One Sydney Anglican spent her long service leave working harder than ever in the slums of Ethiopia.
For Cheryl Webster of St Thomas' North Sydney, the opportunity to work with Bright Hope, an Ethiopian Christian organisation was an answered prayer.
"I first learned about Bright Hope through St Thomas' link missionary, Andrew Browning ... I had been praying for about a year that God would show me whether I should be doing some sort of mission or ministry work," Cheryl said.
“Then Andrew mentioned the need for someone to write funding proposals and my name came up!”
Bright Hope was established initially to provide shelter to boys living on the street and a foster family program, but is now doing a range of development work.
Last year, Cheryl had helped the organisation to apply for funding through the Archbishop of Sydney's Overseas Relief and Aid Fund (ORAF) to set up a training centre in Nazret, 100 kilometres south of Addis Ababa.
At the centre, boys and girls from poor backgrounds undertake training in skills such as metalwork, woodwork, leatherwork and hairdressing.
"Through the Nazret Community-Based Skill Training and Rehabilitation Centre, young people learn the skills to start their own business and achieve a level of education that will qualify them to do formal vocational training."
On her second visit, Cheryl spent 10 weeks working with Bright Hope to establish their organisational structure, marketing materials and future plans.
However, Cheryl soon found she was being used beyond her job description.
"Although I was there to lend my skills as a Community Development Worker, I gradually found that God was using me as an encourager and came away being reminded again that relationships are the things that count."
Ethiopia is one of the world's poorest countries, with an estimated 180,000 street children in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa alone.
