We woke up in another town today, M’kele. The excitement continues on our journey over northern Ethiopia. We stayed at the Milanos Hotel over night. As I said in the previous post, the Milanos hotel looks impressive from the outside but it will not be recommended to travelers, especially for the restaurant service. OK, on to the happy part of the day. Berhan met us and we first went to her office. She had instructed all the families with children to meet us at her office. So they came from outlying areas, old grandmothers with their grandchildren mostly. One great uncle and grandnephew and one man who took in 3 children of his neighbors after the parents died adding to the 4 of his own. In cases like his, Berhan agreed to sponsor only one child not all three orphans and the family agreed to this. Even the modest stipend for one child (for which room and board and education costs were agreed to be covered) was worth it to the family.
This was happening in several family situations. So Wanda, myself and the girls were introduced by Mekonnen and Berhan and we asked for introductions of the families and to hear their stories. We offered words of praise to the guardians for what they had agreed to do and thanked them for their hard work. We encouraged the children to do well in school. These guardians responded by thanking us for coming all the way from Addis (and North America) to visit with them. Our presence made the monetary stipends more real to them. They knew in their head that the money was coming from somewhere but to actually see our ‘Ferenji’ faces made it real. We told them it was the good folks from near Winnipeg (from the Hutterite colony) that should be thanked and we would convey their gratitude. Yes, replied one, but just as they planted the seed for good growth, you have come to watch it grow and tend to the plants so we thank you too. We took pictures, said our good-byes and final thanks and departed.
We then went to see a home yet, with six children all being cared for by one woman. Although entitled to a piece of land, this woman had no means at all to develop it and had to live in a distant village. She was taking care of orphan children and with Berhan’s help she moved to her plot of land just outside of M’kele. The stipend from the AHOV program has helped her build a modest house, a nice courtyard, till her small plot of land to raise vegetables and some grain and even rent out the corral to a neighbor who has oxen. Three children go to school and 2 of the smallest don’t yet. One older child, a girl, is mentally handicapped and spends her days working in the compound. Berhan hopes to get the government to agree for some vocational training for her.
It was inspiring to see a woman like Berhan, trained as a nurse in Canada, coming back home and, thanks to the regular contributions of a family back in Canada, bringing hope in the small corner of her world. Many Ethiopians stay in North America where the opportunities are greater and the rewards are as well. So those who return against all odds, I applaud.
After getting gas, groceries and something to drink we said good-bye to Berhan and began our trip to Axum. On this day Mekonnen drove. I wasn’t feeling well and somehow managed to squeeze my body into the very back part of the vehicle to sleep for a while. That helped in spite of the fact that the a/c hardly reaches way back there (the girls had complained previously, now I understand). The road to Axum was paved part of the way but construction was happening from Adigrat to Besel and it was rather precarious dodging huge heavy machinery, oncoming traffic and the holes dug on the right side of the road (for a cement water drainage under the road) all the while keeping an eye on the left edge which always seemed too close. When I drive it feels safer to me in part because I am in control. Otherwise it is hard to watch. The Chinese foremen were everywhere leading the construction. There were long stretches of asphalt road in the mountain passes and that was nice. The temptation is to drive faster and not take into account the twists and turns (remember, no guard rails, so if you overshoot a turn that’s it).
It took us about 5 hours but it seemed longer than that. The girls’ attitude about the trip (especially the driving) is getting crankier by the day. Overall they are doing well. When they are out of the vehicle they are ‘crazy happy’ (loud, running everywhere, being silly at the table, etc.) but we understand, they need to get their ‘ya-yas’ out. Wanda and I are glad we are taking this trip but we won’t do it again, at least not exactly like this (as Sophia said, now we know why people fly).
We are staying at the Remhai hotel. It is a nice enough hotel. We had to move once from the old section to new section of the hotel so our girls had enough space to sleep. Both rooms have king-sized beds so 3 girls fit in one bed. We had a nice supper ‘al-fresco’ last night and the service was excellent (by comparison from the day before) and the food was good enough. On the way back to our rooms we stopped in front of a TV that had CNN on with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Unity, New Hampshire where they were giving a show of unity after a bruising primary. Many fine words were passed between them. I hope that those words hold up for the next 4 months. We agreed with both of them. The nation (and the world) needs a change of leadership and direction and the Republicans with John McCain are promising more of the same.
Tomorrow, we see Axum as our leadership orientation continues.
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