The A-Team Trip * One Year Later
It’s hard to believe it’s been one year since Erin & I embarked on our second trip to Ethiopia. This time we led a group of women (7 of us total). While you can read all about our experiences here, some of us figured we would also reflect back on that trip…one year later.
April
After we arrived home, I was so touched by my community’s interest. Dozens of friends were sincerely eager to hear details of our experience. I struggled then (and still do today) to find the appropriate choice of words. Nothing I could write or articulate could represent my staggering feeling. I felt tongue tied when all I could come up with was “amazing” and “life changing”.
Thinking back on the experience, here are some things that come to my mind:
* Hunger like I’ve never seen
* Sweet children’s faces, desperate for affection, grabbing my hand, leading me around, not letting go for one second
* Children touching my face and my hair, clinging, trying to stay close
Here’s one image, I’ll share. It’s the day we arrived at Dahley, the impoverished community in the countryside (where we helped build the library) The landscape is lush and green; rolling fields and hills. Tiny houses made of mud and straw are scattered about. One group in Dahley (Oromo, the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia; 35% of the population) wears brilliant jewel tone layered clothing. They look so pretty against the green backdrop. Pieces of the bright fabric are also wound around as head wraps. The other group (Amhara) dresses in muted shades of grey, tattered and dirty. Each group speaks a different language. All of them, are stunningly attractive.
That day we prepared the community meal (potatoes, red root, carrots, sheep). We entered Habte’s house; four mud walls and a dirt floor. This is where the meal would be served. None of us imagined how this bare mud hut would be transformed in to something so beautiful a few hours later. When it was time for the feast, I entered the hut and was so pleasantly surprised. Blades of grass and flower petals were arranged on the dirt floor. Low tables were set up and covered with colorful tablecloths. It was time for them to eat. First the men, then the women. Finally the young children in the village gathered in a circle to eat. Not a word was spoken as they brought their hands to their mouths and frantically shoveled in the food. For many of them, it would be the only meat they’d have for the year. Seeing such hunger first-hand, was too much to bear. I had to step outside and get fresh air.
I’d like to return to Ethiopia and spend the entire time in Dahley. I admire the simplicity of their lives. While they do not have material objects, they do have a lifestyle many of us would envy. They can learn from us and we can learn from them.
Wendy
I had to read through our blog posts from our last trip just to jostle my memories a bit. It’s amazing how you think you’ll never forget any details of such an incredible journey when you first get back, but one year later certain memories have faded. I feel sad at that truth. I don’t want to forget any of it … ever.
As I read through our memories, a smile would come across my face as I re-lived them. That’s how I remember that trip – with a smile.
Things that stood out for me:
- Getting the most amazing hugs from children (and even adults). Seriously, those kids need to teach our children how to hug!
- Feeling like a rock star riding around in our van. It’s not something that you want to happen, but there aren’t many white people in Ethiopia. People point and stare. I remember a little girl touching my arm at the market and giggling. She touched a white girl!
- Going to the countryside of Dahley. Absolutely ah-maze-ing!
- Cuddling the babies at the Elolam Orphanage. Be still my throbbing uterus!
- Giggling fits in our van. Things lost in translation. Learning new Amharic. Being invited to a delicious dinner at Daniel’s house (our interpreter and awesome friend)
- Preparing a community meal and then serving it for the people of Dahley
- Meeting my “little boy” Senewerk at Kolfe
I will also add this. I think when you tell someone you went to Ethiopia, their mind travels back to the famine in the 80′s. When “We are the World” ruled the airwaves (and MTV) and those iconic pictures were shown of the children with distended bellies, surrounded by flies and vultures. Where we traveled, we saw horrendous poverty and certain hunger. But we also met joy, hope and faith. Ethiopian people are strong. They definitely do not let their circumstances define their happiness.
I do hope to return one day. This time I would like to spend my time at just one place and channel my attention/focus there. I miss those hugs!
Erin
My teammates recently reminded me that it’s been a year. A year since the A-Team boarded planes in 4 different cities, spent a wonderful fall day in London, showered, boarded another plane, slept, and woke up to the adventure of a lifetime. The seven days that followed were amazing. Like really amazing. We laughed, we cried, we giggled, we wept. We checked out of our busy lives for a week and stepped onto the soil of a new world – a country with so little, yet so much.
We left Ethiopia haunted by the smiles of starving orphans, widows, lepers who have lost so much, yet remained joyful. We wondered how they could smile when we couldn’t manage more than a grimace on a rainy Monday morning. We were convicted of our abundance and we left with a resolve to do something more.
The trip anniversary almost passed me by because I’ve been in the throes of adoption paperwork. As soon as I returned from Ethiopia last October we began the process to adopt B. It was during that week that it became clear that he was supposed to be home with us. We are finally at the end of the process. As I type this I am waiting for our court date.
While time tends to fade the resolve and the conviction of what we felt that week, we all left with indelible handprints on our hearts.
Kim
At church on Sunday the rector gave a sermon about giving 100% of ourselves to God, and how completely impossible that is. It’s quite impossible to give our 100% to anything. He went on to say that many of us think, “Why should I give 100%? What has He done for me lately?” And in this time of economic uncertainty and relative hardship, I have occasionally found myself asking this question. I lost my job and my family’s health insurance. Times are tough. But what has He done for me lately? Everything.
Last year I traveled to Ethiopia. I have never seen such abject poverty before, and doubt that I ever will again. When I consider the relative hardship my family is experiencing, I think about what I witnessed there and I count my blessings. Each afternoon I fret about dinner. What should I make? Is the chicken defrosted? Rice or potatoes? This son won’t eat that, so I’ll make an option for him. Do you want water or milk with dinner? Sorry, we don’t have any ice cream left, so you’ll have to have Oreos again for dessert. Sound familiar? Sound mundane? For millions of people in Ethiopia, these ramblings aren’t even imaginable. For them dinner might not take place today. It might not take place this week. It’s just something they live with. I have dinner. Every night. With my family.
And speaking of family, I am surrounded by them. Not only my loving husband and three children, but an extended family both near and far that I know can and would help us in a time of crisis. The same family that I have known since forever. In Ethiopia, orphans can be counted in millions. Who can they turn to for comfort? Who cares what happens to them now and for the rest of their lives? They deserve love and kind words and comforting arms like we all do. It seems that there just aren’t enough of these things to go around. Yes, the same family I might describe as meddlesome, annoying, boisterous, and nutty is also loving, caring, and sincere. I am blessed.
And this family of mine costs money! I wince each time I have to go to a doctor appointment and shell out the full cost because we are currently uninsured. But I have access to health care. I have access to a drug store. I have the warm clothing, clean water, and vaccinations that I need to keep my family healthy. I have a home with heat. I have a home with a floor that is not made of dirt. I have beds and blankets and shoes! When I think about what God has done for me lately, I think about my time spent in Ethiopia, and the answer is always EVERYTHING. I am blessed. WE as a nation are blessed.
I feel like my trip last year was part humanitarian aid, part curiosity, and part reconnaissance. I had to see for myself what this place that I’d been hearing about since the 1980s was like. It’s at once beautiful and blighted, and there is as much promise as there is hopelessness. I might forget the names of many of the people I met in Ethiopia, but their faces are burned in my memory. Their living conditions are burned in my memory. I will return. In a bigger way, I hope. And I will count my experience in Ethiopia among my blessings.
They’re Baaack!
- Buy One, GIVE One T-Shirt
Back
I’m back from my 3rd trip to Ethiopia in three years. I travelled with my hubs, my 11yo old son, and 9 others from my church. You may have noticed that I didn’t blog this trip. It just wasn’t in me.
But if you’re looking for photos and information on what we did, you can find lots of good stuff here.
Something’s missing…
I’m heading back to Ethiopia in a few weeks, which is awesome and exciting and wonderful. Seriously. I am leading a group of twelve from my church including my son and husband. I love that I get to share Ethiopia with these people – all of them. I love that we’re going to spend a lot of time at Hope for the Hopeless orphanage – where we have over 30 people from our church sponsoring kids. These kids were all without sponsors when Wendy and I visited Ethiopia in April 2009. Now they have families who love them, pray for them, and financial support them. Good stuff.
I love that in 2 weeks I’ll get to hug my far-away son. I love that he’ll meet Avery and Dirt face to face. [pinching self]
So what’s missing?
[sigh] Wendy. Aww..butts.
This is my first Ethiopian adventure without her and it just doesn’t feel right.
Warm Munchkins
We really love warm munchkins.
So does my co-worker Mary. She really, really loves warm munchkins.
…which is why she scoured the sale racks prior to our October trip and loaded up my office with a bunch of warm fleece blankets.
And I loaded all those blankets into a very large suitcase and delivered them to Sally Baer at Dahley in Ethiopia.
..and last Friday, on their Christmas, a bunch of little munchkins received brand new blankets – all because Mary and others cared enough to send them.
This purple-fleece ensconced smile is dedicated to you, Mary!
photo credit: Jennifer Bridges
Christmas Tag #fail
Okay, unfortunate news – our last-minute printer was not able to print the tags in a way that met our high standards. They mangled our designs and told us there was no other way. So… [insert violin tune here]…we are sorry to report that we will not have the Christmas gift tags available this year.
Next year we vow to be more on top of it!
The good news is, we’ve found another way for you to spend money on things that matter. Go here and be moved.
Merry Christmas!
We’re on it..
Working on it, that is. Working on finalizing the designs for our fantastical Christmas gift tags so you can..um..buy them and put them on your gifts AND feed orphans all in one swift transaction. Cause we know that in addition to being socially conscious, you’ll a multi-tasker. Right? Check back here in like, oh I don’t know…2 days..and order some gift tags. Do it, I say.
New Cool Kid on the Block
While we were in Ethiopia we were able to meet up with the fine folks at Gladney. Gladney is one of the largest and most reputable adoption agencies in Ethiopia. What makes us love them is that they have a humanitarian aid office that is doing wonderful things to improve the lives of orphans in Ethiopia.
One of the things we’d love to encourage is for folks to get together with their families, friends, bible study groups, or co-workers this year, and instead of doing a Secret Santa (do any of us REALLY need more crappy stuff?) – why not get together, spend time with one another, and donate the money you each would’ve spent on secret santa gifts to giving HOPE to an older orphan.
Older orphans lives have been filled with disappointment. They spend their lives HOPING someone will adopt them, and at a certain age, that hope turns into disappointment. They become unadoptable at age 16. Imagine what turning 16 must feel like for an orphan? Imagine the pain as the door to your dream for a family and a better life is forever closed. Go ahead. Take a second and imagine yourself in that situation.
[pit in stomach]
The only shred of light is that we can give them HOPE through education! In Ethiopia, education is the key to a better life. We want to encourage you to give HOPE to a deserving child this year.
Gladney has been able to assist individuals from the orphanages who show the ability and desire to advance their education through either traditional and/or training instruction. 100% of donations go directly to fund this program and currently we are providing on average $5,875 per month with around 25% coming in from donors like yourselves and 75% coming out of Gladney’s operations. Just recently, we purchased Graduation dresses/suits and shoes for around 20 students totaling $2,760.
When we started the General Ethiopian Scholarship Fund, our intent and desire was to choose young men and women whom Belay (Gladney’s In-Country Representative) and Anbes (Gladney’s Humanitarian Aid Director) have gotten to know and are confident will make full use of the resources given to further their education. Some of them attend public school which does not require school fees, but does require money for school supplies, copies, clothes and transportation. Some donors have asked that their funds go directly to a specific child they met in Ethiopia, but there are many children who are very deserving and capable but may not be as outgoing and connected to adoptive families, thus the reason for a general fund. The average funding which a child is likely to need is anywhere from $400 to $1,000 USD per year. As you can imagine, we would like to see every child with the ability to further their education be given the opportunity to do so.
Tutorial Program:
There have been many successful stories and good news to report. Just a short two years ago, before Gladney became involved, to our knowledge only 1 student from the orphanage made it to University. Gladney then hired high school teachers as tutors for those interested in taking the National Exams. Two years ago of the 8 who took the exam, all passed (4 boys @ Kolfe and 4 girls @ Kechene), which has NEVER happened before in the history of either of those government run orphanages. This past August, the tutors assisted 12 more students and once again ALL 12 passed the National Exam, so another 100% pass rate! Of special significance, one of those students scored within the top 10% of everyone taking the exam in all of Ethiopia, and he is excited to start attending Medical School.
Scholarship Program:
The scholarship program was commenced on September 30, 2008. Since then, we have had over 200 students involved with studies such as medical science, construction technology, hairdressing/beauty profession, food preparation/hospitality, information technology, language, teaching profession and governmental institutions. With our limited staffing resources, the donations go into a pool of funding for ALL scholarships. We are not set up to provide monthly follow-up as other sponsorship organizations provide. With 100% of the donations going into this pool and more than 65 young men and women waiting for financial assistance, we do not feel it a good use of funds to spend our limited staff resources to provide monthly follow up. As more funding is provided and more young people continue to show the desire and ability to continue their education, whether through conventional schooling or trade school, they will be added to the program.
Donations can be made payable to: The Gladney Center for Adoption; c/o Ethiopian Program; 6300 John Ryan Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76132-4122. In the memo line please be sure to write “Ethiopian Educational Scholarship”.
Thank YOU
We’re not sure what could be better than receiving an email like this. Since YOU all made this possible, you should share in the joy and blessing of this email we received from Elolam today:
Hi A-team (Erin, Jodi, Megin, Wendy, April, Simone, Kim)
Why I write this letter is to bless you (A-team) who came to our orphanages. Prior to your coming, we were in a terrible situation and to tell you the truth frankly we didn’t have anything to feed our babies and kids. God knows we didn’t know what we are going to do at all. Let alone kids we didn’t have money to pay salary for our staff. So what we had been was keep praying to God. During our devotion we were pray about it. We thank God you came at the right time. We can say a lot but not in words on the e-mail. But I truly say it is God’s help from heaven. You may know all in which terrible situation we are going through. Do you remember when you came to our orphanage it was about the end of the month. That means every thing run out off. Besides, it was the time to pay house rent. We were rushing to get the money from Agency. Therefore we would like to thank and bless all of you (A-team) in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Be blessed in your works and we bless all your families.
With the money you (A-team) gave us, we bought floor mat, tried to furnished the daycare room, bought all types cereals in quintals, and order cribs and bunk beds. Our children now even are given supper/snack. We are now so blessed with you, thank God. We are waiting until the beds are finished. When everything is completed, we will send you pictures and reports. Concerning sponsorship Dani is communicating with you. We bless him in God’s Mighty name for what he has been doing for us so far.
We are praying for you now that what you are doing for our organization may go on well.
Thank you very much for all what you (A-team) have done and been doing for us.
Hiwot
Elolam Care for Children
Day 7 – Last but not least
We woke up with heavy hearts. It was our last day in Africa and goodbyes were imminent. By the time the 7am median-strip aerobics had commenced outside our windows (one of the entertainment perks not mentioned on the EGH website), two team members had flown off to explore other parts of Ethiopia…and more goodbyes were coming. Yet our flight didn’t leave until midnight and we had a lot to accomplish in short time.
Our team was touched by the little hearts beating over at Elolam, and we decided to pool our money together and go shopping for their most immediate needs. Going shopping in Ethiopia is certainly NOT like America. It requires patience. There are no Wal Marts or Targets here (much to our chagrin). We started off at one place that looked like a scaled down version of BJ’s….minus the fun little food samples. Kim bought a bag of gum and was rewarded with a full page receipt. With the gum transaction taking 15 minutes, we knew we were in for a long process since we were ordering boxes of formula. We let Dani and Tam do the shopping/bargaining for us since it would likely save us money having them negotiate. Unfortunately this particular BJ’s didn’t have everything we needed…so it was off to another “store.” The next store didn’t have infant formula either, nor the next. Finally, after three stops and three hours, we had everything we needed…including bedsores from sitting in the van for so long.
We headed back to Elolam with the supplies stocked high on top of our van: soaps, milk, diapers, formula…this would be such a tremendous help for them. But to our surprise, they had gifts for us. We each received shirts that were hand-made by women who are supported by the Elolam ministry. We were beside ourselves…how could they be giving gifts to us?
We were thrilled to hand over approximately 50 “I am Loved” t-shirts that you all helped us purchase (thank you!) and were thrilled to see the kids wearing them with such joy and pride!
We were also able to give them some money ($3K) to buy additional cribs, mattresses, bedding, and really, whatever else they needed to keep those sweet babies healthy. It wasn’t enough – but it was what we had. And greater was our resolve to continue to help when we returned home.
A-Team member Kim was loving on the kids and noticed one of the caregivers watching us from the upstairs window with tears rolling down her cheeks. With a baby in her arms, she raised one hand in the air in an act of overwhelming gratitude and worship. We were an answered prayer. How incredibly humbling.
After Elolam we headed back out for some economy stimulus (tourist shopping) at Entoto. Time was ticking and the drive to Entoto seemed to take hours. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the guesthouse to pack up.
On the way back to the guesthouse we stopped at Kolfe to drop off a donated laptop to one of the boys who was heading to medical school. We said our goodbyes and were handed several gifts from many of the boys that they asked us to mail to their “mamas” in the US. How touching that these boys who live in abject poverty, use whatever little money they have to buy gifts for their long-distance moms? Many of the gifts were even wrapped!
We picked up pizzas and ate them at the guest house. It was our last meal with our sweet friends (Dani, Tam, Zi, Getch and “Baby”). These sweet young men then surprised us by presenting us with gifts. I think we were all teary eyed by the end of that meal! And of course no meal could be complete without a coffee ceremony (complete with popcorn)! We rebounded from our sentimental meal by tossing popcorn into each other mouths and goofing off, as we had been doing all week.
We said our final goodbyes and then retreated to our rooms to pack our bags. Although we dreaded the long trip home, we were excited to see our families. Plus the long journey would provide time to begin processing this amazing trip.
