By Daniel Hamon
It is estimated that there are close to 6 million orphans in Ethiopia and 14,000 children are born with HIV every year.
But there are people in America making a difference in the lives of Ethiopian orphans, including a small number of children born with HIV. In a recent article, Anita Powell tells the story of three such American families: Erin Henderson, Julie Hehn, and Margaret Fleming. The Hendersons adopted two-HIV positive children from Ethiopia. They now have a total of 11 children.
Margaret Fleming has 11 children and is the founder of Chances by Choice. According to her bio, Fleming has adopted eight of her children with the last four being born with HIV. Powell says that the motivations for people to adopt HIV-positive children are "wide-ranging - some parents say they were driven by religion or a desire for social change, or that the disease is more manageable than ever before."
This is Julie Hehn's story:
"I was just scrolling through these pictures, and I saw the photo of Tsegenet, and I said, 'Oh my God, that's my daughter,"' said Hehn, a 53-year-old elementary school teacher from Edmonds, Wash.
Hehn said she was not looking for an HIV-positive child when she decided to adopt from Ethiopia. "I fell in love with Tsegenet and it just happens she's HIV-positive," said Hehn, who has 27 children, 19 of them adopted from Ethiopia and five adopted from the U.S."
According to Powell, Michael Leavitt, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services stated that HIV-positive adoptees pose no public health threat in America. Secretary Leavitt is also quoted as saying:
"The American people are compassionate people, I applaud their compassion and I'm delighted to know they're doing so."
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