Be forewarned. The personal letter copied below will likely bring tears to your eyes.
On the occasion of his 80th birthday, John Sommers of Verona, NJ asked his friends to ‘spare the gifts’ — to him — in order to spare the life of another.
That other person is the same young Ethiopian, 23 year-old Assefa Hailu Baraki, for whom Mr. Sommer had paid the $500 fee to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa to obtain the necessary medical & travel visas to come to Washington, D.C. for the transplant surgery last November.
(The visa included Assefa’s 21 year-old brother Robel, the kidney donor. Read more about these courageous youths in previous posts, below.)
Assefa has recently written to his generous benefactor, Mr. Sommer, to thank him for the $1,650 (and counting) in gifts his friends have donated to NCCL since April. Those gifts are earmarked to help pay for the thirty-five thousand dollars per year which are necessary to provide the life-sustaining anti-rejection therapy which Assefa will need for the rest of his life.
In your charity, would you do the same or something similar? There are plenty of ways to imitate Mr. Sommer’s generosity to the needy like Assefa. You could ask friends to give gifts to NCCL in lieu of gifts for your next birthday, for example.
Or you could remember NCCL in a living trust or last will & testament.
In whatever way you choose, please be generous. Lives — body & soul — depend on it.
Contact the Executive Director to find out how to do that, and more. 610/435-2634
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Hello dear Greg here are some my heart feeling words to NCCL & Mr & Mrs Sommer, to you
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2013 12:14:12 -0400
From: Assefa Baraki
To: Gregory P LloydI would like to express my extreme gratitude to you NCCL charity, who offer money for me during the most challenging and painful years of my life, your loving kindness and generosity helped me to get the life I have now and to keep a head for future with a great hope . Your support has been most significant than you can imagine it.
During this very difficult time you have been a great help that made me to look ahead even if it was terribly difficult time for me. If you were not there for me with the help of God, my life had been in a very danger situation that is suffering and death but your help gave me new hope, life and now your helping does a lot of meaning that I can’t make it without you, so that you have my deepest gratitude for your lovingly kindness, generosity and pray for me from my bottom heart and everybody in my family would like to thank you for all the things you have done to me.
Now I am living with a great pleasure, very healthy, filled with hope and thanking my God for preventing me during the whole time, giving you, all people and all organizations that helped me with their generosity and kindness. May God reward you abundantly and keep you safe in his warm hands. I can never thank you enough for all the things you have done and are doing for me, but I will try. Thank you millions!! I always pray to my God to give you rewards for all the things you have done for me and you are doing and you already started to get the reward b/c the person you helped is getting new life, health, and great pleasure that he wishes to live many more years in this world again, and that is one of your reward and aim you are standing for. It is very nice to know that there are still people who take such a pleasure in helping others and making other people to live in a good life way.
Dear Mr & Mrs John A Sommer Jr,
First and for most, I wish you a happy 80th birth day and God to give you many more healthy and blessed years ahead of you. Once again, you do have my sincerest appreciation and heartfelt gratitude for your lovingly kindness and generosity. Your help to me does mean a lot than you know. And also I would like to give you my deepest gratitude for offering friends to contribute gifts for me(NCCL) at your 80th birth day. I wish there are more people like you who help people at their challenging time d get a pleasure from that.
Now the sun is shining for me and I am very healthy, happy, becoming strong man with a lot of hope ahead and this is all your wish, pray and effort, for all this and everything I always thank my God for preventing me through this very bad time, giving me this life, and giving you and many other people like you beside me. May God reward you abundantly and I pray to God to reward you for all the things you have done and you are doing. You were there for me. Many thanks!!
Truly, Assefa H Baraki.
Looking East 