Important Visitors

Last week was a busy week, as I said. The regional Africa meeting for Food for the Hungry was held just south of Zeway. At the end of the meeting the participants were broken up into 10 groups and traveled to all of the sites for home visits. Many of these visits resulted in tears as people were surprised by the stories and saddened by some of the living situations that people are facing. This group of visitors was a bit different as the time was more of a whirlwind as they only spent about 2 hours in the town that they visited.

 

It Adds Up!

Women of a Savings Group in Adami Tulu

Awoke cutting the special bread

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a unique celebration. For those of you who get my newsletters a while ago I mentioned the kickoff of our savings groups. Well these groups are now going full force. We have 15 official groups all organized and headed by women whose children are in our program. Each group has its own bylaws and standard of saving from 1 birr a week to 5 birr a week (remember that one US dollar equals 9.5 birr). Things are going well and I was invited along with some of my co-workers to the official opening celebration for one of the groups. Although they started their group back in December, and have been saving since then, they had a big celebration to kick of their “real” beginning. We ate homemade bread and spinach and partook in a coffee ceremony. It was a happy celebration as the 22 women came together to celebrate the 345 birr that they had saved together. Soon they will begin to give small loans to the members of the group, charging small interest rates. Together they will not only save, but watch their money grow.

 

Bulbula Elementary School

One of the half completed classrooms in Bulbula slated to be completed in the comming year. The community began construction and ran out of funds to complete the buildings. There is a 1/2 foot layer of dust on the ground. The school officials have been keeping the doors locked because the children have been using these unfinished classrooms as toilets. Currently there are around 130 children in each class.

This is a latrine which is currently being dug at the school. The old latrine is falling apart and at least 25 years old.

 

Most recent guests

I thought I’d share a few pictures of some visits that we’ve had recently. Morris, has been out to visit our project at least 5 times. This time around he brought a good friend, Rick, and his friend’s two daughters. Much of Morris’s heart is here and he has a great passion for the children in the area- it is beautiful to see. One of our major areas of focus is building up the capacity and quality of the schools in our project sites. Many don’t have latrines, enough desks and have few classrooms, many of which are poorly constructed.

 

Are They Really Gone?

A little over a week ago I met the Heartland team at the airport & just last night I said goodbye to them. It’s incredible how fast their visit went by. I had been eagerly waiting this visit from my friends (and project supporters) and now they’re already gone. I love groups. Each one is different, special and I never know what to expect. This particular team in particular holds a special place in my heart. There is a deeper relationship here that is unlike most groups. This team is comprised of members around my age, last year there were some special bonding and relationships built. When I was stuck in the US last summer I received a surprise phone call inviting me to visit the Heartland Church in Kansas City. I gladly took them up on the offer and spent a week with people I now gladly call my friends. Needless to say, I know I (and the project) have a special bond with this great group of people.

The Heartland team with some of the Zeway staff

Now to the point of this post- I need to fill you in on what we did and experienced. I came into Addis the day before the group arrived. I survived a 6 1/2 hour stay on the bus (now this bus ride is normal about 3 1/2 hours)- We had a flat tire and had college students who didn’t want to pay the normal bus fare. Let me just say I was relieved to finally reach Addis.

This year we received 18 guests from Heartland Church. 8 people went out to Belo which is a 13 hour drive from Addis and the remaining 10 went with me back to Zeway. We did so many things, saw the hippos, had presentations about the project, visited schools, met with government leaders, ate dinner at my house and did at least 26 house visits. Now, not every person did 26 house visits, but each person did about half that many. These house visits are the focal point of visits, as they allow sponsors to meet their sponsored children and see how they live and interact a bit with their families. We were given endless coffee ceremonies with graciousness as if we were kings and queens. I am always incredibly humbled at the hospitality that I/we are shown every time we enter a house- people scrambling to find seats and listening to murmurs of well wishes and feel at home. Most of the time there is love and hope but sometimes we are met with shame, sadness and despair. Those are the times when it is the hardest because you struggle to find the right words and pray that God will fill you with His words during prayer.

Home Visit: Amy & Nejmudin

As I write this I realize it’s not much of a summary of the past week, but rather a brief reflection. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Now I’m tired, and thankful for a little bit of rest before beginning a week of meetings about orphaned and vulnerable children. I’m tired from the questions and the stress of responsibility. But refreshed from the prayer and heart led ministry of the Heartland team. Thanks Guys!!

Me preparing strawberries for strawberry shortcake at my house the night I had the team over for dinner.

 

2 Months at a Glimpse

Jerry & Jim from EVBC Church came and visited the project at the end of February/beginning of March. They did a number of home visits but also spent teaching a study on the Beattitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). It was a great time to hear some good Bible teaching and wonderful to have guests at the project.

I celebrated yet another birthday on February 20th!!! I baked cookies, cupcakes & a cake to celebrate. My favorite part was playing musical chairs with my co workers. Also I received more bars of chocolate for this birthday then I ever had— should I be worried?

The children who are receiving food as a part of our Developmental Support Program are periodically weighed. Previously in my blog, I’ve show pictures of a food distribution where wheat, peas and oil are given out.

Mimo came out to visit me. It was nice to have her for the week. She hung out with me at work and also cooked me some great food! I don’t know if you can see the dark blob in the background but that’s one of the hippos who live in Lake Zeway

The end of January brought me my first training. We spent the day talking about social work and listening skills. It was a great success and I look forward to teaching more.

 

Annual Review Meeting

Last week we held our annual review meeting with all of the local stake holders. This means that those from the community & government who are involved with our programs in Zeway came for a 2 day meeting of a review of the years activities and to give input for future growth. We had about 75 people present for the meeting. We received some good critique as well as helpful suggestions for the future.

 

Lessons Learned

I rushed to Addis Thursday afternoon after I recieved an email from my friends in Kenya that I needed a visa for entry to India & that we were on a time limit. I’m leaving for Kenya on Monday and heading to India/Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Sri Lanka’s no problem they issue a visa apon arrival but we all forgot that we were going through India. There is confusion about whether or not a visa is needed just to enter the airports of India. I spent all day friday traveling to various embassys and trying to get my plane tickets changed. But none of it worked. I ended up in the same position that I was in before I arrived in Addis.

Please pray that the Indian Embassy in Kenya will be reasonable and helpful. My friends there have been working with them and alerted them of my situation. The outlook seems fairly hopeful, but still a little worriesome given the bureacuracy of the Embassy’s system and the time limit we’re facing.

I have been nearly giddy these past few weeks about my vacation and can’t even imagine not being able to go on it.

You could say this is yet another lesson learned in life.