"If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion--how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions". 1 John 3:17-18 (NLT)

I am in awe by the continued outpouring of love and support we've received for this very important campaign!  We have officially raised the $39,000 needed to begin construction for the maternity clinic, but there is still more work to be done!  We are stepping out on faith and increasing our goal to begin phase 2 of the maternity ward campaign.  This will include the life-saving equipment needed to fill it up!  To view a complete registry for items needed please visit; https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aj9F3DC6us5tdDY3NThTZ3JXekR4NDRfNk5WankyNWc&hl=en

As a woman and a mother I have been extremely burdened by the difficulties the women of Ethiopia face on a daily basis. Our two children, Tigist and Mihiretu, were directly impacted by the lack of medical care in rural southern Ethiopia. For most of the people in the region, medical care is non-existent. The need is especially great for women, who most of the time must go through labor and delivery with little or no medical attention. In remote areas, women sometimes languish in labor for days. There are very few health workers or skilled specialists beyond a local untrained midwife to assist rural women during childbirth. This is the every day reality for the women of Ethiopia. Imagine for a moment what it might be like to give birth here...

What would it be like to go into labor and be a 3 - 4 hour walk from the nearest hospital? If able to reach a hospital, what would it be like to not have access to clean water, life saving equipment if a complication occurs, and very few health care professionals? COMPLICATIONS DURING DELIVERY ARE A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH FOR WOMEN GIVING BIRTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. In Ethiopia, a woman has a 1 in 27 chance of dying from complications due to pregnancy or childbirth in her lifetime compared to the women in the United States who have a 1 in 4,800 chance of dying.

We have an amazing opportunity to change this for the women in Tercha, Ethiopia. Tercha is home to the only hospital in the entire region which serves over 550,000 people in the Dawro Zone located in southern Ethiopia. My husband recently returned from a trip to Ethiopia and was able to see with his own eyes the amazing people and the amazing need in this area. They currently do not have a separate facility for women giving birth or the resources should any complications occur. What is most horrifying is the hospital does not have access to a constant source of clean water or electricity.

The money raised through this campaign will have a drastic impact on the lives of these women and their children. I invite you to join me in actively loving these beautiful women in Ethiopia. There are several ways that you can be involved:

1. Help me spread the word, pass this link and information to everyone you know!
2. Donate directly to the fund and be blessed by the donation progress as we get closer and closer to our goal.
3. Create your own sub-campaign. Can your group of friends, family, bible study, workplace, school, or church come together to reach a certain goal to help with the overall campaign? Whether it be $500 or $5000, your direct ownership in raising this amount will have a huge impact! Please contact me and I will be happy to set this up for you.

Keep in mind that 100% of your donation will go towards this project, as Glimmer of Hope has a seperate endowment that covers all of the overhead costs. (even the credit card fee is paid for by this endowment) You can be blessed by knowing that every penny is going to help the women of Ethiopia. THANK YOU! Kristen Greene kristenmgreene@gmail.com