In late July, nine student-athletes — Bria Goss (women’s basketball), Jared Phillips (track/cross country), Charlie Reymann (men’s soccer), Montana Whittle (gymnastics), Danielle Fitzgerald (women’s soccer), Katrina Keirns (swimming and diving), John Sutton (rifle), Kirsten Lewis (women’s tennis), Haley Mills (women’s golf) — participated in the second of two annual service trips to Ethiopia sponsored by UK Athletics. Over the next week, they will take turns sharing their experiences through a series of blog entries. Please note that these posts are the student-athletes’ personal reactions and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Kentucky or UK Athletics.Today, Haley Mills writes about some inspiring children the student-athletes met on their last full day in Ethiopia.We started our day like every other morning on our trip which included an early awaking followed by a delicious breakfast. We loaded up in our Toyota Coaster and dodged through the crazy traffic of Addis Ababa. We first arrived at a little shop to buy a few souvenirs for loved ones back home. We then ventured on to a boys’ home called Hope. The owner used to live on the streets of Addis and he was in and out of jail 32 times. After he turned his life around, he started a home for street boys to try and make a difference and change their lives. We introduced ourselves to all the boys and we were overwhelmed the most with their kindness and love, amidst the adversity. A few of the boys shared their story and I was inspired as I related it back to my life. They had lost their parents and were left with nothing. They were destined to live sad lives as street children, yet these boys did not give up. They were doing everything they could, going to school, making enough money to live, learning English, all the while wrapped in God’s will. One boy told me his dream was to attend the University of Virginia and study psychology. He then went on to explain that he realized it was an impossible goal to reach. This broke my heart because here I am living his dream at UK. We take so much for granted and the events from today will make me think twice when complaining about something in my life. After we played soccer and football with the kids, we had pizza brought to the home for all of us to share. I was shocked when I saw almost half of the boys raise their hands when asked if this was their first time to ever eat pizza. These children have nothing and the joy in their eyes from a simple slice of pizza is truly inspiring. Later that day we went to dinner at a place called Cupcake Delight. At first everyone thought we were having cupcakes for dinner and there was confusion on all of their faces. I did not think twice about it but the others were thinking about their “performance athlete diet”. The restaurant ended up having a full menu and we all enjoyed a fantastic meal together. This was our last full day in Ethiopia and all of us were getting a little sad. We did not want to leave, especially to get on a 17-hour flight. Altogether it was a great day in Addis Ababa and it is one that I will never forget. Today’s events left a huge impact on each and every one of us. The boys from Hope were such an inspiration and made me rethink the way I live.
Cannot thank @UKAthletics and @jasonschlafer enough for an incredible trip to Ethiopia! We are truly blessed… pic.twitter.com/IJezKNaJvK
— Haley Mills (@halmillsy) August 5, 2014
