Eyes That See - From Ezra's Eyes

The past few days I have written about Eyes That See and the amazing work they are doing in Ethiopia. The founders of Eyes That See, Matt and Nikki Ness, have a 12 year old son who was adopted from Ethiopia at the age of 10. PLEASE take a couple of minutes to read HIS words re: how supporting Eyes That See can make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate in Ethiopia...

****I am sharing this post with permission of Nikki, Ezra's mom****

The following post is from our 12 year old son, Ezra. He is sharing a unique prospective on what Eyes That See means to him. Ezra spent 10 years living in Ethiopia. If he doesn't go on to play pro soccer, he will probably kick us out of our job in a few years when he takes over Eyes That See.

If you asked me the way I look at Eyes that See, this is how I would answer. I can put myself in the kid's spot, and I would wonder what am I gonna eat TODAY, what time do I wash my uniform, and when do I do my chores. Those are very challenging things for kids my age. Here in the US most kids don't have to worry about that because their mom or dad do that for them.

Kids in Ethiopia that get help from Eyes that See are relieved from that worry because they have somebody to help them. They don't have to worry about uniform, school supplies etc...

That is the blessing that Eyes that See has been for those kids. I can't explain in words the different feeling I had. You have to be your own parent and take care of yourself. You eat by yourself, wash clothes by hand, and still keep up with school. You don't want to fail and be in that grade for a long time. You have all of that going on in your brain. It was really hard for me and I even had a grandma taking care of me.

Parents are different, and not having that was just different. When someone does that for you the kids get excited. I would have been really excited to come to Eyes that See to come and eat and stuff. When you run out of pencils at school you know you could get another. When you need a backpack or anything, someone is there. It is also a big blessing that parents who are living don't have to worry about the needs of the kids. They want to care, but they have to work extra hard for food and stuff. It is a really hard time for the parents going through so much stuff. It is usually a mom and she often will share about life with the kids. That is hard because you can't do anything about it, but you worry about it. Sometimes you have those worries that you can't do anything about and you just get stressed out. Other times you get really sad because your mom has to work a really long time and you can't help.

For some of these kids, when they find out their moms have to sell their bodies at night, well that is a hard thing to think about. It would be really sad to have your mom not be able to get a job because of lack of education. I'm glad that Eyes That See helps with the lack of education. They give education so that the mom can get a job that she doesn't have to hide from her kids.

I know it would be hard, but try to spend the next 24 hours trying to put yourself in that position. Then you can probably understand things better.

-Ezra Ness

****I was in tears when I read Ezra's words. I met Ezra in November and can tell you that he is a special boy. He tried to help interpret an Ethiopian word for me that Grace had been using... He welcomed my 11 year old son on the soccer field for a game even though my son had never really played soccer (by the way, my son was blown away by Ezra's skill with the ball). Ezra's words are so powerful to me because they are his real feelings about what life was like for him in Ethiopia. This is REAL. We tend to forget when we come back home to the U.S. I can't imagine little boys like Ezra living in Ethiopia with so much pressure, responsibility and courage. Please visit Eyes That See for more info on how you can help.****

***All proceeds from the sale of our necklaces also go to help to support Eyes That See***

Thanks to all of you who have bought necklaces...Please keep the orders coming so that we can sponsor some of the awesome women who need micro loans to start their new businesses...