you and then you cannot deny it,” said Putty.  “When it’s in your face, how can you deny it?  When someone close to you does it, you see how a life can be changed.”

Putty’s organization’s motto is “Change the World for One” and she believes the whole world changes for that one person.  And the Putty family has lived the story adopting their own son from Ethiopia.

“We hope one day that our kids will go back and help their country,” said Putty.  “We hope to take our son back to see his birth mother.”

Putty mentioned in closing she has a five sibling family in need of adoption.  Their photo is at the top of her blog.  www.ordinaryheroblog.blogspot.com.  She is ever hopeful that someone will find them and they will be together in their forever home.