When it rains, it pours . . .

I suppose many other MCC programs around the world could write this blog. Ethiopia is hurting. It began with a lack of normal rains in February-March. The normal dry season from October to February turns everything brown and thus rain is needed to ‘green things up.’ Also to begin the first planting of the season. But there was to be no planting in the desert dry soil. Then when the rains did come in May and the farmers planted, another plague besides drought hit the corn crop. Being as the soil was much warmer, when the rains hit it, army worm larvae popped out of the ground and found the tender shoots of corn ready to eat. The crop was devastated.

But that wasn’t all. Prices for all food basics had been rising in the past year; livestock, grains, oil, sugar and, especially here in Ethiopia, the staples of teff and berbere. Not just 5 or 10% mind you, 100 to 200% in some cases. Imagine people who make the equivalent of $1-2 USD per day and were just surviving a year ago on that 10-20 Birr, now all food staples have gone up but wages are not going up near as fast, particularly in the agrarian countryside. What can the family head do?

What should the government do? There have been no riots over food prices here like in other countries and we’re glad about that. But I’m not sure why. The government does have a feeding system in place and lots of foreign aid helps. A familiar sight since March, at least in the city of Addis, has been the large feed sacks of wheat that say US AID in large letters. The government was handing them out free to the poor families in the kebeles (districts) all over the city. If you are registered at your local kebele then you are to go to the kebele office on a certain day of the week (based on your name), wait in a long line all morning for your sack of wheat. In April one could get the grain if one registered to vote. Is that encouraging democracy or bribing the poor?

A ship laden with Canadian wheat is just arrived this week at the docks in Djibouti. The wheat comes from Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) partners, all the church denominations in Canada, with strong assistance from the Canadian government. For every dollar raised by CFGB through their partners, and ordinary Canadians, the Canadian government gives 4 more dollars through CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency, the counterpart to US AID).

This grain will be given to partners of CFGB here in Ethiopia. MCC’s partner, Meserete Kristos Church Relief and Development Agency (MKC-RDA) is one of those partners. We are the intermediary, the liaison between CFGB and RDA. The grain will be unloaded within the week at the docks onto trucks which will then be trucked to the various regions in Ethiopia where all the partners are working, from the Ogaden region in the east to the Borena region in south and to the Southern Nations & Nationalities People Region (SNNPR) where MCC and RDA work.

It all sounds so straightforward. But there is a story behind this too of course. A story about how it almost didn’t happen . . .

As Good as Advertised . . .

Yes, it had only been a week since we travelled north through Ethiopia’s ancient historical sites and visited several of the MCC programs in those areas. Yes, we were glad to go north but it was work. We all came back feeling exhausted from the trip. We had planned to go somewhere else for a real vacation as far back as May, but where to go? Kenya? Egypt? Yemen? Dubai? North to Europe? South to South Africa? But the cost of travel and the unknown as far as lodging seemed to be more work than we wanted to do.

How about staying in Ethiopia? Even before we travelled north we questioned whether there was anywhere in Ethiopia that we could relax & rest. There was no evidence of any place ‘getting it right’. The trip north seemed to confirm our doubts. Even the nicest places, at Lalibela and Gonder, there were always a bunch of small things (sometimes big things too) that bugged me. The Roha Hotel in Lalibela was without electricity and water as often as in Addis. The Goha Hotel in Gonder gave us rooms that felt like I was back living in a basement apartment with the accompanying musty odors. There were many small things that showed that the management didn’t know how or didn’t care about paying attention to details. So we felt the despair of not being able to go anywhere in Ethiopia where the industry would get it right.

But we booked rooms at a place called the Sabana Beach Resort on Lake Langano. Open for less than one year, it was advertised as a place ‘where your senses come alive’. Our friends, Sam & Kathy, had taken their family there earlier in the year and highly recommended it, which is why we chose to try it. But would it be as good as advertised?

It is a 3 hour drive from Addis to go 200 kilometers south to Langano. Monday morning I fought the usual traffic and the girls managed to hang out in the back of the Land Cruiser in peace and quiet. We left cool and rainy (between 12-17C or 50-65F) and arrived in the warm sunshine at Langano (20-25C or 70-80F). As we drove into the large compound of Sabana it was clear that a lot of work was done to transform a bare and rocky land into a beach resort. There are four rows of bungalows at four levels, almost like risers for a choir.
The level below ours, about a 3-4 meter drop, is enough to allow us a view of the lake, although not completely unobstructed (one needs to book the 100 level bungalows for that). There is grass here! Highly unusual in Ethiopia. Granted, it isn’t the finest Kentucky bluegrass but green and pleasant nevertheless. The construction of the bungalows are a blend of west and east; thatched roofs with iron wrought structure. Another amazing feature is the shower that has real water pressure and well-controlled hot and cold water (in contrast to our shower at home where the knobs that are so sensitive that you can look at the knob and it changes from brutal cold to blistering hot).


Sabana Beach resort has been as good as advertised. The beach has a nice beach with water slide on a platform, kayaks to take out, volleyball, soccer and table tennis equipment. The restaurant’s menu is actually diverse; from Ethiopian food to Mexican chile to Indian curry to American ice cream and they taste pretty close to the way they should taste. There is a conference room with a DVD player/projector where one can watch their favorite movies (bring your own).

It is hard to believe one is still in Ethiopia when one is here. It was quiet (no TV’s in the rooms) with the only noise being birdsongs and the far off baying of mules and lowing of cattle. It was a break from the daily bombardment of people, animals and vehicles. The days were partly cloudy but no rain, a break from the rainy season. We made the most of our time here; playing on the beach, watching DVD’s, playing games (Monopoly was played with Amani and Dad being the last two standing), lots of reading books and magazines, relaxing over food and the girls simply playing.
Just about the only disappointment has been the full moon sequence which obscured a normally brilliant starry, starry sky (the last time I was at Langano in April one could see the Big and Little Dipper, the Milky Way in all its glory and the Southern Cross as well as many other constellations).

We were able to relax and rest as each day passed. Thank you Lord for the short but sweet getaway . . .

Travelogue: Day 1, Addis Ababa to Dessie

Welcome to our northern Ethiopia journey! Our family has been in Ethiopia for almost a year but we haven’t been on the well-known ‘northern route’. This is the way most tourists go, or are taken, when they come to Ethiopia. The famous northern route hits the 4 major cities; Bahir Dar, Gonder, Axum and Lalibela, usually in that order. But we will be going ‘backwards’, counterclockwise if you will, starting with Lalibela.

Our journey started Monday morning, June 23, from Addis Ababa. Our first stop would be Dessie, about 400 kilometers away. For those of you following at home, follow the road that runs northeast out of Addis. We were to leave our house at 7:30 a.m. but I guess it is hard to get 5 people moving all in the same direction and on time so we left at 7:45. We said good-bye to the pets; to Coca and Peanut the dogs, to Princess Waffles and Spot the cats, to Cindy the male rabbit and Yertle the turtle somewhere in the back yard.


The journey from Addis to Dessie starts out high in the cool mountain air of Addis and ends up in the warm desert-like air of Dessie. In between are mountains to go up and down on. The guidebooks said that the road was asphalt-paved but that was only half true for our trip. It seems that the Chinese are helping to widen the road from 2 to 4 lane most of the way from Addis to Debre Berhan so the first 200 km were rough. In many places we saw the Chinese out on roads leading the construction crews. In some places the road was being moved away from the old road cutting across the land like a shortcut. The old asphalt road, meanwhile, was in sad shape, having been patched many times over. It was better at times to drive on the dirt roads beside them.

The second part of the journey was much nicer. Soon after Debre Berhan a four lane paved road appeared and driving became much easier. We were fortunate not to see too much traffic. Mostly trucks and long distance buses which we were able to pass fairly easily. This road was made with the European Union’s help, thanks EU! Our drive had been mostly through towns and plains up to that point but now the road took us from the top of the mountain winding our way down with many switchbacks (curves). Now we saw forests made up of some sort of pines or evergreens or similar looking. We also saw more of the Italian built bridges probably built 70 years ago. Beautiful stone bridges with arches undergirding the road. In fact the scenery was very alpine. We felt like we were in Switzerland or northern Italy, what a nice drive. Of course we would see the ‘tukuls’, the round huts of the populace and know that we weren’t in Europe. And there were the occasional camels and monkeys that also reminded us that we were in Africa.


We finally arrived at Dessie in the early evening and found out that no hotel room had been booked. Apparently the hotels won’t accept reservations. The hotels are filled these days with Chinese. So as Mekonnen checked out hotels, along with a kind MKC evangelist who helped by going place to place to check for us, we found out that everything was full. Full, that is, except for the government hotel. These hotels feel like something out of the 1940’s, which probably when they were built. Many were privately owned but were seized by previous communist government (called the “Derg”) and now this government would like to sell them off but they don’t have a sense of a selling price and refuse to accept a reasonable price. So the formerly beautiful wooden floors creak ferociously, the rooms have one dim bulb in the ceiling, the thin ancient wiring looks scary. The walls need a fresh coat of paint. The windows have an old wood frame with single pane glass. The beds are soft and sag in the middle, but at least the sheets were clean. The whole place is kept relatively clean and we appreciated that. Unfortunately there was no water for washing up or for the toilet. A real problem.

So we took the 2 rooms that were left and inspected them. Sophia and I slept in one room and Wanda and the twins in the other. We had a late (7:30 p.m.) supper down in the dining room before going to bed. The dining room was part of the whole 40’s look, high ceiling with wooden cortaround and ornate decorating. But to my amazement the atmosphere they created was very nice. The music was familiar American jazz but more importantly the volume was low, it stayed in the background and we didn’t have to yell over the music like often happens. And the food was good; the pasta and sauce was good and the salads were full of fresh veggies.

Travelogue: Day 2, Dessie to Lalibela

We said good-bye to the ‘grand old lady’ in Dessie and were not sad to leave the hotel or town. It was no fun to use a toilet that didn’t have a toilet seat and was obviously used by men who didn’t care if the next person might have to sit down on the bowl. And the lack of water also meant that I couldn’t wash up properly the next morning (morning face all day long). The last straw was the fact that the toilets were backed up and couldn’t flush and yet one had to use the facilities, no other choice.

But the breakfast was good; scrambled eggs with toasted bread or cereal (but with warm milk; not a good thing with cold cereal, the corn flakes just melt into a congealed mess). At least they had good food. We packed up and left soon after. We tried to buy gas on our way out of town but all the gas stations were out of gas (diesel, actually). No worries. We still had a ¾ tank and I reckoned we could easily drive to Lalibela if needed. Mekonnen had advised that we buy gas and fill up whenever possible because of just such a problem; gas stations which were out of gas.

The drive from Dessie to Lalibela took another full day of driving, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. without lunch. We stopped for fuel in Woldia and stopped for a potty break another time but that was it. Not that we wanted it that way, there just weren’t opportunities along the way for a lunch stop. Thank God for the cooler of snack foods we brought with us. Some good friends shopped at the U.S. Embassy commissary for us before we left so we had Cheetos and Rold Gold pretzel sticks along with k’olo (roasted barley and peanuts). Somehow we all managed to drive under these conditions without too much strife or mutiny. The girls complained a bit but were quite good overall, given the circumstances.

The drive was once again a scenic wonder. Yes, the land was dry in this rainy season from a lack of water and yes, the roads were alternately bad and good (acceptable). But as we left Dessie we once again headed up into the mountains on roads that were clinging to the mountainsides. I was driving so I couldn’t linger on the sights as we climbed higher and higher. The view of range after range of mountains and the vista of the valley below was tempered by the fact that we were on a gravel, dusty road that sometimes was only one lane. And don’t look down over the edge, these roads don’t have any guardrails and the drop-off was usually thousands of meters. So Wanda and the girls were nervous. Hey, I admit I was fighting off a bit of vertigo myself. Just concentrate on the road, just don’t think about it.

Along the road as we climbed the mountain we would come to villages (a welcome respite from the cliffhanger- driving). We would see water running in ditches beside the road. That water, in an arid land, was water from hot springs that gushed out of the mountain side. So there were pockets of green lush landscape and growing crops.

We kept climbing. One common theme that we have experienced since leaving Addis has been the construction of roads all along the way and the presence of Chinese road builders. Everywhere roads are being built, the Chinese are there. Ethiopians are used to the presence of white western foreigners (we’re called ‘fereng’) but now a generation of Ethiopian kids are seeing Chinese. One boy even mistakenly shouted out, ‘China’ to his mother in his excitement when he saw us in our Land Cruiser. The roads are being paved all over the country. We had to drive around and sometimes through the construction but as we did we all thought how nice it will be when it is done in a couple of years (if we do this route by vehicle again).

It seemed like forever but we finally reached the top of the mountain. We all expected to start a downhill crawl but amazingly the road went on and on. Like we were on a long plateau. Again the scenery reminded me of other mountainous scenes I have seen; alpine scenery in Europe or the Rocky Mountains. Windswept land that was green but not lush. Rocky outcropping everywhere. And a road runs through it. We found another stone circle and stopped for our bathroom break. Mekonnen struck up a conversation with a mother and two daughters who were fascinated by our stopping. The older daughter (a teenager) was married and had a child. The younger daughter, 10 years old, was ‘promised’ to a boy in marriage. Traditional practice in these parts, Mekonnen said.

We finally found the road to Lalibela (no road signs, you just continually stop and ask) and started the downhill plunge. The road was full of switchbacks. I used my horn continuously to warn the people and animals on the road ahead. Don’t want to hit anyone or anything. As we descended the landscape changed again. Now we were looking at something from the American desert southwest. The cactus, large ‘spider’ plants and other relatives of the aloe vera plant. The rocky, sandy brown soil. We went on and on through the desert landscape.

Everyone was getting restless by 3 p.m. We had not stopped for lunch and the girls were ready to end this drive. We continued to go up and down through the mountains, more spectacular scenery. We counted down the kilometers until we were scheduled to reach Lalibela; 200 kms, 100 kms, 70, 60, 50, etc. Then we saw a large billboard looking very out of place in this desert land, a sign that was advertising St. George beer and saying ‘welcome to the holy land of Lalibela’ (yes, holy land, the Orthodox Ethiopians regard this land as quite sacred).It took another 20 km but we wended our way upwards one more time to the city on the hill. Houses clinging to the hillsides. A road once again on the side of the mountain. Wanda remarked that it is hard to believe that there is an airport, an actual flat landing strip, somewhere in the vicinity. They must have flattened a mountain top to do it.

Our hotel was on the far side of town, through the cobbled streets. We could tell we were coming to a tourist trap because as we got closer to town people started shouting things in English at us. By the time we had arrived in Lalibela there were English speakers. The Roha hotel is also a government hotel but is a marked contrast to the one in Dessie. About the only thing they have in common is the same soap is in the bathrooms! This one is more ‘Ferengi’ friendly with a large common room, dining area, even a small gift shop. The rooms have running water, electric, even satellite TV (although only 4 channels; BBC World Service, Al Jazeera News, a Arab movie channel of English language films and a Euronews channel that has no sound)! The courtyard is well maintained and the girls enjoyed running around. Beautiful flowering bushes in colors of yellow, white, red, blue and purple. We had a nice supper and relaxed before bed. Another day done, another adventure about to begin.

Travelogue: Day 3, Lalibela

Today was a ‘country orientation’ day. The girls were up early, as usual, and I went out to take some pictures of our compound at the Roha Hotel. After a nice breakfast we arranged with a guide, Mesfin, to go with us to the Lalibela churches. It cost the children $10 each and the adults $20 each (Mekonnen got in free with his Ethiopian citizen card). We started at the Bet Medane Alem (‘Church of the Savior’) church. The major churches in two clusters are now under a very modern canopy which was funded by UNESCO. The canopy keeps the sun and rain off the stone churches but looks odd in their place; the essence of ancient under the essence of modernity. The churches survived 800 years but time did leave their mark on them.

So what are the stone hewn churches all about? Many ancient churches in Ethiopia were literally cut out of the stone. Not on some mountain, like in Petra (in Jordan) but dug out of the ground. The builders had to cut through stone over 30 meters (90 feet) to make the trench, then shaping whole churches, doors, windows, pillars, roof and all, cutting away the stone to create space. Those who have seen the ‘wonders of the world’ have classified the Lalibela stone churches as easily within the category. There are a number of these stone-hewn churches in Ethiopia but none are a large or as intricate in design as these. Experts wonder at the building of these churches in the same way that they wonder how the Pyramids in Egypt were built, how could the ancients have built these structures with ancient tools?

So we went from one church to the next, through ancient doorways of wood and metal. We saw rectangular burial places hewn out of stone in church floors and in the walls of stone around the churches. We saw priests who dressed up in their robes, pulled out their crosses and had their photos taken (small tip appreciated). We saw a few people at prayer (but most had prayed prior to the hours of 8 a.m.- noon and the rest will likely pray later). We were fortunate not to see a lot of tourists like ourselves, we mostly explored in some isolated peace.

The peace was broken at Bet Giorgis (St. George Church), probably the most splendid church in Lalibela. The church stands alone and across the street, away from the other 2 clusters of churches. We had just walked down into the church area and we noticed other tourists there. A group of 5 or 6, probably European I guessed. Mesfin led us over to little pool of water when he and his friend Zedeke got a little silly and started spraying water on our girls (in the ‘blessing’ fashion of orthodox priests) and our girls squealed in delight at the moment of play. In that moment a white haired man in a thick accent berated us ‘Americans’ for having no respect for the church and suggesting that we were behaving inappropriately. I asked, where are you from? As he went on and on, I asked a couple more times until he said, European and immediately walked into the church before I could respond further.

I have to admit that that got my dander up. Actually it flustered all of us, even the Ethiopians with us (Wanda protested, “I’m Canadian,” but no one from their group acknowledged that). I think being unfairly charged was one annoyance (it was our Ethiopian tour guides that started spraying water, but so what?). It was also this Euro-prejudice that annoyed too. In the past and even present we have experienced prejudice, either very subtle or quite open (as in this case) from Europeans to North Americans. The stereotype is that North Americans are culturally inferior and backwards, the ‘Ugly American’ overseas comes to mind. The irony is that as we talked afterwards (much later after things cooled down) Ethiopians said their favorite tourists are Americans and Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders.

Those from the continent: German, Italian and Spanish are especially arrogant and snarky. Perhaps this was for our benefit but Mesfin seemed personally aggrieved by the whole situation (maybe he recognized his role in it and our unfair labeling). It was a good lesson for our girls and I used it as a teaching moment. This is how prejudice feels: To be unfairly labeled and stereotyped. But our response is not in kind, but rather to not to stir up anger with harsh words (even if many good replies come to mind). The matter is closed, I said. We all agreed and things did cool down. I had even told one of the women in that group that since we will see each other more that day it would be good to be on friendly terms. She tried to say in her best English that what one in their group says doesn’t represent the whole group. Fair enough.

So we continued on that morning and did see the other group again but they let us go through and we continued touring until the noon hour when they closed the churches. We said goodbye to Zedeke, our shoe-bearer (since we have to take our shoes off for each church someone watches our shoes), and paid him the agreed price plus a bit more. We paid the one guy who watched our Land Cruiser as well. We took Mesfin back to the hotel and agreed to have him escort Wanda and Abby shopping in the afternoon. We came back and washed up for lunch and, sure enough, our Spanish friends were in the lobby as well. So there was nothing to do but walk past them and down to the dining room for lunch.

The afternoon was mostly relaxing: Naps, games, shopping, organizing photos of the morning. The girls played out in the compound grounds. We could have visited monasteries near and far since we had a vehicle but the girls would have lost their joy and will. So it suited everyone to relax. Sometimes it is better not to do or see everything even if we may never pass this way again. That’s OK. I’m grateful that the girls had a good time overall this morning. They loved all the walking around in the churches, between churches in narrow passageways, over high wooden bridges, through dark tunnels, across streets and around the church buildings. I think memories will last long and I am glad.

Travelogue: Day 4, Lalibela to M’kele

It was hard to say good-bye to Lalibela. After all, everyone enjoyed the tour day of the stone churches and the hotel was given high marks by my family. But now another travel day was before us and no one in my family was looking forward to it (I was ok with it but then I was going to be driving). It was another 7 hours of driving with more of the same; the same scenery (spectacular), same roads, same dust, same weather . . . and of course no roadside rests or nice restaurants to stop at along the way. So once again the girls talked about the sheer cliffs on our right or left (with no guard rails) and shivered at the thought of the drop off. I knew I needed to concentrate in order to not make a mistake. Going down, going up, shifting up, shifting down, constant curves and switchbacks. The only thing that made the driving nice was the absence of other vehicles. I counted around 6 vehicles that came toward me on the open road over the entire time. There were still people and animals to contest with but they were fewer as well.

And so we drove through to M’kele. There was the incident of Sophia getting sick but other than that the girls did great the whole time. I played Keith Green music and the girls mostly slept after a rowdy start. We had the windows down but as we wended our way from the mountains to the desert floor the temperature rose to 34c (about 90F). The air flowing through the car prevented further car sickness for a while but finally we needed cool air and we closed things up and turned on the a/c. The girls became restless and we did the times tables with them (one of our summer goals). They also did the, “I went camping and I took . . .” game and got all the way to Z. Once again we didn’t have a meal until we got to M’kele.

Finally the road came out onto a plain and I could drive faster. By then we all needed out of the Land Cruiser. As we came over one final hill there was M’kele, a wonderful sight to see. We found our way to the main road, it was nice to see a paved road again after 7 hours. M’kele is one of a handful of rare modern cities in Ethiopia that was designed by a future looking individual (nephew of the last emperor, Haile Selassie). Along with Awassa and Bahir Dar, the city has wide city streets and sidewalks and it laid out like a grid. The most important thing, however, is that the city planners have followed his plan (not like in Addis) and the result is quite impressive. A beautiful downtown and a city that has both palm trees and trees of the highlands.

We found our friend, Berhan, and she invited us to her home where we enjoyed her hospitality. She is the founder of the ‘Anna Hofer orphan village’ which takes orphan children and places them in foster homes (sometimes with immediate family) and pays a stipend to the family to keep the children in food, clothing and school. The project is an MCC Winnipeg ‘Constituent Initiated Project’ (CIP) which means it was begun by constituents of MCC and MCC administers it.

We didn’t see the project, it was enough to get here and go to our hotel on Thursday. Friday morning we shall see the project offices and meet the children that benefit from this program. In the meantime we once again found ourselves quite ready for bed in the Milano Hotel. A nice hotel as you look at it from the outside, but with its own quirks. Our room smelled of sewage but the clerk assured us that the smell would go away when we opened the windows and doors. Ok, the smell did go. But then the loud live music downstairs began after dark and the EuroCup 2008 commentary was played on the loudspeakers down below as well so we closed the sliding glass balcony door. Bad idea. The smell returned. So we left it open all night and eventually everything quieted down. And that wasn’t all. All the doors had a crazy lock that needed one to exert much pressure to open. I had never seen such a lock before and I hope I never will again. To my embarrassment I had to ask the desk clerk to come and open our door at one point.

But the restaurant was the worst. Both supper and breakfast we had the same waiter who smiled and assured us that he would take our orders without pen and pad. He got the orders in English and Amharic (Mekonnen made the orders clear) but each time he screwed up royally. Forgetting some things, bringing the wrong dishes to the table, never delivering on certain requests. We were ready to forgive and forget the evening meal because it was busy with lots of people. But then in the morning we were the only guests for breakfast and he made even worse mistakes. Even Mekonnen, a man of patience, was finally fed up with him and berated him in Amharic (wish I could have understood). It didn’t seem to faze him. He didn’t get it up to the very end. *sigh*

So, Friday is half MCC orientation and half day travel. The wheels just keep rolling . . .

Travelogue: Day 5, M’kele to Axum

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.