Hutterite woman’s love for children lives on through charitable organization
WINNIPEG, MB—Two local business owners are helping to make a big difference in the lives of children in northern Ethiopia.
Paul and Tabitha Langel, two of the owners of Winnipeg’s successful Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company, helped start Anna’s House in 2006. The charity supports children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The children receive support for their nutrition, education and health.
The charity is named for Anna Hofer, Tabitha’s mother, who passed away in 1999 at the age of 78. She was the mother of 12 children, and she left her Hutterite colony to live with the Langels in Wolseley for 18 years. Tabitha fondly recalls her mother’s gift for storytelling, love for children and her deep faith. She suffered a series of strokes that left her with epilepsy and forced her to learn to write, read and talk three times in her adult life.
“She was undaunted,” Tabitha says. “Her attitude was: God gives us what God thinks is best and it’s our job to make the best of it.”
During the last years of Anna’s life, she required home care and an Ethiopian woman named Berhan Mesret was one of the nurses who cared for her. After Anna died, Mesret returned to Ethiopia. There, Anna spoke to her in a dream: “Let’s do something for the children.”
Mystical experiences are common for Ethiopian Christians and Mesret believed God was calling her to start Anna’s House. With support from Anna’s family and friends in Winnipeg, Mesret began the work.
Initially, Anna’s House helped six children. Today, that number has grown to 40 children who are thriving in a small orphanage and the homes of extended family members. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has visited and evaluated the project since 2006, and in 2011, Anna’s House became an official MCC project.
Tabitha says the lesson for her in all of this is that if you’re a follower of Christ, you should prepare to be surprised.
“You will be led to places that surprise you—like joint projects with the other world and MCC,” she says. “I take great comfort for that—my mother’s love for children didn’t end [when she died]. Love doesn’t end, ever.”
For more information, visit www.annashouse.org.
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