I have not even tried to write a blog for well over a month. I am not sure what to say about this season, but it has felt like a time of much action with little reflection. It is true that this time of transition, which has involved Rebecca and I tag-teaming our Ethiopia Rep. assignment since February, and parenting in Arusha as the alternative has been difficult. I will say, we are at our best when we can work together at all things, but this time of 'divide and conquer' while not sustainable, is the best solution we have found until the kids finish school in June.
As you know from previous entries, Rebecca spent several weeks in Addis in the month of April while I focused on parenting and working remotely when they were at school. Now, in May, I have been in Addis for several weeks while she is back in Arusha. While the removal of the burden of parenting here does allow more 'free time' in the evening, the workload during the day is quite exhausting and leaves little desire to sit in front of a screen and write. The Ethiopia assignment is a larger workload by several orders of magnitude over the Tanzania program responsibilities. I can spend an entire day doing nothing but answering emails, or for that matter, printing out reports and filing them in large binders for each project.
Certain processes here feel more 'old-fashioned' compared to our work in Tanzania. Almost everything I do involves writing a letter (complete with reference number that is kept in a book) printing it out, signing it, stamping it, and then scanning it and sending it by email somewhere, then filing it in a binder. Processes that were done with a click of a button, like transferring money, now involve two or three such letters to bank, partner, and then follow up to make sure I receive similar documentation back which is also filed away electronically and in hard copy as well. I am not a 'details' person, so this kind of methodical record-keeping adds a lot of work to the day, and I am not always the best at completing every step perfectly.
Despite this, I can count, among our successes this month, my application, and successful completion of the process to get a work permit here. The collection of documentation required to complete this began in May of 2020, because getting original copies of transcripts, diplomas, background checks, etc., then having them notarized at the local, state, and even at the Dept. of State level during COVID took about 12 months. The process was delayed in February this year when I arrived in Addis on a tourist visa. I had to wait until I returned in May on a business visa to complete the process. The successful completion of the process is almost entirely attributable to our GSO (General Services Officer) Wondweson who made multiple trips to the labor office and immigration to move the process along. (We also had to create numerous official, stamped, documents and cover letters from the MCC Ethiopia office supporting my application.) But in the end, I did succeed in getting the work permit. (It has to be renewed every single year, but the renewal is less grueling from what I understand.) I am now in the process of getting a residence permit from immigration, but with a work permit, that process is more straightforward.
(If you found the last paragraph tedious to read, that was the intention.)
So now, as a freshly minted MCC Ethiopia Country Representative, I have the authority to sign letters and use the MCCE stamp! Fortunately, this process did not prevent me from doing some other things that were more interesting the past 2 weeks, the highlight of which was a one week trip to visit two partners in the country to the North West of Addis near the towns of Bahir Dar (by lake Tanna), and Debre Markos.
We left a week ago on a Monday morning. Our company included me, Wondeweson our GSO who also acted as driver, Sisay, our departing Food Security Programs Manager, and Mesfin, our incoming FS Program Manger. The trip was intended to be an introduction and orientation for Mesfin and I to two of our partners who work near these towns.
We left about 6am on Monday because the first stop, Bahir Dar, was about a 10 hour drive. Our plan was to go to the furthest point first, then work our way back to Debre Markos on the way back. The trip was quite spectacular in terms of scenery, among the more impressive geological features was the Nile River valley, an enormous canyon at least 20-50 miles across and thousands of feet deep. From the top of one side you can see the road for at least 100 kilometers. It was not extremely treacherous as the road was fairly good, but well trafficked by trucks carrying freight.
We arrived in early evening in Bahir Dar and checked into our hotel. The next day we met Shimetta the director of our partner AEID (Afro-Ethiopia Integrated Development) who was to be our guide to several project sites. AEID does WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) projects with us and is well equipped to do so as they own a portable drill that can drill to 100 meters, a medium length well, definitely preferable to the shallow 30-meter hand-dug wells that many communities must make do with.
The need for clean fresh accessible water in the communities where they work is acute. Water sources can often be contaminated and women may travel 10 or more kilometers to get water. Ideally, an individual should have access to 25 liters per day, but a woman who must carry jugs 10 or more kilometers can barely manage 25 liters for a family of 5. AEID drills 6-10 well per year through a project we sponsor.
We planned to visit several water points and at each site, we were able to see evidence of the appreciation from the community by the long lines of people bringing their 25-liter jugs to fill. At each point, we were invited by community leaders into one of their homes to share enjera with shiro (a chickpea sauce) along with local beer called t'ella, followed by a shot of local whiskey called 'areke'.
I admit that what put me most out of my comfort zone was what I call 'asymmetrical risk tolerance' for exposure to COVID. The MCC and team and AEID team all wore masks at all times, but refusal to accept the hospitality of the community, involving sitting in a crowded 'hut' with others and removing a mask to eat and drink, would have been perceived as a significant sleight and quite rude. I did not feel I could refuse, having chosen to come, but I did try to minimize the time in the homes.
The second site we visited was particularly interesting because the drill was in operation putting in a 70-meter shallow well. It was fascinating to see it work. I was told that from start to finish a well is drilled and capped with a wellhead and cistern in less than one week. The community was out in force around the huge truck and we shared a big feast provided by a freshly slaughtered sheep right by the drill site. the community elder in this sub-village was an elderly woman who also welcomed us into her home for t'ella and areke.
The third waterpoint, visited in the late afternoon, appeared inaccessible because of a washed-out bridge, (we are in the short rainy season). We decided to go the last 3 kilometers on foot and followed a flooded gully until we got to the community where the water point was. We arrived in time for a terrific thunderstorm and we once again took shelter in a small home which could have been a perfect setting for the creche of baby Jesus. Animals and people were all crowded into the home where we once again shared food and drink. While we did our best to maintain social distance I was uncomfortably close to a newborn calf who easily breathed onto my face as I sat against the wall.
There was a break in the storm and we pretty much ran back a 'short-cut' (still 3 kms) over a small mountain back to the road where the car was. Despite high wind and lightning, we made it intact. We drove the 150 kms back to Bahir-Dar and arrived after dark. It was an exhausting but fascinating day.
The next morning we got up early again and after breakfast and checking out of our hotel, we visited two more water points. Getting to them was, at this point, treacherous as the roads to the sub-villages were deep in mud and we had to go in a 4 wheel vehicle. Despite our best efforts we only made it to one of the two before we had to continue our journey to our next destination, the town of Debre Markos, about4 hours down the road.
We arrived in Debre Markos in the afternoon and checked into another hotel. Debre Markos is not as charming as Bahir-Dar, which abuts a lake. In Debre Markos, our hotel was across the street from a large bus terminal which was quite loud, even from my third-floor vantage point.
The next morning we headed to the office of our partner MSCFSO (too long to explain). They are, in short, a partner who specializes in improving food security through impressive watershed rehabilitation programs combined with training farmers in low-tillage 'conservation agriculture techniques to improve soil fertility and increased yield. We spent the morning seeing a 'before and 'after' slideshow which was staggering in scope. They improve land 1200 or more hectares at a time each year. The process involves working in large river valleys and building contour lines or soil bunds which prevent erosion. They manage grazing and put rock dams into enormous gulleys, some 30 or more feet deep which eat up the land. They plant trees on the bunds like certain species of acacia which can be used for charcoal as well as fodder for livestock. The transformation of the land, visible within even a year is impressive as one looks across a valley and sees shrub-covered bunds and tree-filled gulleys, especially in comparison to areas where they have not yet begun work.
MSCFSO also does WASH projects in schools and communities in the same area and we visited several waterpoints. They also have been helping particularly vulnerable women in the communities where they work with income-generating projects to help them recover from loss of market access because of Covid.
We visited several women who had a dozen chickens as well as vermiculture compost which they use to generate income. We spent two days visiting projects of MSCFSO and it was one of the more impressive interventions I have seen. We ended our second day with a traditional coffee ceremony to welcome Mesfin and me, as well as a farewell to Sisay who has been working with them for the past 5 years. (Sisay accepted a position with MCC in Malawi which is the reason for his departure from the Ethiopia program.)
We had a good night's sleep then again left early in the morning for our return to Addis. We returned again by late afternoon. It was good to be back, probably not a moment too soon because there has been some ethnic violence in the region where we were around the upcoming election. When we arrived back in Addis, we heard that the road from Bahir Dar to Debre Markos had been closed due to violence that had blocked the highway.
We returned on a Saturday, and I enjoyed having a weekend off. I went to the Lutheran church we have been attending and checked in with people we knew there.
This brings me to a second very important mission I have been on, since my return in May. The fact is, we have a significant challenge as a family. We had hoped to put our kids in a nearby school that is affordable and uses the same Cambridge curriculum they have been using in Arusha. We received, however, somewhat devastating news that while Oren was accepted into 11th grade, David was waitlisted for grade 7 because of lack of space.
This was very unexpected and very depressing for us. Both Rebecca and I need to work nearly full-time to keep this program running. There are few other options. The International school that is nearby is outrageously expensive at $40,000 for the first year. Other international schools would require a commute of more than 1 hour each way with no school bus option. So Rebecca or I would have to drive 4 hours per day to and from that school.
After considering all options, we decided that homeschool until a place opens up is likely the least onerous. Fortunately, we found that Bingham school (where Oren is going) has a homeschool community connected to it in which kids can participate in extracurriculars at the school and even attend some classes. I was able to get in contact with some families who are connected with this group and even had a chance to visit a meeting of the group this past Saturday. It was encouraging to find a supportive community with many kids David's age. Despite our trepidation about homeschooling, it seems like this could be a sustainable short-term solution until space opens up at Bingham.
I also visited several of the non-viable schools and found that they would have been reasonable second options if they weren't either extremely far away or too expensive. We are trusting God as we prepare for a short-term home school option for David (maybe find a tutor?). It is good to know he can have a social life with this option though.
In order to explore school options, I extended my stay an additional week so I will have been here for almost the entire month of May. I will return just before June, hopefully with my residence as well as my work permit. Our family will be returning to Addis for good on July 1. But before that, we have at least one more mountain to climb in Tanzania...more later.
(For any Tolkien buffs, I was listening to Lord of the Rings during the long drives for the n-teenth time. I found it interesting that Bahir-Dar is a town just south of the region of Gondur in NW Ethiopia. I could not help but notice that Bahir-Dar sounds a lot like
Barad-dûr home of Sauron, and Gondur sounds like Gondor, the land of Aragorn. Coincidence?)
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