When you were a kid, what did you dream of becoming when you grew up? A veterinarian? A firefighter? Ballerina? Astronaut?
If you're joining this blog because you contributed to our Kickstarter, you may already be familiar with Damosay. I met her when I first traveled to Ethiopia in 2018. Her dream was to become a teacher. At the time, she was 12 years old. Now she's either 16 or 17. One of our goals on this trip is to find her. I can only wonder where she's at now. She was very bright and had a lot of ambition. Does she still want to become a teacher? Did her goals change? Or did reality catch up with her? Very few have the opportunity to complete high school. And regardless, she still may live in a reality where a light bulb is unaffordable.
But the thing is... dreams can be very powerful things. As kids, our minds weren't limited by the logistics. We just played, imagined and dreamed. Of course, we now know that the reality is still there. But I think there's great value in remembering some of the freedom that we felt as kids. If you come from a Christian background, you're probably familiar with Jesus teaching about the value of "childlike faith."
When I first came to Ethiopia, the harsh reality overwhelmed me. The nuances of the poverty and struggles were so complicated. It seemed impossible to really make a difference. And yet, that reality didn't stop kids from dreaming to become pilots, doctors, or prime ministers.
We can learn a lot from that. In the coming days, we're going to capture some pretty harsh realities. We're also going to capture a lot of dreams. And of course, we're going to capture the stories of people working to make those dreams more achievable. So here we go!
We'll also be posting updates on our Instagram, so be sure to follow @WeAreEmberMedia. Thanks again for your support!
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