Speaker Kevin Morley and Janine LeMire - Saltergate Children's Home Etiopia

Kevin started off by giving those who didn’t know him a quick resume of his background leading up to his involvement in firstly Eritrea and then Ethiopia where he met and married his Ethiopian wife. When they had a baby girl in 2012, they decided to return to the UK because of the safety aspects in the war-torn country.

In 2015 he originally set up a small house in Ethiopia to foster children from other homes who are too full to deal with them. However. in June of that year a "foundling" baby (Amanuel) was left on their doorstep, and it was decided that the home would become a permanent home for that child. Kevin then started to try to raise funding for Amanuel and one of the organisations that he approached was the Rotary Club of Bradford Blaize. He also decided to alter his original idea of a foster home and instead wanted to concentrate on finding relatives who would look after any children (primarily widowed mothers, grandmothers and aunts). They would then be financially supported by Saltergate to ensure the child was fed and put through school. Today the charity cares for 190 children thanks in part to the support of Blaize.

Kevin then introduced Janine LeMire who is an independent examiner for the charity. Janine first met Kevin when he spoke to a group called “50 Plus” of which she was a member. Hi talk inspired the group and in particular Janine and 3 of her friends who decided that they wanted to visit Ethiopia. The trip that they embarked on (see map above - Picture 1) had even Kevin afraid for their safety as they were viewing: -

• Hippopotami at Lake Trana
• Camping and donkey riding in the Simion Mountains. Here Janine fell off a donkey and ended up far from medical help with a 3 day concussion.
• Axum where the Queen of Sheba lived and is believed to have had a son by King Solomon of Israel who formed the Solomonic Dynasty leading all the way to Haile Selassie.
• Erta Ale which is one of the lawless areas of the country and extremely dangerous to visit.

Picture 2 Kevin met Tadula, Absera and Besufkad  2 years ago. They were sleeping under plastic bags on the roadside. He said to the Elders of the village that the charity would buy the necessary materials to build a proper home if they would build it to which they agreed.

Picture 3 Ambes who is Kevin's brother in law and helps run the charity in Ethiopia.

Pictures 4 Shows Amanuel the first child to be cared for in 2015 and today.

Picture 5 Yohannes, Bruk and Delina whose father was a  taxi driver and was killed in a car accident. Yohannes is now leaving school wants to become a mechanic.

Picture 6 Yeshume who is blind one eye partially and sighted other. After being cared for by Saltergate as a child she is now married and a teacher. Her latest plan is to take a master’s degree.

Picture 7 Ambes with 2 cows bought through the Blaize micro loans scheme. Each cow produces 14 litres of milk per day per cow. A litre sells for the equivalent of £1.40 so that after costs the cows effectively take 6 children off road and put them into school and secure accommodation.

Picture 8 Fasika and Beselot with the sewing machine bought through the micro loan scheme which is enabling her to be self-sufficient. The new Hospital Rehabilitation Centre that is being financed through the loan scheme is now teaching sewing skills amongst other skills.

Picture 9 Melat who was given £200 to undertake a 13 weeks beautician course and is now able to make an  income at Hilton Hotel in Adis Ababa. She has already repaid the loan in full.

Picture 10 Mehat who wants to be a hotel manager. The loan scheme is paying her to attend a 3 year course on hotel management after which she hopes to acquire a job at the Hilton.

Picture 11 At the hospital where the rehabilitation centre is located Kevin noticed an unused pond. Using this water he has encouraged them to set up an irrigation system to grow food for resale.

Picture 12 Around Adis Ababa there are a lot of discarded plastic Jerry Cans used for carrying water. Ambes has a licence to collect them and is able to sell them to a recycling facility. The profit from this activity pays for the care of 3 children.

Kevin repeated the 4 main tenets of Saltergate which are: -

1. Each child must be looked after by family member.
2. The organisation is not an orphanage but rather a support system for children to remain in some form of family unit.
3. Those helped must work to independence.
4. Every penny the charity raises goes to children. Any running costs are met by Kevin and the other trustees personally.

Upadated micro loan account