Day 2-
2/26/08 0345am (Ethiopian time and year)
2/26/16 2145 (US time)
Yesterday we landed in Addis, Ethiopia. A team of 4 rockstar ladies that had never
met before touched down with a common purpose, to serve the Selamta Family Project. My first day was spent napping after a long
overnight flight and then the evening was spent having a traditional dinner in
one of the forever homes.
Ethiopia is a beautiful, complex, and super interesting
country. For example, the year here currently
is 2008 and the day starts when the sun comes up. When I ask children what time they go to bed,
they say 3 which is 9pm. It can be very
confusing when trying to make plans with the locals. I cant really explain it fully, I suggest you
google it for the full explanation because the 4 of us currently laying our
bunk beds discussing the time issue and whether or not we should have taken
malaria meds as we count mosquitoes can’t sort it out.
Today we woke up at around 430am. Jet lag takes a few days to overcome. So, we
got up and had a wonderful breakfast together.
Trish made eggs for us all and during breakfast we discussed our tentative
agenda, had coffee, chatted and took it easy until we met up with the in
country staff for a formal staff meeting.
After nailing down our schedule, transportation needs, and soap workshop
planning, we all walked to lunch.
My favorite part of the www.nourishcollective.org website
is the Why It Matters page. That part of
the website really speaks to my heart about why I pack up and head halfway
around the globe to teach soap making. Today, we had the honor of doing two
home visits to meet a couple of the ladies that will be attending our soap
workshop next week. As the days pass and
our trip unfolds, I hope to learn more of their stories. But today, I was deeply humbled and reminded
Why It Matters.
We parked in front a government assisted community. The
family that we visited lives up a small dirt and stone hill. The front door did not open or close all the
way. It was difficult to open the uneven
wooden door enough to enter without turning our bodies sideways. The grandmother greeted us once inside the
door, smothering us with hugs and the traditional cheek air kisses. The home
measures 6 foot by 6 foot and that’s being generous. It is without running
water, there are two mattresses and a chair in the room. Sitting on the bed is
one of the most delicate, gorgeous Ethiopians I have ever seen. This young girl is the one attending our soap
making workshop. She is thin and tiny,
only 18 years old and holding a plump baby boy with big brown eyes. He is 9 months old. We were all introduced and I asked to hold
the little boy. He smiled and
chattered. His mother pointed to a large
abdominal hernia and asked if he was ok.
Later I would come to find out that
this young mother has HIV and the only one working in the family is the
grandmother. The grandmother is an alcoholic and drinks her income. The young girl was forced to quit school
after grade 4 to help support the family.
This family is in the Selamta outreach program, the assistance they are
given helps to ensure that the 13 year old brother can remain in school and
that the daughter has nutrition to help her anti-viral medications be most effective.
The second family we met was a wonderful Mother that was
supporting 6 children after her husband died. 4 girls and 2 boys, the neighbor
said that the neighborhood was very worried about the family since the father
died but now the Selamta supports the family they don’t worry any longer.
This is Why It Matters.
http://www.nourishcollective.org/AboutUs/WhyItMatters.aspx
