Tsion Aberra, Selamta Ambassador, Summer 2009

During my time at Selamta, one of the things that surprised me most about the organization was the strong sense of family and community among all of the children, mothers, and staff. I don’t ever remember feeling like I was working for an orphanage. In fact, Selamta is truly much more than an orphanage. I really appreciate the structure of the family homes because I see that each home is really a family, not an childcare institution. Some of the fondest memories that I have of Selamta are of the times that I spent the night at different houses. The children love it when ambassadors spend the night. Towards the final weeks of my stay I had to write down a sleepover schedule because kids from every house began to ask me where I was sleeping. If there was ever a free day they would ask me to come for that night. It was during these sleepovers that I really observed what I believe is the essence of what makes Selamta’s family home structure so great. Each home functions as a tight-knit family. The children love each other as well as their mothers and aunts. They all play together, work together to get chores done, help each other with problems that arise, and just spend quality time together. Now that I’m no longer in Ethiopia, I like to think back to these evenings and my observations of the families. I like to remember the evening talks, the spontaneous dance parties, movie nights, and meals together. I love knowing that all of these children have loving families. There’s no doubt in my mind that I want to remain a part of the Selamta community and help it become larger. My greatest hope for Selamta is that it can grow and start many more families like those that I came to know this summer.

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