Addis Ababa to Durame - Thursday, June 23, 2011

Well, I made it to 3am today! For some reason I am going backwards, but we did go to bed early (10pm) so I at least got 5 hours of sleep... Since I had wifi, I was able to check emails and write in my journal. We are leaving early today for the South, so it was good that i have a few hours to get some stuff done, as there will be no mode of communication to the outside world for the next day or so...

Loading bags of shoes onto van

Dr Fikru and Zeru (Shinshicho's engineer - my new best friend!) picked us up promptly at 7am and loaded us up into the van to start our trek. As we were pulling out of the hotel, I noticed that the bags of shoes were no longer in the van and asked about it. They were accidentally unloaded back at the holt office across town, so we went back there only to find that only one of the staff members had a key and she didn't come in for another hour or so. She eventually showed up and we loaded the bags onto the van. So our early start to the day ended up being a late start and we were right in time to leave the Addis during the morning rush hour, sweet! At this point, I couldn't help thinking that maybe bringing these shoes was maybe not a good idea. The trouble getting through customs and now this had me second guessing and just hoping that bringing the shoes was worth it....

Ethiopian Countryside

About 2 hours into the journey we stopped at the Rediet Hotel in a town that I couldn't even pronounce the name, where I had one of the best cups of coffee ever. Ethiopian coffee is magic. There is something about it that is almost healing. We then hopped back into the van and continued South.

Once Out of Addis, the countryside is amazing. Heading south, you eventually drop about 6000 ft in elevation and the whole countryside becomes an oasis of valleys that are tropical, with banana trees, corn, and green everywhere you look. Most of the population is located outside of Addis, roughly 80,000,000 people, so everywhere you look there are people and farms. I liken it to driving from Eugene to Portland and seeing thousands of people walking along I-5. In fact, I did a study where I would count how long it would take between passing people on just my side of the car. I got to 7 seconds as the longest. That is a lot of people, which now I understand why it takes so long to travel 120 miles. We had goat and donkey traffic jams, actually ran over and killed a dog (driver just kept going - I guess it happens often with the amount of animals in the road - still, it had all of us in shock!), and people from everywhere use the main road to walk from town to town.

We eventually made it to the town of Shinshicho where the hospital is being built, grabbed a bite to eat and then went to tour the hospital. I was so excited to see it and it turned out to be much larger and more amazing than it looked on the plans or from pictures. Currently most of the sub structure and concrete work is being done. Zeru  toured us around and I had a ton of questions. When we toured the bottom floor, he explained where the x Ray room will be, I asked him if he meant rooms rather than room and he looked puzzled. I then asked him if he had received the plans and pictures I had sent and he looked puzzled. Apparently he had not seen ANY of the plans or pictures!!! It was this moment that the reason for this trip became so very important, communication and getting the right things in the right peoples hands from thousands of miles away, sometimes doesn't work. Direct communication in this case, can make a huge difference.

I explained to Zeru that I have plans for him in my bag, along with pictures for 2 rooms. 2 rooms? Zeru asked. 2 rooms. I answered. I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head with this information. A huge smile came across his face as he said: well, I guess I have some revisions to make to the plans!!! So, we met for a while, just Zeru and I and went over the project, a property manager and an engineer talking construction, it was brilliant. Zeru explained that they need medical supplies AND building materials donated to keep costs in line. The building materials part was brand new news to me which is fine, just means that there is some fast work that needs to be done. So, we talked about key needs in both building materials and medical equipment, exchanged email addresses (a huge step in the right direction - communication wise) and developed a rough timeline. This meeting was the quintessential meeting for finding out EXACTLY what they need!

New Shoes!

After the meeting, it was time to deliver the shoes. I have to admit that I was somewhat nervous on how they would be received. I walked to the front of the building to see ALL of the construction workers waiting anxiously on the front steps if the new hospital. Dan started off by introducing all of us and explaining how thankful we are for all of the work they have accomplished and as a token of our gratitude we would like to provide them with shoes. They erupted with applause and for the next 15 minutes it was a frenzy of activity as they were trying on shoes, trading with others to find the correct fit. A couple of my favorite instances was one of the younger men finding a pair of air jordans, putting them on and then jumping all over the place. He literally jump for about 3 minutes straight! Then there was the woman who found some pink running shoes that were too small but she crammed her feet in anyway and walked awkwardly around. She was so hesitant to give them up, because she so badly wanted the pink shoes. Reluctantly she tried on another pair (that actually fit) and gave the pink shoes to one on her friends. My brother Tim gave me some of his golf shoes with the soft spikes. The guy that got them came up to me and said (through Zeru's translation) "I got the best shoes, you see how well they grip!" Amazing...

During all of this people were coming up and thanking me, hugging me and saying all kinds of stuff in Amheric. Zeru pulled me aside and explained that for a lot of these people this was the first pair of shoes that they had received in the past 5 years and for others this was their first pair of shoes EVER. All they had before were plastic sandals or nothing at all. And here I was actually worried about how their reaction would be, i never knew the extent of the impact this would have on these peoples lives. All of the hold ups in customs and the delay at the holt office were so worth it, to see this outcome...

The whole experience blew me away. To take items that we can easily dispose of and give them to people that will bring new life into them and have hose items literally change their life, is amazing. Not to mention the health benefits of having shoes. Fikru explained to me that there are many viruses and infections that are killing Ethiopians every year because they can't afford shoes and go barefoot everywhere. He asked if we could send more as he would like to use them for his sponsorship families, the majority of which do not have shoes. Looks like we have another project to work on when I get home. All because my amazing wife looked at some pictures and had a great idea... Again, amazing...

Family in Sponsorship Program

After many hugs and thank you's we hopped into the van and actually went to visit a couple of families that were in the sponsorship program. Throughout this trip I have had a few times where words cannot fully express the enormity of how certain things change lives. The family we visited consisted of 4 children, ages 20,18,16 and 12 whose parents had died leaving them destitute. Through the sponsorship, they are now able to have a hut, a cow that has already given birth to a calf, some land that they plant corn, banana, and Ginger on, some of which they keep and some that they sell at market. They now have school and clothes for school and are able to provide and sustain for themselves. I cannot imagine losing both of my parents at a young age and having to provide for my siblings. It was both a humbling and joyous experience. The young man, and his sense of pride for his home and family was immeasurable. All of this was accomplished by a family half a world away spending just $30 a month and look at what it was able to do... Literally SAVE lives. It made me wonder why we don't all do this...

As we travelled to other villages and saw the success stories I began to realize the importance of focusing on the basic joys of life. It is so easy to get convoluted in day to day stuff. It made me think of my family and friends and how absolutely thankful I am to have them. The important things in life are the basics and it is good to realize that every once in a while.

We returned to the same hotel in Durame that holly and I stayed at 2 years ago when we came down to meet Miles' birth mother. We were assigned rooms and I was handed keys to the exact same room that hol and I stayed in before. Go figure! Room 105 in the Durame hotel will now be known as the campbell suite! We unpacked, and met down in the restaurant for dinner. It was another overwhelming, exhausting, but incredibly rewarding day. I asked Fikru to order for me as I wanted to have something 100% Ethiopian. What followed was one of the better meals I have had. Fikru and I shared a huge plate of injera with wot, and tibs, which I have had before, but it came with a bunch of different spices and sauces that have the most incredible flavors. It was a great dinner and one that I will not soon forget.

Tomorrow, we travel back to addis after touring some schools and possibly being able to visit Urqato's (Miles's birth dad) gravesite to pay repects.

If there is any interest in sponsoring a child through Holt International please visit their website at: http://www.holtinternational.org/cgi/sponsorship/country.cgi?country=Ethiopia
The need is great and for a small amount per month, you can literally save a childs life... I've seen it!

Goodnight!