We’re thrilled to be partnering with Power to Change – Students for their annual P2C PLUS conference. They recently invited us to write a guest post on their blog leading up to the conference. You can read the article below, and be sure to scroll to the end of this post for a special promo code for 40% off your ticket to P2C PLUS 2019: First!
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Words by Alyssa Esparaz
Last year, around this time, I had just come home from a trip to Ethiopia and I was trying to sort out what Christmas means in a world of stories like the ones I heard on my trip.
I came home to a plastic Christmas tree on the baggage claim carousel and tinsel hanging in the airport’s long corridors.
By the time all the bags had gone past me on the baggage claim and I knew mine wasn’t coming, I was too travel-weary to even cry travel-weary tears. I went to the customer service counter, filled out the forms and walked out to arrivals, thankful to see my dad, who had a warm hug and my winter coat for me.
The whole time, the words of a single mama back in Ethiopia were ringing in my head: I’m alive because of Compassion.
A story of strength and survival
We had multiple interviews to do that morning with several beneficiaries of Compassion’s program in Addis Ababa, so we decided to split up. I was welcomed into the home of Tigist and Yeabsira, a dynamic mom and daughter duo.
We sat in their one-room home, and Tigist told me her story. It soon became clear to me that I was sitting in the presence of a miracle.
“I was preparing to leave my daughter orphaned. My child would be a street child,” Tigist said.
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