Sunshine in the Rainy Season
Since we arrived on Saturday morning, everyone has told us how fortunate we are to see the sun because the rains before we arrived were very heavy. Now, three days in, people are even telling us we are good luck and have brought the sunshine. It’s sort of funny because we all feel like we are the lucky ones to be here with all these amazing people. It has been so difficult not being able to share our daily adventures with you all, but the internet has been non-existent (for the most part) since we arrived due to anti-government protests being arranged by social media. So here it is…our first three days in Ethiopia. Starting in Addis, finishing in Debre Berhan/Chacha! It is my hope that these stories and pictures can give you a true depiction of this journey. Enjoy!
Day 1
Today we hit the ground running…literally. From the moment we landed in Addis at 7am (after our 13 hour flight) we got through customs, got our luggage, found our driver from Ordinary Hero and headed to the OH Guest House. Upon arrival we were greeted by many friendly faces and we caught up over fresh buna (coffee)! We met our friend and the President of Project HEAL’s partner organization in Ethiopia, Dereje! He agreed to go out on an adventure with us to Entoto Mountain and an orphanage in Addis! We stuffed some lollipops in our pockets to hand out to any children we saw and got our donations for Kidane Mihret Orphanage (also known as the nun orphanage) and climbed right back into the van! As the van climbed the mountain and headed towards the top we saw woman carrying huge bundles of wood that were double the size of their own bodies. We were greeted at the top by about 200 children! We stayed and played for a few hours and got to help with the feeding program that Ordinary Hero runs with the director, Mesfin. Mesfin shared the story about how the program got started and it inspired us all.
These sweet children get to come here to this beautiful green space while their mothers and fathers are doing daily work (selling injera, making local drinks, roasting grains, etc.) so that they can earn funds to pay for their rent and food for their families. The children play in this safe place with their friends, while receiving a meal. If you want to learn more about this program, or sponsor a child in this feeding program, let me know and I can point you in the right direction! While there was so much joy at the top of the mountain, I witnessed something that hit close to home for me. There were many young girls (ages 5-7) that were wearing their siblings (age 8-18 months) on their backs. This was difficult for me to process. I try to imagine my 7 year old having that kind of responsibility for an entire day, while I went to work. Sadly, these families do not have other options. While visiting, we got to see some beautiful scarves and pottery made by the mothers of these children. Not only is this program helping the children but they are finding ways to empower the woman as well. It was difficult to say goodbye to all our new friends, but we had to go to our next stop, the Catholic Nun Orphanage.
We arrived at the orphanage and knew right away that it was a special place. The sister who runs the orphanage and the nannies were friendly, loving, and they appreciated our visit as it gave them a chance to take a small break from their extremely busy day. The most amazing part of the visit was when two teenage boys came in to help hold and love on the babies. They shared with us that they were cared for at this orphanage until they aged out of the system. All in all, this was a great first day.
Day 2
We awoke to the Muslim prayer at 3am! Luckily we were so tired from traveling and day 1 that we went back to sleep for a bit. After breakfast, we left for Chacha/Debre Berhan. We were blessed with an abundance of sunshine on the way and only right when we arrived at Love for the Children Academy in Chacha, it did drizzle for a bit. We were welcomed by the families of our students who were waiting in the play yard. It’s hard to explain the range of emotions that were flowing through me as Dan and my dream of starting a school in Ethiopia instantly became a reality. The only thing that would have made this moment better would be for Dan to have been by my side.
We proceeded inside to meet the staff and students. We loved meeting them. They were so kind and prepared a traditional coffee ceremony for us to have as we introduced ourselves. Meeting the students brought all of us so much joy, but it was difficult at the same time because most of them had never seen a white person before so it was scary for them. They started to warm up as we helped to serve them macaroni and bread for lunch. One of the main reasons these children come to school is for the meals. When the children are at home during the day, they are often alone, regardless of age, and could go a whole day or maybe more without food.
After we left school, we ventured into the village where many of our children live. We got to go into their homes and meet their families and hear their personal stories. I do not think there are any words that could come remotely close to explaining these visits, so for now, I will show them to you:
With each visit we learned about our students siblings, parents jobs, and about their current needs. Of course this made my mind start racing and trying to come up with ways to help with any problems they have and to create opportunities in which we could empower their parents. More to come on this topic in the near future!
Day 3
We awoke early, had breakfast at the Getva/Eva Hotel in Debre Berhan and drove to Love for the ChildLFCA. When we arrived the students and staff were waiting for us. We started the day by giving each child a friendship bracelet- and we showed them that we had matching bracelets. This definitely help them to feel more comfortable with us. We also helped them create their name tags for their desks which they thoroughly enjoyed. We finished our time at the school by decorating the older student classroom and plan to finish decorating both classrooms tomorrow. When school was over, we got to walk home with them to their village and got to visit 35 more homes. Home visit pictures will be coming soon! Stay Tuned!
