At 18, Belay Gebru aged out of the orphanage where he grew up outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He walked away alone, carrying only a Bible and the equivalent of $5 in a small yellow backpack.
His heart was heavy and fearful for the road ahead. Yet there he heard God’s gentle voice, “I am with you.”
“I don’t see my life as a traumatic experience,” Belay recently recounted. “In the Bible, we see Moses lost his parents and grew up in the palace so that God could use him in the desert. And Joseph was abandoned in the desert so that God later could use him in the palace to save countless lives.
“I grew up in the orphanage so that I could do what I’m doing today,” he continued. “God has prepared me for what He wants to do through me all my life.”
A life redeemed
Belay witnessed his mother’s murder by a neighbor when he was 8 years old. Corruption overwhelmed justice as his father was wrongfully imprisoned. Belay cared for his younger siblings for the next two years, doing odd jobs and begging for food on the streets. Eventually, Christian orphanage workers took the boys in.
It was there that Belay was introduced to Jesus. The years ahead would carry both joys and deep struggles, but Christ became Belay’s foundation. “God redeemed me and restored my life,” he said. “So now I want to rescue other kids because He rescued me.”
Today, Belay leads an NGO in Addis Ababa called Hope for the Fatherless and serves on the CAFO board. He and his wife Koki have adopted two children from an orphanage not unlike the one where he grew up.
Belay is also one of the founding members of DEBO Alliance, a growing network of Ethiopian Christian organizations working together to see the Church rise to care for orphaned children in their country — a vision born at the annual CAFO Summit.
We could do something like this in Ethiopia
In May 2012, Belay traveled to the United States to attend the CAFO Summit in Southern California. He marveled to see more than a thousand leaders in Christian ministry to vulnerable children, united and growing together
Belay had witnessed foreigners coming to Ethiopia to care for orphans for many years. “As I listened in the workshops, my heart was burning with the question: ‘How can I engage my own people for orphan ministry?’”
It was at the CAFO Summit in 2013 that Belay met Sebilu Bodja, who was serving with a US-based ministry in Ethiopia and asking similar questions.
“I was just blown away by the whole event,” Sebilu remembered. “From the content to the message to the people … I remember meeting Belay there and I told him, ‘I think we could do something like this in Ethiopia.’”
A new movement of the Church
Returning to Ethiopia, Belay and Sebilu invited others into the vision. Eight organizations came together to host the first Orphan Care Summit in Addis Ababa in 2014, joined by more than 300 participants.
“The numbers were great for that first Summit, but more than that it was the passion in how people connected with the message,” Sebilu said. “That was the beginning of the DEBO Alliance.”
DEBO in Amharic means “harvest,” describing the time each year when families and communities come together to help one another harvest crops before the season ends.
The word has a double meaning when it comes to the orphan care movement, Belay shared. It represents both the people who join their strengths on behalf of orphaned and vulnerable children and also God Himself, who ultimately is the farmer in whose fields we serve.
“God is a farmer and there is a harvest to be gathered, and a few people or organizations are not enough by themselves — they cannot solve the problem of orphan care alone,” he said.
“But we come together to do our Father’s business.”
A future hope for Ethiopian families
Since the first Orphan Care Summit in Ethiopia, the DEBO Alliance has continued to grow — inspiring the Church in Ethiopia and expanding its reach to new regions.
DEBO’s executive director, Mishame Desalegn, explains that this movement is not fueled merely by duty or idealism. “The heart of this is the Gospel,” she says. “God pursued us when we needed Him most. When Christians step into the lives of orphans and other vulnerable kids, we’re reflecting how He first loved us.”
This Gospel-fed response takes many forms in Ethiopia, from local adoptions to mentoring aging-out youth to support for struggling families. DEBO’s network of organizations, churches and leaders works together to expand and guide this growing movement. Their ultimate desire is to see every child experience the love of God in a caring family.
Watch the new short documentary film, Working Together: The Story of the Orphan Care Movement in Ethiopia.
Strengthened by believers from around the world
DEBO isn’t alone in this work.
“CAFO is the reason why DEBO started in the first place,” Mishame explains. “And they’ve walked with us every step of the way. We’ve never needed to build things alone or from scratch. That’s made a world of difference.”
Through CAFO’s Global Network initiative, the gifts of the entire CAFO community come alongside national networks like DEBO. This includes everything from help with event planning to resources, relevant research, coaching and strategy calls, and promising programs that have proven effective in other developing countries.
“We have access to expertise from all over the world,” said Mishame. “The first thing I did when I joined DEBO was take one of CAFO’s courses, which opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities. They’ve been with me ever since.”
DEBO is aided by many partners met through CAFO, too. For example, the organization Both Ends Believing provides world-class software that enables caseworkers to build a government-recognized identity for children who lack parental care. This helps in the search for potential relatives and also enables children to be legally adopted when willing relatives can’t be found.
The gift keeps giving
Meanwhile, DEBO doesn’t just receive help from the CAFO community — it is now a vital part of the CAFO community, regularly helping other networks throughout Africa and beyond.
“We’ve received so much,” Mishame said. “It’s a joy to share in the same way with others who may be just a few steps behind us.”
Mishame’s heart was opened to the cause of the orphan because of her love for Jesus and God’s word. She desires to see every Ethiopian child experiencing God’s unfailing love in a thriving family.
“I always pray for the Church of Christ to rise up and to show the light,” Mishame said. “For me, this is not just philanthropy or something I do because I have a good heart. I’m doing this because I was an orphan first. I was out of God’s kingdom and he redeemed me. He brought me home and adopted me.”
“So these kids’ story is also my story – every Christian’s story. This is the story of the Church.”
Belay Gebru agrees. “Whatever we’ve faced, God can redeem it. He not only heals. He also can use even the hardest things we’ve faced for good — first in us and then through us for others. To get to be a small part of His restoring work, that’s one of the best things on earth.” – Jenny Pope, Director of Communications at CAFO
The Kingdom Impact of Local Networks
Helping local leaders build effective networks is a key part of CAFO’s strategy — both across the US and around the world. Why? It’s about children … families … and churches.
Children grow best in a thriving family. And families do best when wrapped around by a healthy church where every person can play a part. And churches sustain this vision best when part of a vibrant, gospel-centered network.
CAFO’s 300+ member organizations work together in shared initiatives to strengthen each of these critical parts. The More Than Enough initiative (US foster care) and Global Network initiatives (international) invest in local leaders and networks. Other initiatives — including the CAFO Research Center, Pure Religion Project, and Family Institute — directly serve organizations, churches and families.
From small-town America to Addis Ababa … and everywhere in between … a simple principle holds true: God’s people achieve far more together than they ever could alone!
We’d love for you to join us in this work! Will you play a part with your gift today? Every gift made between now and December 31 will be doubled, up to $480,000! cafo.org/together
