Chester couple Chris and Fi Mellor are packing their bags and moving to Bekoji in Ethiopia to live with 22 orphaned and abandoned children.

Chris and Fri Mellor currently live in Waverton and have three adult children - Josh, Beth and Sam.

Chris is the pastor of Waverton Evangelical Church and Fi works as a sex education coordinator for Chester Schools Christian Work.

In 2012 Chris and Fi first visited Bekoji, Ethiopia with children’s charity Stand by Me, but little did they know that five years later they would be moving away from their home and family to one of the poorest towns in Ethiopia.

On their first trip in 2012 Chris and Fi visited the Bekoji Children’s Village and met the amazing children who, despite coming from terrible circumstances, many orphaned and abandoned, now had hope and a loving home.

This trip was the first of many as Fi and Chris could not stay away from the remarkable children and felt passionate about supporting them, encouraging them and helping them feel loved.

In the following years they came back with family and friends of all ages and skills, to spend time with the children and take part in projects to benefit their lives.

When Chris and Fi weren’t in Bekoji with the children, they were fundraising at home and telling more and more people about how they can support children and give them a helping hand so that they can thrive.

Chris and Fi have consequently changed many children’s lives for the better and are now taking on a new adventure by moving to Bekoji, Ethiopia on a permanent basis, supporting the Stand by Me team with childcare development and project development.

Fi said: “Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Absolutely! I love the children there dearly and can’t wait to do life with them. I want to help them realise how very precious they are and to help them dream big and have bright futures full of hope.”

This big move comes with challenges. Funds are needed for initial set up costs as well as for ongoing support. Chris and Fi have a target of £15,000 per annum to make this all possible and thanks to their amazing friends and family they have already surpassed their target for their first year.

If you would like to support Chris and Fi, you can visit their page: www.standby.me/chrisandfi