I am briefly resurrecting this blog to help an Ethiopian elder who participates in the program for African seniors at my job.
For the last few weeks, he has been bringing in a small stack of photographs to show me, and this week, with the help of two separate interpreters, we got to the heart of why he kept showing me these photographs.
I am hoping someone reading this can help him. His name is Take Zeray, and he has given me permission to share this story publicly.
In 1999, his son Makele died. Makele had a pregnant wife when he died. A few months after Makele's death, his son Abel was born. About two years after this, Abel's mother married again and had another son. When Abel was three-years-old, Abel's mother, her new husband, and Abel's half-brother died.
This left Abel as a double orphan, so his mother's first cousin took care of him for about a year. He was relinquished to an orphanage in Mekele. When Abel was four-years-old, he was adopted by a white Canadian family living in Toronto. This is where Abel went to live. Abel is now a teenager.
Mr. Take Zeray, Abel's grandfather, contacted the Canadian embassy in Ethiopia in 2011 to try to find out information about where his grandson went and how to contact him. His attempts to make contact were unsuccessful.
Take Zeray loved his son Makele very much and wants to simply make sure that his grandson Abel knows that he has biological family alive who love him. He made it very clear to me during our meeting yesterday that he has no intention of separating Abel from his new family in Canada. He simply wants to know that Abel is alright.
If anything about this story sounds familiar to you or if you know anyone at all who might know the family in Toronto, Canada who adopted a four-year-old boy named Abel from Mekele, Ethiopia, we would be very grateful if you could make contact with me or Take Zeray. Take Zeray speaks Amharic and very little English.
I have more details of this story as well as more photographs that I or Take Zeray could share privately if you know this family. Please feel free to share this post.
My email is: ourownrooney@gmail.com.
Take Zeray's phone number is: 503-847-1956
For the last few weeks, he has been bringing in a small stack of photographs to show me, and this week, with the help of two separate interpreters, we got to the heart of why he kept showing me these photographs.
I am hoping someone reading this can help him. His name is Take Zeray, and he has given me permission to share this story publicly.
In 1999, his son Makele died. Makele had a pregnant wife when he died. A few months after Makele's death, his son Abel was born. About two years after this, Abel's mother married again and had another son. When Abel was three-years-old, Abel's mother, her new husband, and Abel's half-brother died.
This left Abel as a double orphan, so his mother's first cousin took care of him for about a year. He was relinquished to an orphanage in Mekele. When Abel was four-years-old, he was adopted by a white Canadian family living in Toronto. This is where Abel went to live. Abel is now a teenager.
Mr. Take Zeray, Abel's grandfather, contacted the Canadian embassy in Ethiopia in 2011 to try to find out information about where his grandson went and how to contact him. His attempts to make contact were unsuccessful.
Take Zeray loved his son Makele very much and wants to simply make sure that his grandson Abel knows that he has biological family alive who love him. He made it very clear to me during our meeting yesterday that he has no intention of separating Abel from his new family in Canada. He simply wants to know that Abel is alright.
If anything about this story sounds familiar to you or if you know anyone at all who might know the family in Toronto, Canada who adopted a four-year-old boy named Abel from Mekele, Ethiopia, we would be very grateful if you could make contact with me or Take Zeray. Take Zeray speaks Amharic and very little English.
I have more details of this story as well as more photographs that I or Take Zeray could share privately if you know this family. Please feel free to share this post.
My email is: ourownrooney@gmail.com.
Take Zeray's phone number is: 503-847-1956
3 comments:
Sent it to rabbis in Toronto and Montreal. Hope the story finds its way to the one it is meant to find. Fingers crossed. Prayers said.
Wow...I wish I could help but I don't have any info. I hope Take is able to get in contact with his grandson. Have you tried posting this on the Ethiopian adoption Yahoo groups? They have so many members that it has to lead to some info...
I hope he can find him.. How sad..
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