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Rebecca with MK College guide
Henok and Solomon, my colleague
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Rebecca writing this edition of the Ethiopia blog. I’ve
been in Addis for almost three weeks and now I’m sitting in the departure lounge
getting ready to head back to Tanzania for my final two months there. I’m grateful
to Paul for insisting that I come and spend some time with the program here,
solo, while he stayed back in Arusha with the kids. It’s been challenging for
him to balance the heavy workload and the parenting. But meanwhile, I’ve had
the chance to experience the rhythm of work and life here and to sense many
possibilities for making this our home.
I arrived on a Sunday night and our wonderful General Services
Officer Wondwesen picked me up from the airport and took me home. I was able to
start the work week with the rest of my team Monday morning, getting accustomed
to how we do things in the office here, with a tea break together, Monday staff
meeting, time for office work, lunch prepared by our amazing cook Yeshi, and
more hours at the desk.  |
| our shared desk in the office |
In my first week, there were a few highlights, especially
meeting the founder and director of one of our food security partners. I’m glad
to know more about his original inspiration for starting Migbare Senay, and to
understand how the organization has evolved beyond his original vision. A lot
of the conversation needed to be conducted through translation, but there again
my colleague and Program Manager Solomon was invaluable in being relational and
curious on my behalf.
A lot of the work I needed to do on my stay here was in
the financial realm since I will be overseeing financial reporting for our
program. Our accountant and administrator Eyerusalem does all the real work,
but I need to check it all and make sure it aligns with our budget. In
addition, Ethiopia has very stringent requirements for documentation and
compliance for NGOs. So, I needed to do a lot of composing official letters,
stamping, copying, scanning, filing, etc.
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| Habesha food for staff lunch |
Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic is amid another big surge
in Addis, and while I was there, it was touching our team personally. One team
member had just recovered, but the whole extended family then fell ill. Another
team member lost an uncle who had been hospitalized. Everyone knew of church
members or neighbors who had passed away in that week. People do appear to be
taking precautions and wearing masks in public, but the virus still spreads. In
addition, tensions are rising in many parts of the country ahead of the
elections. Unfortunately, ethnicity is playing a role in sparking violence. Our
housekeepers’ extended family had to flee their homes at one point last week,
because armed militia of another ethnic group were coming through, killing
people and burning houses. Many prayers are needed for the country to hold
together through this election season and to not lose the ground they have gained
as a nation, in terms of economic development and political standing on the
continent.
Another major role I will take is overseeing our human
resource processes. My initial task was to conduct annual performance
appraisals with all the members of our program staff. I really enjoy having
these times to meet one on one with colleagues and to learn more about their
jobs and how they feel about their work. We managed to fit in all those
meetings. Paul and I had our own performance appraisal with our bosses
virtually, and I had to spend many hours in preparation, putting together my work plan for this new job.
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Welcome tea for Mesfin, with Wonde, Mesfin,
Solomon, Yeshi and Yerusalem |
In addition, over the past three days, I have been
helping to orient our new Food Security Programs Manager. He started Monday and
he will replace Sisay in working with our conservation agriculture partners. (Sisay
is moving to another MCC program in Southern Africa.) We can immediately tell
that Mesfin is a warm and experienced person, who will fit in very well with
the team, along with having excellent practical experience with MCC partners under
his belt. It has been stressful to deal with the transition of a key member of
our team, just as we are starting our role. But we are grateful that we were
able to recruit such an excellent candidate so quickly.
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| Donor meeting at the Hyatt |
And speaking of Food Security, on my second day in the
office, Sisay had helped to organize a high-level donor meeting at a downtown
hotel. It was a good opportunity for me to go and meet other NGO leaders and
support him. Our MCC partners have just finished a 5-year project funded by the
Canadian government, teaching local communities about this kind of climate-smart
agriculture that improves soil quality, rather than further depleting it. It
was an incredible success, and along with the development work, research was
done to document all these successes. The donor allocated funds to share these
results as widely as possible, and thanks to strong advocacy by our partners, the
Ministry of Agriculture has come on board to also adopt this method and spread
it far and wide in Ethiopia. The main problem is that local partners need more
donors to support them in scaling up this work. I found that most of the
invited donors were not yet committed to supporting conservation agriculture though
they were interested and asking lots of questions. Paul has been more focused on
our CA work so far in the program, but thankfully I know enough about the work
we’ve been supporting to speak up and encourage other donors to join us in this
common effort. Getting to the meeting required me to take taxis, also a bit of
an adventure, but my taxi driver back to the office also turned out to be a
very engaging Amharic tutor. |
| One of my walking hills |
Another aspect of my role will be to support our various
young adult exchange candidates. We are hoping to send two or three young
people to the US to serve for a year with the IVEP program. I took several
hours each with two young women on my first week, helping them to fill out the
very extensive application form for a US non-immigrant visa. A lot of online
work is required these days for everyone, and these young women don’t have
computers of their own. In addition, the form is not easy to understand and
fill out correctly. So, along with that practical work, I was glad to have time
to meet with each of these young people and get to know them before we send
them off.
There was so much work to do that I found myself sitting
at my desk most days until 5:30 pm. By 5:15 my newly adopted dogs started to
get impatient, as if an alarm clock was going off in their heads. They would trot
into the office and come nibble at my toes to get me to put away my computer.
After sitting for so long, it felt very good to take time for a walk around my
neighborhood. The streets are circuitous and a bit random, so I had some
adventures, finding my way around new routes that would give me a good healthy
walk for an hour or so. At almost 8000 ft, walking uphill definitely got my
heart rate up!
And then when I got home from walking, it was time to collect
the day’s egg production. Sadly, the hens are not laying quite so many eggs
these days: our suspicion is that they just don’t get as much variety to eat,
since there aren’t so many humans living there, eating and creating vegetable
peelings for extra chicken nutrition. I did enjoy taking the compost pot down to
the hens: how often do you have the complete and full attention of 40 other
living beings, tracking your every move? They couldn’t take their eyes off me
until I tipped the pot over and let them go to town.
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Chickens roosting in
the evening |
And the dogs were always happy to keep me company in the
evenings. Neither of them is big, and they really love to cuddle with humans on
the couch. Bella is super cute but is a bit of a troublemaker, at just a year
old. Once or twice, she stole food off the counter and broke a dish, and our
housekeeper is not happy with her! We’ll need to lay down the law with her when
we can catch her at her mischief. Friday, the older dog, has such a funny face.
I always feel like I have somehow deeply wounded her and have broken her heart,
with the way she looks at me, but that she is just going to patiently put up
with my unjust treatment. Sigh. I’m sure
that’s not what’s going on inside her little head, but that’s what her
expressions convey to me. |
| Friday gives me baleful looks |
Yeshi cooks very good food for staff lunches, and there
are always leftovers. So, I hardly had to cook a thing while I was there, and
it was nice to heat something in the microwave and then watch an episode of the
Crown (a show that interests no one else in my family). It was interesting to
have so much quiet, alone time, with no need to care for anyone else’s needs. I
have not had anything like this much extended introvert time for more than 18
years!
On my first weekend, I decided to get behind the wheel
for the first time in Addis and drive to a nearby shopping mall. I wasn’t
sleeping that well and it seemed a new pillow was in order, along with a few
other groceries. And then I tried out the enormous 50m pool located in the center of the mall. The
changing rooms were deserted, thankfully – the riskiest part of taking a swim.
There were a few kids playing around in the pool, so I had to stay alert to not
crash into anyone, but it was very refreshing to enjoy a different kind of
exercise, apart from the workout I was doing in my living room in the mornings
before work.
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| Matilda online, "We are revolting children" |
Both Friday and Saturday evening, I got to watch a special show:
the St. Constantine’s production of “Matilda.” David was in the cast as a
doctor and a school kid, and they had been rehearsing the play since October.
The actual production was postponed several times due to events in Tanzania,
but finally they performed. I was sad to miss seeing it in person, but at least
I could watch in on Zoom, right along with all of David’s grandparents (and a whole
lot of other far-flung relatives of cast members). Unfortunately, the sound
quality on Zoom was terrible, but we could still get a good sense of the energy
and focus of the students, and especially the very clever and engaging dance
numbers.
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| Sunday afternoon nap |
There were many ways throughout my first week that I felt
like God was lining up appointments for me to meet people at just the right
times. Getting appointments with the IVEP candidates at the right times was one
example. I’ve taken over the egg business from my predecessors, and that has
put me in touch with a group of nearby missionaries who are very friendly and helpful.
And that led me to a much-needed appointment with another missionary to get
advice about visas for short-term volunteers. But the greatest gift came on
Sunday. I decided to attend the church Paul had been scoping out (though there
are other options)—it’s basically community-led and very open to participation,
though it’s not a big community. I was really blessed to hear a great sermon
from a Pentecostal Finnish guy who, it turns out, attended the same seminary in
Canada that I did. The Anglican worship leader also encouraged us all to take a
moment and to pray about why God had brought us there that morning and with
whom he was calling us to have a conversation after the service. And so right
after the service, I was greeting a man whom I know slightly through our work
and he spontaneously invited me to join his family for lunch. I had been
planning to go for a hike, but it felt like the prompting was to take up this
invitation.
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| our gate in the evening |
Sam and his wife Kathy were incredibly gracious hosts,
together with their college-aged daughter. They had prepared a homemade Mediterranean
feast, and also had invited an Egyptian-Canadian friend. I learned so much from
sitting with all of them and hearing about the best places to hike, the best
Italian restaurants in Addis, the political situation, Covid vaccine availability
in Addis, etc. We also had many deeper, more philosophical things to talk about
as a multi-culturally gathered group of Christians and it was a truly
delightful afternoon for me. I also fit in an afternoon nap with the dogs that
Sunday along with an extra-long walk around my neighborhood.
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| RPC office staff with Solomon & I on the right |
Another work-related highlight was a field visit I took
with Solomon and Wondwesen last week. We first stopped at the Addis Ababa head
office of our partner “Remember the Poorest Community.” They are historically
linked with the outreach ministry of one of the oldest Ethiopian Mennonite
congregations. That previous generation really wanted to help children of very
poor single mothers, and decided to open a preschool for orphans and vulnerable
children. MCC has been a partner of that kindergarten for many years. In 2016,
MCC started to support a nutrition program because teachers noted that children
arrived to school hungry, with empty lunchboxes, unable to concentrate in
class. The MCC school feeding program included balanced, nutritious, high-protein lunches and snacks five days a week. There was a marked improvement in
children’s performance in school, attendance rates, and overall health. Kids
who are well-nourished and attend three years of preschool school have a much
better chance of succeeding – even excelling – when they enter free public primary
school. Without that foundation, most of them fail in primary school and drop
out, following in the footsteps of their impoverished parents.
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| Story-telling in the older preschool class |
Sadly, that funding ended, and the program was cut, right
when the COVID-19 pandemic started. At this point, MCC is only able to provide
funding for tea and bread, 3 times a week. For some children, that small snack
is the only reliable food they get because their family is so impoverished.
Parents who were scraping by in the past through small businesses are finding it
impossible to make ends meet in the time of COVID. The economic situation is extremely
difficult for everyone currently. The teaching
staff are heartbroken to see their students sleepy and hungry, and they are
using every possible means to try to make up the difference. They even
committed to donating 3-5% of their very small salaries (they earn just $48 per
month) to try to buy tea and bread for Tuesdays and Thursdays, but even that
generosity does not meet the need for more than 2 more days a month. The staff
of RPC made an earnest plea for MCC to find some way to help them restore part
of the feeding program.
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| Younger preschool class "washing hands" |
We went on to visit the school in Adama (Nazret), about
an hour away. Two senior staff members introduced us to a few of the classrooms
(we peered in through the open doors to reduce COVID exposure risk). The older
children sang a few songs and recited things they had learned about body
parts, letters, and other educational skills. One child entertained us with vigorous
storytelling. Solomon tested the kids in fun, to see if they knew how to keep
themselves safe from COVID. One four-year-old answered: “We wear our mask, we wash
our hands, and we eat our lunch!”
Even young children had a very clear idea about sanitation, not touching their
eyes or nose, and keeping their masks on (all the children seemed to have cloth
masks to wear). We noted the energy and brightness that was evident among the
students and the care of the teachers. The classrooms were all colorful and
decorated with homemade posters – clearly a lot of effort has been made to
develop an inviting and bright atmosphere in the school.
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| Principal Etgenet with the girls |
Later we sat outside to talk with the school staff and a
few parents. One parent, Mitiknesh Fekadu, spoke about how many of the children
are street children, living in plastic houses. She asked why there is no
feeding program. Her twin daughters performed
at the top of their class this term.
Tilaya Hailemariam is a grandmother of twin boys. She is struggling to survive because the cost of living
is so high, and with COVID, there is no opportunity for trade. Her daughter,
the twins’ mother, is still around but has no work. Her two grandsons won 3rd
and 4th place in class. Tigist is another committee member who
raised the question of the school feeding. “It’s sad to see the kids have only
bread – it isn’t enough.” Most of the children don’t have fathers but are
raised by single mothers like herself. She struggles to even buy soap to wash
her child’s clothing.
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| Twin boys with grandmother |
The chair of the parents’ committee is an older man named
Bahiru Jemal. He works closely in helping to choose beneficiaries for the
school to make sure they choose kids whose parents could not afford to send
their child to a private school. Only the poorest are enrolled, including many
orphans who live with grandparents that really need help. The teachers are
wonderful and it’s a model kindergarten, the best in Adama city, teaching kids
to be creative and use local materials. Some parents send their kids long distances
to come.
As a development worker, it is very convicting to hear
these stories from community members. On the one hand, we recognize that these
issues of poverty and hunger are not a problem with the school, but a structural
problem in the community. The hunger needs to be dealt with on a broader level,
because school feedings only treat the symptoms of the problem, are not
sustainable, and don’t change the overall situation. Furthermore, education and
school feeding are lower priorities for our organization right now, compared to
bigger food security projects and interventions for displaced people. And yet, when
one visits a school like this and hears the stories of how three years of a good preschool and good nutrition can make a difference in the life of individual kids
who would have no chance otherwise – it’s hard to turn away and say no. This is
one way to break the cycle of poverty for particular individuals. I was
reminded of the story of a thousand stranded starfish. A man threw one back
into the ocean. When asked, “Why bother?” he answered, “It made a difference to
that one.” These are the very real dilemmas we are placed in when we work in
contexts of poverty.
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| View from MK College in Debrezeit |
In the afternoon, we visited the campus of the Meserete Kristos
College, the institution where virtually all Mennonite pastors and leaders are
trained. Our main purpose was to scout it out as a placement location for a
potential short-term volunteer from the US. I was also very glad to meet the
college president personally and to learn about their programs. It’s a very
quiet, peaceful setting and the campus includes a working farm for income
generation and feeding their students. I hope to be able to go back there for
visits from time to time and stay in their guesthouse. There was the promise of
some excellent birding…
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| Entoto park view |
On my second weekend in Addis, I took a longer drive to
Entoto Park and spent most of the day walking from one end of the park to
another, exploring and stretching my legs. Much of the time I was alone before I met up with another young couple out for a
stroll or a family come to take photos and let their kids ride on the pedal
carts. The eucalyptus forests are well preserved and thick, but it is not a
natural forest, so not as much birdlife. Still, it was great to get out above
the city and take a walk in a quieter environment. I walked more than 13 km up
and down the hills in the park, with a cappuccino in there somewhere.
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| Apples forming on our trees |
Early on in my solo visit, I had a chance to meet online with
my spiritual director. We talked more about the passage I had been thinking
about all during Lent from John 10: unless a grain of wheat falls into the
ground and dies, it cannot bear fruit; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. I
heard this as an invitation to hold loosely both the things I love in this
world and the things I fear – not to cling to that which I love, and not to
flee from that which I fear. Jane encouraged me to think even more deeply about
the experience of the grain of wheat. It was once part of a stalk of many
grains, a community, growing together, stored together. Suddenly it finds itself
all alone, in cold, dark, unfamiliar ground. And at that point, the seed has a
choice: to remain hardened, closed, grieving, refusing the instinct of life… or
to open itself to totally new possibilities, the feel of the living water inviting
it to put down roots, the sense of the warmth of the sun, yet unseen, above it,
calling for a shoot to come out. Being open to change and growth is hard; it
requires one to be split open, left vulnerable. It can be tempting to stay
closed, to cling to the old, as the only way to honor the very real grief that
we feel when life throws us a curveball. And yet openness is the only choice that
leads to abundant life. I do give thanks to the Spirit at work in me, helping
me to set aside more of my unholy grumpiness, my fleshly desire to close in,
and to be open to more of the possibilities going forward. It’s been a good
three weeks to practice that openness and to feel the growth that comes as a
result.
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| Coffee blossoms in our yard |
Even the grandmothers who didn’t play enjoyed watching and
cheering. I could probably fill this entire blog with photos of our extended
family playing corn hole on many, many days over the past month.
