Showing posts with label Ethiopia - helping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ethiopia - helping. Show all posts
22 January 2009
Food for All
Help Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) respond to the millions of people facing hunger because of food shortages and rising food prices. MCC’s Food for All campaign seeks $1.5 million in contributions to provide emergency food assistance in Ethiopia and other countries. A severe drought and rising food prices in 2008 left about 12 million Ethiopians in need of food assistance. As escalating food prices push more people into poverty, MCC is working with local agencies throughout the world to monitor the impact of the crisis and to respond. Learn more at mcc.org/foodforall.
01 January 2009
Around and about Addis
Friday 4 January
Our friend JN picked us up after breakfast and we headed out, all six of us piled into her little red car (only in Ethiopia - or at least never in Canada!). She had a free day and wanted to take us to see some of the NGOs and humanitarian projects she's worked on in Addis. Her husband is an employee with the UN and while he's about his official work, she finds things to do - paid or volunteer, or a combination of both, I'm not sure - with whatever NGOs are in need and that she has a skill to work with.
Our first stop was a pottery studio, located (as were most of today's visitations) in one of the poorer areas of Addis. The potters are all women, and I believe many of them are either HIV+ or have husbands or family who have died of AIDS.
The studio was very dark. We met two women hard at work building some wares and watched them work in the dim light. Another woman was examining the finished products for workmanship.
We examined some of the unfinished pieces, then went into the sales room and picked out a half dozen items or so to buy. It is not hard-baked, so still rather fragile, but I've managed to bring even brittler stuff home from Mexico without incident, so I think with proper packing these should survive too.
Our friend JN picked us up after breakfast and we headed out, all six of us piled into her little red car (only in Ethiopia - or at least never in Canada!). She had a free day and wanted to take us to see some of the NGOs and humanitarian projects she's worked on in Addis. Her husband is an employee with the UN and while he's about his official work, she finds things to do - paid or volunteer, or a combination of both, I'm not sure - with whatever NGOs are in need and that she has a skill to work with.
Our first stop was a pottery studio, located (as were most of today's visitations) in one of the poorer areas of Addis. The potters are all women, and I believe many of them are either HIV+ or have husbands or family who have died of AIDS.
The studio was very dark. We met two women hard at work building some wares and watched them work in the dim light. Another woman was examining the finished products for workmanship.
We examined some of the unfinished pieces, then went into the sales room and picked out a half dozen items or so to buy. It is not hard-baked, so still rather fragile, but I've managed to bring even brittler stuff home from Mexico without incident, so I think with proper packing these should survive too.
Our next stop was just at the top of the same hill - a small weaving studio. Here the weavers were men. Again, we examined the wares and bought several shawls, scarves, and a tablecloth, all at a very good price for very fine workmanship.
From there we proceeded to another, larger, weavers studio: a spacious room with twenty or so looms set up in rows, both men and women operating them, making cloth for traditional clothing.
We stopped in a nearby shop to look at some of the outfits, and I bought a traditional dress for Giggles and outfit for Poppet. These will be reserved for special occasions, as the cloth is so fine any rough wear at all will wear right through it.
Next we visited an artist JN had gotten to know, in his studio. He is a very well-known artist whose paintings sell for quite a bit. He didn't have any work available at the moment (and I'm not sure whether we'd have been able to purchase any if he did!) but we looked around his small space at the samples on the walls. He was currently working on a bust of a young woman who had died; her family had requested the piece in her memory.
After that it was lunch time. JN took us up Mount Entoto to a hilltop restaurant where we enjoyed the view over the city as well as a fine meal. The restaurant had a garden with a playground, so while the grownups talked, Giggles and Poppet went and played. There was even a person to watch over the children!
After lunch we went to a rug-weaving studio. This place employs handicapped people to weave woolen rugs. Some of them were blind, even! Imagine weaving a patterned rug without vision! But they managed to do so, with some assitance. Others were missing limbs or had other disabilities that made them hard to employ otherwise. Here, I bought one small and one fairly large rug, while Laolao and Laoye purchased a medium-sized one. These will be a bit of a challenge to cart home, but seeing as we are down seven suitcases it should be manageable!!
Our final stop of the day was Selam Children's Village, where there is a school, a restaurant where older children and their parents can learn baking and cooking, a greenhouse (I think) and a few other things that help to provide both employment and education. Unfortunately it was mostly closed, but we stopped in and bought some ice cream and a few buns or sweets at the restaruant.
From there JN took us home, tired but very pleased with our day's excursion and all that we had seen (and purchased!). Frankly, I'd rather buy things from places like this, where you know it is going to support very needy people, than at the touristy shops.
(Continue to 5 January: Meserete Kristos College)
26 December 2007
Unto the least of these
Tuesday, 25 December
"Merry Christmas!" a little elf whispered into my ear at 6:30 this morning.
"Merry Christmas," I mumbled back.
I tried to convince her that we needed to sleep for another hour (seeing as she didn't get to sleep until after 10 last night) but she would have none of that. Stockings were waiting. So I told her she could go peek at them and then should come back to bed. Ha.
Next thing I knew, she had Laolao examinging the stockings with her. Okay, mother, get your butt out of bed. I got up, threw on some basic clothes, and went to see what delights Santa had managed to bring to or find in Ethiopia. Laoye joined us shortly thereafter, so I guess more sleep was out of the question.
After breakfast, Giggles and Laoye went off to buy more buns and investigate a possible restaurant for supper tonight. (Gotta eat out a few times!) While they did so, I showered, dressed properly, and packed the basics for our trip tomorrow. Upon their return, Giggles took me into the street to show me the kitty they'd seen a down the road a ways. The little kitty was no longer there, but a slightly larger one was, so we petted it and fed it some yogurt we'd brought from the kitchen. The people living in the nearby houses all gathered round, exclaiming at these crazy foreigners (or some such – who knows what they were really saying!).
We then began our morning's adventure, to find AHOPE Ethiopia, the orphanage for HIV+ children. I had some general directions and phone numbers, and had been told it wasn't necessary to phone ahead but one could just show up, so that's what we planned on doing. Fasil was busy so sent a friend to drive us. The friend didn't seem to understand the directions – not a good sign. After a few futile attempts at calling the AHOPE phone numbers, I told him to take us to the Weygoss, both because I'd forgotten I wanted to go there first anyhow to leave a message for K & M and in the hopes that someone there might know of AHOPE and be able to provide directions.
The first purpose was accomplished but the second didn't produce much. No one knew of AHOPE, but after some discussion with a few of the staff, the taxi driver at least seemed to know better what general area to go in. So off we went. The ride took us over some bumpy sections where the road was under construction, past some landmarks we'd seen before and beyond. We came to one of the landmarks that was part of the directions I'd received to find the orphanage, and no sign of it. The driver asked one or two people, but again no one knew of it. We found the offices of Save the Children and went in to ask if anyone knew of it, but they were mostly deserted owing to its being (western) Christmas Day and the Ethiopian staff around didn't have any idea. Then I had a brain wave. I called our MCC friends on my mobile phone and asked them for the number of the person they knew who volunteered at AHOPE. I then called him and had him give direcdtions to the taxi driver. We headed back down the main road and had gone about a kilometre when Laolao called out, "AHOPE Ethiopia! There it is!" She'd spotted the small sign by the gate. At last! It had taken us almost two hours to find it.
The guard let us into the gate and we were ushered into the office area, where several people greeted us. One woman gave us the spiel about their mission and work, and then took us on a tour of the compound. We had come to the younger children's compound; there is a second compound for older children, which is about a 10-minute drive away. Some of the children were at school, but those too young for school were at the compound. In one room we saw about a dozen of the littlest ones playing with the nannies; in a different building the three and four-year-olds were learning colours and numbers with another nanny. One very small eight-year-old girl was among them; she had just recently arrived at AHOPE in poor health and was from a region where Amharic is not spoken. She had not yet started school as they wished to improve her health and give her a chance to pick up some basic Amharic first.
One of the children had several noticeable sores on his face; the staff said he was a relatively recent arrival as well and had been in much worse condition, but that with proper medical care he was doing much better. For these children, good nutrition is essential as their bodies are weakened by the need to fight the HIV virus, and they are more susceptible to other germs and diseases. Once the HIV medications have taken effect and brought the virus under control, their bodies have greater resources to fight off other infections.
We didn't stay long, but I had wanted to see the place where many of our donations were destined and to be able to tell the people who gave items what we had seen.
As we departed, the taxi driver told me that he was very happy we had found the place – I think he was concerned about giving good service. He also gave me some corrections to the directions I had been given, which had been a source of the confusion as the version I had didn't make much sense.
It was 1:00 by the time we got home. We ate a light lunch of Christmas chicken soup (that had been simmering on the stove most of the morning) and had some time to play, read, nap, and go pet the cats again before adventure number two.
At 3:30, Daniel from the Kid's Hope project showed up at our door. We loaded up the last two of our donation suitcases and he took us into yet another new part of town. This project was housed down a maze of narrow, rough gravel streets off a main road. The director, Besret, showed us the library and computer rooms, which are the main physical features of their premises.
"Merry Christmas!" a little elf whispered into my ear at 6:30 this morning.
"Merry Christmas," I mumbled back.
I tried to convince her that we needed to sleep for another hour (seeing as she didn't get to sleep until after 10 last night) but she would have none of that. Stockings were waiting. So I told her she could go peek at them and then should come back to bed. Ha.
Next thing I knew, she had Laolao examinging the stockings with her. Okay, mother, get your butt out of bed. I got up, threw on some basic clothes, and went to see what delights Santa had managed to bring to or find in Ethiopia. Laoye joined us shortly thereafter, so I guess more sleep was out of the question.
After breakfast, Giggles and Laoye went off to buy more buns and investigate a possible restaurant for supper tonight. (Gotta eat out a few times!) While they did so, I showered, dressed properly, and packed the basics for our trip tomorrow. Upon their return, Giggles took me into the street to show me the kitty they'd seen a down the road a ways. The little kitty was no longer there, but a slightly larger one was, so we petted it and fed it some yogurt we'd brought from the kitchen. The people living in the nearby houses all gathered round, exclaiming at these crazy foreigners (or some such – who knows what they were really saying!).
We then began our morning's adventure, to find AHOPE Ethiopia, the orphanage for HIV+ children. I had some general directions and phone numbers, and had been told it wasn't necessary to phone ahead but one could just show up, so that's what we planned on doing. Fasil was busy so sent a friend to drive us. The friend didn't seem to understand the directions – not a good sign. After a few futile attempts at calling the AHOPE phone numbers, I told him to take us to the Weygoss, both because I'd forgotten I wanted to go there first anyhow to leave a message for K & M and in the hopes that someone there might know of AHOPE and be able to provide directions.
The first purpose was accomplished but the second didn't produce much. No one knew of AHOPE, but after some discussion with a few of the staff, the taxi driver at least seemed to know better what general area to go in. So off we went. The ride took us over some bumpy sections where the road was under construction, past some landmarks we'd seen before and beyond. We came to one of the landmarks that was part of the directions I'd received to find the orphanage, and no sign of it. The driver asked one or two people, but again no one knew of it. We found the offices of Save the Children and went in to ask if anyone knew of it, but they were mostly deserted owing to its being (western) Christmas Day and the Ethiopian staff around didn't have any idea. Then I had a brain wave. I called our MCC friends on my mobile phone and asked them for the number of the person they knew who volunteered at AHOPE. I then called him and had him give direcdtions to the taxi driver. We headed back down the main road and had gone about a kilometre when Laolao called out, "AHOPE Ethiopia! There it is!" She'd spotted the small sign by the gate. At last! It had taken us almost two hours to find it.
The guard let us into the gate and we were ushered into the office area, where several people greeted us. One woman gave us the spiel about their mission and work, and then took us on a tour of the compound. We had come to the younger children's compound; there is a second compound for older children, which is about a 10-minute drive away. Some of the children were at school, but those too young for school were at the compound. In one room we saw about a dozen of the littlest ones playing with the nannies; in a different building the three and four-year-olds were learning colours and numbers with another nanny. One very small eight-year-old girl was among them; she had just recently arrived at AHOPE in poor health and was from a region where Amharic is not spoken. She had not yet started school as they wished to improve her health and give her a chance to pick up some basic Amharic first.
One of the children had several noticeable sores on his face; the staff said he was a relatively recent arrival as well and had been in much worse condition, but that with proper medical care he was doing much better. For these children, good nutrition is essential as their bodies are weakened by the need to fight the HIV virus, and they are more susceptible to other germs and diseases. Once the HIV medications have taken effect and brought the virus under control, their bodies have greater resources to fight off other infections.
We didn't stay long, but I had wanted to see the place where many of our donations were destined and to be able to tell the people who gave items what we had seen.
As we departed, the taxi driver told me that he was very happy we had found the place – I think he was concerned about giving good service. He also gave me some corrections to the directions I had been given, which had been a source of the confusion as the version I had didn't make much sense.
It was 1:00 by the time we got home. We ate a light lunch of Christmas chicken soup (that had been simmering on the stove most of the morning) and had some time to play, read, nap, and go pet the cats again before adventure number two.
At 3:30, Daniel from the Kid's Hope project showed up at our door. We loaded up the last two of our donation suitcases and he took us into yet another new part of town. This project was housed down a maze of narrow, rough gravel streets off a main road. The director, Besret, showed us the library and computer rooms, which are the main physical features of their premises.
This project is operated with the partnership of Canadian Humanitarian and focuses on providing support so that orphans or "half-orphans" can remain in their community and continue to be cared for by their community and to receive education. They have tutors who support the students in their studies, assisting with homework and providing extra instruction in literacy, math, science and other subjects, including English. The library, by our standards, would seem very basic, but it probably houses more books than many of these students would ever have a chance to see.
The computer room, in contrast, is a marvel. Four modern computers are used to teach twelve students at a time basic computer skills. Four more computers with internet connection will soon be added to the library, providing older students with the ability to do e-research (providing they know enough English, though it may also provide an incentive and means to learn more English).
The project also works with the children's caregivers, usually extended family, to assist them with income generation, skills development, and development of good health and hygiene habits. While we did not meet any of the students, we were told of several who came out of very disadvantaged circumstances and were using this opportunity to better themselves and make changes in their lives. The community among whom this project is working are among some of the most marginalized in the city, we were told.
To finish off this Christmas with a difference, we headed back to the Weygoss where we'd arranged to meet K & M for supper. A short walk took us to an Italian restaurant with prices that were not bad (for North American pockets). We had a nice time chatting (though K in particular was having trouble staying awake, having just finished a two-day journey from Canada and before that several fretful nights of anticipation!). They had met their little girl today and had seen Poppet at the TH, too – he was apparently all smiles again! Tomorrow they are heading on an excursion out of town to meet birthfamily, while we are headed off for some more sightseeing before completing our family unification.
(Continue to 26 December: Awassa)
31 October 2007
Orphanage shower (2007-10-22)
(Originally posted on 22 October 2007.)
On Saturday, 20 October, I hosted an “orphanage shower” inviting friends to bring gifts not for me and my new son, but for the orphanage he has left. In addition, seeing as most of these children will eventually find new homes in Canada (or elsewhere?), I wanted to do something that would benefit the children who are truly left behind and are unlikely ever to find new families, either in a foreign country or in Ethiopia.
I chose two organizations / projects I’ve heard about via the Ethiopian adoptive network. The first is AHOPE, an orphanage that provides care to HIV+ children. They are currently housed in several rental houses but have dreams of constructing an “orphan village” where the children will be housed in family-style dwellings composed of “house parents” plus children of a range of ages. These children are provided with antiretroviral medications and nutrient rich diets that will enable them to stay healthy and live long and productive lives despite their HIV+ status.
The second project is the Kids Hope project. This is sponsored by an organization called Canadian Humanitarian, based in southern Alberta. The organization is associated with CAFAC, one of the two Canadian agencies currently licensed to facilitate adoptions from Ethiopia (but not the agency I am using). Seeing as Ethiopia has so many children without parents, the extended families are straining to care for them. When the burden becomes too great, some of the children will be taken to orphanages, but there are simply not enough orphanages to take care of all the children in need – and frankly, institutionalization is not the best option for children. Occasionally these children are taken in by other villagers or by friends, but all too frequently left to fend for themselves on the streets. The Kids Hope project, which began operations in January 2006, is a community-based project designed to provide an alternative to both institutionalization in an orphanage and life on the streets. The children come to the Kids Hope centres for “education, skill training, medical care, improved nutrition, adult guidance, positive peer interactions, and hope for their future” but live with extended family members or foster families who receive training and assistance in caring for them.
The evening went very well. Between me, my mother, and friend L., we had prepared some Ethiopian food, including injera, doro wat, siga wat, gomen, and a lentil salad, along with chai, coffee, popcorn and peanuts. I’d also printed up a lot of information about the 3 projects for which I was collecting donations, about Ethiopia, and about international adoption, and ordered about 2 dozen books on Ethiopia from the library (some of which I’d read but many of which were new to me!). I mounted some pictures of my son on a poster board and laid everything out on tables covered with some African-themed fabric that just happened to be lying around the house…
Since people were a bit slow in arriving and some of us hadn’t had supper, we started off with the food. It was tasty! The injera tasted perfect, though it was a bit thicker than the injera I’ve eaten in restaurants and the “eyes” were not as even or large. It was also darker coloured, likely because I used brown teff flour. (I can’t say that I saw any white teff flour in the store, but then I was just so happy to find some I didn’t look for any other varieties. But they must have some, since the injera in the restaurant that pointed me to the store was quite light-coloured.) The doro wat was adequate, though not as spicy as some I’ve had, the siga wat was very spicy though it contained only half the berbere the recipe called for (thanks, L!) and the gomen and lentil salad a good complement to the spicier foods.
After eating, I spoke briefly about Ethiopia (what I’ve learned), about the three projects I’ve chosen to support, and about international adoption. Then we all had a look at the gifts that people brought. We didn’t do an official “gift-opening” since most things weren’t wrapped, as they’re for donations, but I took things out of bags and displayed them. We received lots of toothbrushes and toothpaste, a variety of non-prescription medications, quite a few craft materials, some books, a few clothes and a couple of blankets. In addition, people donated a total of $160 that we will use to “fill in the cracks” in terms of items donated, by purchasing things here either in Canada or possibly in Ethiopia for some of the items.
Now we’ll need to sort through the items, organize them by which project is being supported, and pack them up accordingly. Seeing as I still have no word on Poppet’s medical form, I don’t yet have any sense of urgency… but once that dratted form comes through the countdown will indeed be on. Stay tuned.
On Saturday, 20 October, I hosted an “orphanage shower” inviting friends to bring gifts not for me and my new son, but for the orphanage he has left. In addition, seeing as most of these children will eventually find new homes in Canada (or elsewhere?), I wanted to do something that would benefit the children who are truly left behind and are unlikely ever to find new families, either in a foreign country or in Ethiopia.
I chose two organizations / projects I’ve heard about via the Ethiopian adoptive network. The first is AHOPE, an orphanage that provides care to HIV+ children. They are currently housed in several rental houses but have dreams of constructing an “orphan village” where the children will be housed in family-style dwellings composed of “house parents” plus children of a range of ages. These children are provided with antiretroviral medications and nutrient rich diets that will enable them to stay healthy and live long and productive lives despite their HIV+ status.
The second project is the Kids Hope project. This is sponsored by an organization called Canadian Humanitarian, based in southern Alberta. The organization is associated with CAFAC, one of the two Canadian agencies currently licensed to facilitate adoptions from Ethiopia (but not the agency I am using). Seeing as Ethiopia has so many children without parents, the extended families are straining to care for them. When the burden becomes too great, some of the children will be taken to orphanages, but there are simply not enough orphanages to take care of all the children in need – and frankly, institutionalization is not the best option for children. Occasionally these children are taken in by other villagers or by friends, but all too frequently left to fend for themselves on the streets. The Kids Hope project, which began operations in January 2006, is a community-based project designed to provide an alternative to both institutionalization in an orphanage and life on the streets. The children come to the Kids Hope centres for “education, skill training, medical care, improved nutrition, adult guidance, positive peer interactions, and hope for their future” but live with extended family members or foster families who receive training and assistance in caring for them.
The evening went very well. Between me, my mother, and friend L., we had prepared some Ethiopian food, including injera, doro wat, siga wat, gomen, and a lentil salad, along with chai, coffee, popcorn and peanuts. I’d also printed up a lot of information about the 3 projects for which I was collecting donations, about Ethiopia, and about international adoption, and ordered about 2 dozen books on Ethiopia from the library (some of which I’d read but many of which were new to me!). I mounted some pictures of my son on a poster board and laid everything out on tables covered with some African-themed fabric that just happened to be lying around the house…
Since people were a bit slow in arriving and some of us hadn’t had supper, we started off with the food. It was tasty! The injera tasted perfect, though it was a bit thicker than the injera I’ve eaten in restaurants and the “eyes” were not as even or large. It was also darker coloured, likely because I used brown teff flour. (I can’t say that I saw any white teff flour in the store, but then I was just so happy to find some I didn’t look for any other varieties. But they must have some, since the injera in the restaurant that pointed me to the store was quite light-coloured.) The doro wat was adequate, though not as spicy as some I’ve had, the siga wat was very spicy though it contained only half the berbere the recipe called for (thanks, L!) and the gomen and lentil salad a good complement to the spicier foods.
After eating, I spoke briefly about Ethiopia (what I’ve learned), about the three projects I’ve chosen to support, and about international adoption. Then we all had a look at the gifts that people brought. We didn’t do an official “gift-opening” since most things weren’t wrapped, as they’re for donations, but I took things out of bags and displayed them. We received lots of toothbrushes and toothpaste, a variety of non-prescription medications, quite a few craft materials, some books, a few clothes and a couple of blankets. In addition, people donated a total of $160 that we will use to “fill in the cracks” in terms of items donated, by purchasing things here either in Canada or possibly in Ethiopia for some of the items.
Now we’ll need to sort through the items, organize them by which project is being supported, and pack them up accordingly. Seeing as I still have no word on Poppet’s medical form, I don’t yet have any sense of urgency… but once that dratted form comes through the countdown will indeed be on. Stay tuned.
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