reachingHISkids: Ethiopia Trip Update #3

I have heard this quote many times, "Live simply so others may simply live." I believe it is credited to Mother Teresa. I am not sure she actually said it but it sure seems like something she would have said. The concept has been on my mind these past 4 days as I spent time in Shanto, Ethiopia, a place that holds a piece of my heart. Our team arrived in Ethiopia last Sunday. We flew into the capitol city, Addis Ababa. We drove immediately south 5 hours to the city of Hawassa. We spent our first day visiting FOVC's Dale site which has 22 children in the sponsorship program that I coordinate. It was a nice visit (see previous post). On Tuesday morning we left Hawassa, drove 2 hours south to Shanto. While visiting Shanto, a very rural village, we stayed each night at a hotel in Sodo, a 30 minute drive away. On my previous 2 trips to Ethiopia we did not have any internet access in Sodo. This time we had a little, not enough to write a blog post but I did post a few pictures to Facebook.

We spent 4 days visiting Shanto. My overall goal was to gather information and gain a deeper understanding of the programs, needs, structure, and culture of the area. I did this by doing home visits, meeting community leaders, and asking lots of questions and clarifying over and over. Despite the fact that all the well educated leaders speak English I still consider there to be a language barrier and feel it is important to make sure I fully understand what they are trying to communicate. I've seen how culture and language can be misinterpreted by Americans and I really do not want to make that mistake, precious little lives are at stake, it is too important to misjudge.

I have so much to share and I plan to write several blog posts after I get home. This trip was amazing and I feel refreshed, ready to dig deeper to help. My goal is to live simply so others may simply live. Many more stories to come but in the meantime I've highlighted some things below.

As part of the sponsorship program the children are provided with food. About 90% of the children attend FOVC's Kamfourd School of Excellence, a private school in Shanto. Those children get a hot lunch 6 days a week. The remaining 10% attend other schools in Shanto and receive a monthly food supply to use at home.

I sat in on several classes. This teacher was amazing. His name is Gondana. He was so enthusiastic and he teaches all his classes in English. I learned a lot.

These precious girls were very focused on their teacher.

The children have composition notebooks and use them to take notes. Most of the teaching is done lecture style, very different from elementary school in the United States but with the resources they have, this works.

I photographed all the children. After my trip I send photos and an update to each sponsor.

For those of you who have been following my Ethiopia journey these past four years you probably remember "the shoes" picture. Those shoes, Israel's tears, changed my life. I did a home visit to learn more about Israel and gather information. I plan to write a children's book, a tool for parents to help their children understand more about the needs around the world and to help them discuss contentment. It will also be a way to raise money for my little friends, like Israel, in Shanto. It was neat to meet his older brother, who raised him and have a time of prayer with them. Their faith inspired me.

5 of these boys were there 4 years ago when I first visited Shanto. It's been amazing to watch them grow up.

The goal was to have the children make cards for their sponsors. However, 3 of our bags didn't arrive until late Wednesday evening. Linda and several FOVC staff helped with this craft. It was hard to do in one day. I love giving these kids blank paper and markers, they draw the most beautiful picture.

This is Bergene, he has worked for FOVC for 5 years. Despite lack of salary at times, he has faithfully served these children. He also works at his church which is right next to the school, he is a pastor and worship leader. It is neat for me to be supporting my brothers and sisters in Christ as they strive to fulfill James 1:27.

Our suitcases were full of gifts for the children from their sponsors. Also, a few ladies made these neat gift bags for me to give the children. It gave them something nice, and reusable to carry their gift home.