The first part of the three week trip included myself, Eric (see previous post), Tameru (our Ethiopian country representative; truly a servant of his people and my new "Ethiopian father"), Julie N. (mother of five children including two sweet, adopted Ethiopian boys; a beautiful and generous soul), Julie H. (Julie N.'s best friend and a wonderfully sweet woman who always has a smile), Emily (mother of 6 children also including two precious Ethiopian boys; very dedicated to Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people) and Kristen (very talented photographer who has been friends with Emily since college; huge heart and truly uses her talent for good. Check out some of her stuff). We also had our wonderful drivers Asafe and Daniel (seriously, Daniel is the most gentle man on the face of the earth; he has two kids and is a regular driver for Glimmer so he sacrifices lots of time with his family to do his part to serve the people of Ethiopia...so much respect for Daniel!!!)
Emily, Julie, and Julie after receiving flowers from the wonderful people of Dawro
(Check out a little boy named Daniel gnawing on some sugarcane...cutest little rascal ever!)
What were we doing? We went to Awassa on Saturday and then set out on the long drive through rural Southern Ethiopia to Dawro on Sunday. We spent all day Monday and most of Tuesday visiting Glimmer development sites in the Dali and Loma Districts in the Dawro Zone. We saw health posts, health centers, schools, and water points. We spent a lot of time with members and representatives of the Dawro Zonal Administration as well as the Dawro Development Association. This was a wonderful opportunity (the first of many) to really see the great relationship that Glimmer has with its partners on the ground as well as to see the direct impact that Glimmer projects have on the rural poor. Soooo long story short: we were visiting projects and meeting with partners.
One of the Glimmer schools that we visited
Ok... so we were in Dawro.
This was my first chance to really get to see and to interact with the Ethiopian people. Remember how I felt like family when I first met Muhammed? Well it quickly became apparent that his attitude and demeanor were both very indicative of the Ethiopian culture and people in general. The people in Dawro were so kind and gracious and wonderful on every level. Whenever we arrived at a new project site we were surrounded by men, women, and especially children. Everyone was singing and dancing with a kind of joyfulness that I have never witnessed before. We were given flowers, hugs, and a million "ameseginalews" (thank yous). One of the things that really struck me was the fact that we were offered food at just about every site. Think about that for a moment...we are there to check on water, education, health projects...the most basic human needs...and these people are offering us food, giving from what little they had. It really made me think about who is the giver and who is the receiver. I think on both counts, its a little of each. Yes, we may have helped to provide the gift of clean water and health/education facilities, but in return these people were giving the food from their tables. And more than that, they were giving us the gift of love, of gratitude, of the true way to embody the most basic and simple virtues of humanity. Go read Luke 21: 1-4. Talk about a lesson in absolute humility. It was overwhelming. And if that wasn't enough, Julie N. had the opportunity for a very special moment of connection with the community. Check out Emily's blog for a wonderful account of Julie being given a drum from the local church leaders. Truly inspiring!
In the middle of a huge celebration that included singing from the local church choirs and lots of dancing
Being presented with stalks of corn at a water point.
Ato Damene, the Zone Chief Administrator (re: head honcho), giving me a handmade blanket. What a gift!
So how did these huge welcomes, this joy, and this love change my single story?
I had anticipated pain and sorrow and instead encountered resiliency and joy. Even in the rural communities where I knew Glimmer was typically met with celebrations I still thought that I might see something that resembled a National Geographic article on the despair of Africa. I never imagined that we would be embraced by the people in the way that we were. Chimamanda Adiche says:
"it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar."
My single story of Africa had done exactly what she warned against. I had a flattened picture of where I was going and had not anticipated the connections that I would make with the people. These connections were a result of "recognition of our equal humanity." It came as I saw all of the ways that I can relate to the people. All of the ways that we are exactly the same. The laughter of the children was no different than the laughter of children back home. The way a toddler's face lit up when handed a lollipop was something I had seen many times before. The mothers would hold their babies forward for us to see, eager for us to take pictures of them and to get them on camera. They were full of pride knowing that their child was the most perfect baby in the world. Is that any different than the mothers in Westlake taking their children to professional photographers so that they can show the world how perfect their kids are? Nope. Not at all.
Circumstances were different, obviously. But the people were no different than people here. I think that was one of the most valuable things that I gained in those first few days. I no longer thought that I would be moving to Ethiopia help the rural, poor...to help some kind of collective group of impoverished Africans. Now I realized I was moving there to help mothers and fathers, sons and daughters...to help friends. These are the people that will impact my life in a very personal way.
Best Friends!
Kicking around the soccer ball
Obviously, there is desperate need in Ethiopia. A Glimmer of Hope wouldn't be working to end extreme poverty if there wasn't a need. But the story there is more than one of desperation. I guess the biggest error I made was the way I developed my picture of what poverty entails. If you just have a single story of African poverty, you will think of senseless wars and bloody conflict, of HIV/AIDS and malaria, of child trafficking and governmental corruption, but that is definitely NOT the Africa that I saw. In these first few days I learned that Africa is very different. Despite their poverty (or maybe partly because of it) the people I encountered knew no evil or malice. They weren't filled with hate; in fact, they were the best example that I have ever seen of virtuous living. Ethiopia - more than any other place I've been to (and I've traveled a lot!) - is full of love and kindness, it's a place of deep gratitude and human virtue, it's a country full of people that have an appreciation for life and for each other, and it's a place of hope.
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