Sorry for the lack of posts people, we have been running around almost constantly. When we are sitting it seems that there is no internet connection or no power. The last week has been amazing to say the least I will quickly brief over it...we flew from Addis to Mekele and met with governors, heads of departments and so on...blah blah blah. We then spent the day driving from Mekele to Axum and what would normally take 6 hours took us 10. That was the most amazing experience. We were in what seemed like the most remote places in the world but there was never a point where we were alone. At one point we were on the top of this ridge looking at the foggy divide thinking there was no one there but us and our two drivers and two escorts etc, etc. Then all the sudden these two little hands popped up from the side of this steep cliff and then this small boy appears. We kept thinking that everyone was thirsty as they were saying "highland highland" (the water that all the ferengi (whites) drink), but what they really wanted was the bottles that we were going to discard so they could carry water with them.
The following days we worked on the water project and toured Axum. We made some amazing friends and met people from around the world. The range of emotions in our little group has been fun to watch and be a part of. You go from wanting to solve the worlds problems to wanting to run for your life, go back to the states and watch tv. It is so exhausting to be asked for money all the time or be sold to. In good American fashion you want the best deal that can be had so it takes a lot of energy. I myself have bought a sandwich ziploc size bag of stuff and can't handle the shopping anymore.
We left our guides in Axum and we all cried, we boarded the plane for Lallibela and our next adventure began. I will have to write more later as our ride is here. We have also been busy in Addis, painting orphanages and playing with kids.
Love to you all.
Becky
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Posting for two Days
Okay since We haven't posted in two days I will let all our adoring fans know what we have been doing.
I am not really sure what day it actually is but yesterday we had an amazing day and today was even better. Yesterday started off with two breakfast...need I say more. Okay it was better than that at our second breakfast we met up with my kids family. It was nothing less than what I expected and I am sure nothing less than what anyone else expected. Adigah, my kids grandmother kept up Ethiopian tradtion by feeding us. She was fasting for religious reasons so wasn't eating. It didn't stop her however from stuffing us. Karli almost threw up she ateso much and just as I heard Sarah telling Kathy she was glad she wasn't sitting close, she was stuffed also.
After that we made our way back to our hotel to organize our donation bags, As always in Ethiopia things just have a way of working out. Almez one of the people that runs an orphanage showed up. We convinced her to take all the bags and store them until we came back to Addis to drop them of at their respective places...Yeah
We then made our way to our appointment at the National Museum. We got the very special back room tour and tried our best to not look stupid...I think we did okay. We met a world renowned anthropologist and got to see the actual skull (cranium of the oldest human ever found) it was in a spacial locked drawer. lucy wasn't there as she was on tour but we did get to see the replica.
A friend of mine who has been priceless since we have been here made us dinner and we ate in our hotel room.
We went to bed early as our next day was starting at 2:30am yuk. We picked up Adnee at 3:30am without a hitch. we are now Addis Airport pros.
This morning we had breakfast and went downtown to meet a friend that runs an orphanage All gods Children. Sarah bought an umbrella for Andee off the street and was quite pourd that she talked the seller down from 65 birr to 20 birr (about $2.20 american). the umbrella broke later that day. We caught the public transportation to the orphanage with our local friend...I loved it. 7.50 birr for 6 of us less than one american dollar. We payed 100 birr for the same distance in a taxi. We worked at the orpahnage all dayand I expect that Karli, Kathy, Andee and Sarah will come back again someday. The whole ride back they were talking about who's kids were who's. Right now we are back at our hotel and enjoying coffee from the coffee ceremony.
Tomorrow off to Mekele...
I am not really sure what day it actually is but yesterday we had an amazing day and today was even better. Yesterday started off with two breakfast...need I say more. Okay it was better than that at our second breakfast we met up with my kids family. It was nothing less than what I expected and I am sure nothing less than what anyone else expected. Adigah, my kids grandmother kept up Ethiopian tradtion by feeding us. She was fasting for religious reasons so wasn't eating. It didn't stop her however from stuffing us. Karli almost threw up she ateso much and just as I heard Sarah telling Kathy she was glad she wasn't sitting close, she was stuffed also.
After that we made our way back to our hotel to organize our donation bags, As always in Ethiopia things just have a way of working out. Almez one of the people that runs an orphanage showed up. We convinced her to take all the bags and store them until we came back to Addis to drop them of at their respective places...Yeah
We then made our way to our appointment at the National Museum. We got the very special back room tour and tried our best to not look stupid...I think we did okay. We met a world renowned anthropologist and got to see the actual skull (cranium of the oldest human ever found) it was in a spacial locked drawer. lucy wasn't there as she was on tour but we did get to see the replica.
A friend of mine who has been priceless since we have been here made us dinner and we ate in our hotel room.
We went to bed early as our next day was starting at 2:30am yuk. We picked up Adnee at 3:30am without a hitch. we are now Addis Airport pros.
This morning we had breakfast and went downtown to meet a friend that runs an orphanage All gods Children. Sarah bought an umbrella for Andee off the street and was quite pourd that she talked the seller down from 65 birr to 20 birr (about $2.20 american). the umbrella broke later that day. We caught the public transportation to the orphanage with our local friend...I loved it. 7.50 birr for 6 of us less than one american dollar. We payed 100 birr for the same distance in a taxi. We worked at the orpahnage all dayand I expect that Karli, Kathy, Andee and Sarah will come back again someday. The whole ride back they were talking about who's kids were who's. Right now we are back at our hotel and enjoying coffee from the coffee ceremony.
Tomorrow off to Mekele...
a new day in africa
Becky, Karli, Sarah and Kathy spend the day at the museum and then off to the orphanage and a visit to Becky's kids Grandmother.
Andee has arrived and is safe------- They will be heading to Axum tommorrow - they had to change plans since the airlines decided to take the day off and not fly today - more later
Andee has arrived and is safe------- They will be heading to Axum tommorrow - they had to change plans since the airlines decided to take the day off and not fly today - more later
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
We're in Addis!
We arrived safely in Addis and everyone is doing great. One thing I know for sure is never trust the guys at the ticket counter in Washington DC. I was in the middle of the middle row and it wasn't an exit row.
We touched down at 7pm Addis time and we got through immigration without a hitch. When it came time to pick up our many pieces of luggage we realized a longer wait at immigration would not have been a bad thing. I think our luggage was the absolute last off the plane. Interesting. We were met by some of our friends and three cars -- what a blessing. It was a much different experience from my last. We went straight to the hotel and then walked next door to eat. I have only killed three roaches (so far) in our room so we are pretty positive about that.
As for tomorrow we will be getting a driver who will also translate for us and we will be visiting the National Museum. Hopefully we will be able to drop off most of the donation bags so we don't have to lug them around anymore.
Sarah's family: don't worry, we are not letting her carry anything!
Love to all of you and hopefully we will be able to keep you all posted daily or close to.
Becky
We touched down at 7pm Addis time and we got through immigration without a hitch. When it came time to pick up our many pieces of luggage we realized a longer wait at immigration would not have been a bad thing. I think our luggage was the absolute last off the plane. Interesting. We were met by some of our friends and three cars -- what a blessing. It was a much different experience from my last. We went straight to the hotel and then walked next door to eat. I have only killed three roaches (so far) in our room so we are pretty positive about that.
As for tomorrow we will be getting a driver who will also translate for us and we will be visiting the National Museum. Hopefully we will be able to drop off most of the donation bags so we don't have to lug them around anymore.
Sarah's family: don't worry, we are not letting her carry anything!
Love to all of you and hopefully we will be able to keep you all posted daily or close to.
Becky
Becky, Karli, Sarah and Kathy have arrived
Well good news for me (Mama) the T-Mobile phone works in major cities in Africa so Karli was able to call -------The plane landed safely - They are all glad to be out of the airplane and have arrived safely at the hotel - that is all for now - I will keep this updated when I have new info
Monday, July 2, 2007
We're on our way!
The first and easiest part of the trip is behind us. Here we are between flights at Dulles Airport in DC. This may be the last photo for a while due to slow computer speed in Ethiopia. We are missing Andee in this picture because she is flying separately but we'll meet up with her soon.Sunday, July 1, 2007
1 Day and Counting
Okay we are going crazy getting ready to go. This is just a few of us at our first of two packing parties. We have limited ourselves to one suitcase for the five of us. The remaining nine our donations. We got tons of medical supplies and baby stuff and books to donate along with about 200 pairs of slippers.
We are doing our final packing today...nothing like waiting till the last minute.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
First Post--four days and counting
Well here goes, I am hoping to use this blog to communicate while we are gone. Here is some of the info to get you started.
There will be a group of five women with a variety of experiences and backrounds coming together to volunteer to work in many different situations all across Ethiopia. Sarah, Kathy, Becky, Andee and Karli have been in full preparation mode for quite some time, however the last couple weeks have been completely crazy as an understatement. Last night was our packing party and we have collected, purchased and extorted over 400 pounds of donations. All have been carefully organized and packed ready to be delivered to their intended destinations.
Our trip to Ethiopia will include a variety of opportunities. There will be opportunities to work with orphanages, schools and on a water project. The following paragraphs give more detailed information on our activities. So far what is tentatively scheduled is:Visit at AHOPE the orphanage for HIV positive children. The two other orphanages we are visiting are Horizon House and All Gods Children.Also in Addis is Ethiopia Reads a consortium of libraries that provide educational material and books for children all over Ethiopia. We are able to go work in the libraries and read to the children when we are available. We will also be working on a water project in Axum Ethiopia. Denver's sister city of Axum, Ethiopia, lacks sufficient potable water for its 40,000 residents. None of the water in Axum’s reservoir, its private or public wells, is safe to drink. In fact, the community’s preferred water source, the reservoir, is the most highly polluted. With low-cost, low-tech, and sustainable water treatment techniques, wells that had been shut down because of poor water quality can be put into use, more than doubling the current supply. Activities:Water treatment specialists will go to Axum to train Ethiopian personnel to maintain the plant & gather water quality data, monitor how often the slow sand filter clogs/requires replacement and recommend an optimum dosing rate & enhancements for the treatment plant. Expected Outcomes:Axum’s water will be made more potable using sustainable techniques. By learning how long it takes for the sand filter to clog, we know the optimum dosing rate of chemicals needed to replicate the plant on a large-scale level for all of Axum. Project MessageA person can build up immunity to unsafe water if he is lucky enough to have survived until age 5. This project will save the lives of many infants and lay the foundation for a healthier community.- Tsegaye Hailu, Environmental Protection Specialist We will also be visiting Children of Ethiopia Education Fund (COEEF) schools. The focus at COEEF is to provide an education the young women and girls of Ethiopia thereby affording them a much brighter future.
We will be posting more as our escapade continues…
There will be a group of five women with a variety of experiences and backrounds coming together to volunteer to work in many different situations all across Ethiopia. Sarah, Kathy, Becky, Andee and Karli have been in full preparation mode for quite some time, however the last couple weeks have been completely crazy as an understatement. Last night was our packing party and we have collected, purchased and extorted over 400 pounds of donations. All have been carefully organized and packed ready to be delivered to their intended destinations.
Our trip to Ethiopia will include a variety of opportunities. There will be opportunities to work with orphanages, schools and on a water project. The following paragraphs give more detailed information on our activities. So far what is tentatively scheduled is:Visit at AHOPE the orphanage for HIV positive children. The two other orphanages we are visiting are Horizon House and All Gods Children.Also in Addis is Ethiopia Reads a consortium of libraries that provide educational material and books for children all over Ethiopia. We are able to go work in the libraries and read to the children when we are available. We will also be working on a water project in Axum Ethiopia. Denver's sister city of Axum, Ethiopia, lacks sufficient potable water for its 40,000 residents. None of the water in Axum’s reservoir, its private or public wells, is safe to drink. In fact, the community’s preferred water source, the reservoir, is the most highly polluted. With low-cost, low-tech, and sustainable water treatment techniques, wells that had been shut down because of poor water quality can be put into use, more than doubling the current supply. Activities:Water treatment specialists will go to Axum to train Ethiopian personnel to maintain the plant & gather water quality data, monitor how often the slow sand filter clogs/requires replacement and recommend an optimum dosing rate & enhancements for the treatment plant. Expected Outcomes:Axum’s water will be made more potable using sustainable techniques. By learning how long it takes for the sand filter to clog, we know the optimum dosing rate of chemicals needed to replicate the plant on a large-scale level for all of Axum. Project MessageA person can build up immunity to unsafe water if he is lucky enough to have survived until age 5. This project will save the lives of many infants and lay the foundation for a healthier community.- Tsegaye Hailu, Environmental Protection Specialist We will also be visiting Children of Ethiopia Education Fund (COEEF) schools. The focus at COEEF is to provide an education the young women and girls of Ethiopia thereby affording them a much brighter future.
We will be posting more as our escapade continues…
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