The world lost an important woman last week. It was neither celebrity nor fortune nor political power that made her a person of importance; rather, it was her heart for the orphan - her willingness to touch the “untouchable” and love the unlovely that made Haregewoin Teferra a woman of legacy.
Haregewoin was born in 1946, and grew up in the countryside of Ethiopia as the eldest of twenty children. She went on to marry Worku Kebede. Together, they made their home in Addis Ababa, where they raised their two daughters. In 1990, tragedy struck when her husband died suddenly at the age of 54. Then, in 1998, her older daughter died as a result of AIDS.
Devastated, Haregewoin spent the next eighteen months in crippling grief. As she prepared to retreat to seclusion, she was presented with an opportunity that would change her life and the lives of countless others; she agreed to house a teenaged orphan girl.
Over the next ten years, Haregewoin cared for hundreds of children, many of whom were ultimately united with adoptive families in the United States and other countries.
Haregewoin distinguished herself by caring for children in need regardless of age, gender, or health status. Her life and work were detailed and popularized by the 2006 release of Melissa Fay Greene’s unforgettable book, “
There is No Me Without You.”
Upon her unexpected death in Ethiopia last week, the fifty-nine children Haregewoin was caring for were left behind.
Of these children, forty-two are HIV+. For more information on how you can help the children, please visit www.wwo.org. On the lower right side, you’ll see “Featured News,” which details the immediate needs of the children, and how you can give to the Emergency Fund for Haregewoin’s children.
Haregewoin, no doubt, will be greatly missed. May her legacy of love and selflessness inspire many to embrace the suffering of others and bring hope to the hurting in our world.
