Al Mercer & Sara Hassen
Hi - this is Al & Sara's blog! Al and Sara
We are 2 VSO volunteers working in Assosa, Beneshangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia for 2 years from Feb 2008 to 2010.
Don't try to find us on the map, 'cos we don't appear. We are proud to announce a grand total of 0 entries in the Lonely Planet - Ethiopia & Eritrea and um, 0 entries in the Bradt guide. In fact as an "emerging region" within Ethiopia our area is pretty anonymous both internally and (clearly) internationally. With the mud strip airport being relaid with tarmac we had a 2 day 4x4 journey here from Addis. That said, Assosa is a regional capital, has a population of 15k and at least 40 vehicles. It is hot, green, welcoming and (currently) pretty dry.
About us - Al has swapped a daily 3-motorway commute (M32/M4/M5) between Bristol & Cheltenham and a life of managing IT Security & Networking for a 3-mango tree commute to the central regional Capacity Building bureau where he is sharing IT skills with the bureau ICT staff. His Arsenal and Bristol Rugby season tickets have been exchanged for 56k updates via BBC online and some quality match analysis from the host of dedicated Arsenal fans found across the whole of Ethiopia!
- Sara has put her job as a Marketing & Communications manager at JISC (based at Bristol University) on hold for 2 years while she embarks on a slightly further daily commute (5 trees and the occasional cow) to work as a Planning Officer at the Regional Education Bureau. She has traded 10k runs along the Bristol cycle path for as yet undecided routes around the dusty streets of Assosa town.
We hope you find something interesting here - and if not, just marvel at the photography ;)
For more information on Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) see www.vso.org.uk.
We have been raising money for VSO - thanks to everyone for your help - we have over £3,500 so far. If you would like to help us out the money goes directly to VSO, not us and you can do so at this page http://www.justgiving.com/alandsarainethiopia
In fact VSO liked our themed 10k run so much they featured it here :)
Finally we have a domain registered which is our home site and will link to this blog see www.alandsarainethiopia.co.uk.
So ciao,ciao & buhallah!
Al & Sara
(IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER - The views expressed in this blog are Al & Sara's only and not those of either VSO (UK) or VSO (Ethiopia)!!)
Travel Blog Posts
[REWIND] Around the Woredas - Days 1 to 6 (Chagni, Pawi, Dangur, Guba)
Published: January 19th 2011Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
January 18th 2011
Time for this slack blogger to go back to March 2008 (ouch!) and extend the entry on our field trip to the remote parts of Beneshangul-Gumuz Region (see "Around the Woredas in 18 days"). Clearly there is some demand for pictures out there (if not my interesting and amusing commentary). My site statistics say the Woreda Trip entry has been viewed over 1,000 times. More than double my *better* blog entries, and ten times more visited than a typical entry! I suspect good old Google returns our blog at one of the top hits if you search for "woreda ethiopia beneshangul gumuz" (in fact I just tried it - number 9 in the list!). From the comments we have had on the blog it seems that Ethiopians who have emigrated abroad, people with adopted children from ... read more
Four Seasons in One Day
Published: January 18th 2011Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
January 17th 2011
Boy it's been a while! Six months since my last blog entry and one year since we flew back from Ethiopia. Sometimes seems like a lifetime ago, particularly as parents now. Given I started work within 5 days of my return and (as you will see) we've had a pretty busy year, I have really struggled to reach the magic 100 blog entries. But have no fear, doubters. I *will* do it. I have taken 3 days off of work to acknowledge the need to get sifting through those pictures and get typing away with my notes. Granted some of the pictures will be a little out of date (tho' not sure pictures from say the lakes at Arba Minch will date that rapidly?) and some of the commentary might be briefer than usual ("hallelujah" I ... read more
Alan J. Mercer's Most Humbling Adventure
Published: July 24th 2010Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
July 24th 2010
The Past is a Foreign Country... Six months have passed now since my exit from Assosa but in many ways it seems like a lifetime ago. I am firmly back into the world of work and kept even busier in the world of fatherhood. Events here happen so quickly: social invitiations arrive by email, text message, telephone call, mobile and smartphone. Diaries are filled months ago. Weekends seem busier than weekdays... During the occasional lull in the storm of work, parenting and appointments, I look back fondly on our time in Ethiopia and worry that I haven't yet finished (if yet really started) my reflections on our experiences overseas and make a mental promise to myself that "next weekend" I'll sort through and order my photographs, reach the magic 100 blog entires and spend some quality ... read more
The World is Full of Sunshine
Published: May 22nd 2010Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
April 10th 2010
It's been a long time coming but here it is at last! Since my last blog on Mulatu's trip to Addis I have been made the "Unknown Blogger of the Week" on Travelblog AND achieved my ambition of getting a photograph in as one of the 'recommended' pictures under the Ethiopia section. That was almost 3 months ago and I've produced nothing since :( Well, that's actually a lie. We have had a beautiful baby daughter!!! Spinning plates Today is her six week birthday and anyone who has had a baby will realise how he or she completely unbalances your life, emotions, sleep and pre-baby planning! I would like to have written this blog entry many weeks ago, but given the choice of Sahai or another 15 blog entries then there is no choice. Sahai every ... read more
Mulatu Melese's Most Excellent Adventure
Published: February 26th 2010Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
February 26th 2010
We are back in the UK - and it's been intense - I started work 4 days after landing and even the day after arrival we headed to Cheltenham to find a house to live in. More of that in a later post - really haven't had time to reflect on our own "excellent Ethiopian adventure". Here is a post I half wrote in while in Assosa about our friend Mulatu's trip to Addis. He and Marta (through her husband Joseph) have been in touch. Unfortunately the volunteer who replaced me, Goran, chose not to employ either of them... Throughout the two years in Assosa we have been helped round the house by two lovely Ethiopians, Marta and Mulatu. People here call them "seratanyas" or workers (and to our embarrassment, translate this into "servant" in English). ... read more
Last Exit from Assosa (Ethiopia...and Africa)
Published: January 19th 2010Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
January 12th 2010
With some sadness this will be my last blog update while actually in Ethiopia - however there WILL be lots more blog entries from the UK about Ethiopia. I have a yellow A4 folder full of notes and a hard disk full of pictures :) My aim was to quit on 100 blog entries and that is what I will do. The last 10 days have been a whirlwind of parties, presentations and goodbyes. It's been such a rush it's been hard to get time to reflect on our wonderful experience in Ethiopia. That will come later. Tears only twice (but we have 3 hours left for plenty more). Here are a couple of pictures to give you a flavour; and as I say, stay tuned for some belated updates and some great pics (uploaded over ... read more
Signing off @ the Assosa Showcase
Published: January 7th 2010Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
January 6th 2010
With some sadness the doors of the Assosa Showcase cinema have closed for the very last time. Opened to all VSO volunteers and Ethiopian friends in February 2008, it started controversially when the "wrong" Sweeny Todd was presented to an expectant crowd! Not the Hollywood Todd of Johnny Depp, but the - rather less sexy - BBC Todd of Ray Winstone! Over the two years a variety of Ethiopians, volunteers, NGO staff and visiting Ferengi have graced the armchairs and sofa, watching Oscar winners and nominees (No Country for Old Men, The Wrestler), fun and adventure (Pirates of the Carribean, Hancock, National Treasure), animated classics (Wall-E, Finding Nemo) to visual eye-poppers (The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded). Nothing more than a borrowed LCD projector, some rearranged furniture and a laptop plugged into a stereo system; and ... read more
December 31st 2009
Wow - I can't believe I have managed to create an entry on the same day the event happened! In fact, even better, I have created an entry BEFORE the event actually happened where you are! While you guys are warming up for Auld Lang Syne, kissing marathons and Jools Holland we have passed our milestone and are heading for bed with a nice cup of coco. Well, a bottle of St George actually, but it is a holiday tomorrow after all...er...well maybe unofficially. For Ethiopians the new year (or "addis amit") is in September, with Christmas on January 7th. It's no wonder people here get confused. I have been bombarded with very kind - but somewhat premature - text messages wishing me a Happy New Year since Christmas Eve. Then again, one of the Ferengis ... read more
Melkam Ye Ferengi Gena
Published: December 27th 2009Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
December 26th 2009
...or happy Ferengi Christmas! The greetings are only 3 days late but the Internet connection here has been taking so long to upload even one photo to the blog I have started and stopped this entry 3 times already. Of course I am still getting billed per minute so maybe it's all part of the plan? Or perhaps the Travelblog server had too much Christmas pudding? I made it to Addis on Tuesday night having blagged a lift with the workers for a Finnish Water project in Assosa. We started the 670km drive at 6am and reached Addis by 6.30pm. Luckily Tapio (the Finnish project manager) can drive so the driving was shared and consequently we made good time. After a blitz of goodie shopping on Christmas Eve, as well as visiting the Federal Police for ... read more
Taking Some Time to Do the Things We've Never Done
Published: December 6th 2009Africa » Ethiopia » Benishangul-Gumuz Region » Asosa
November 27th 2009
THANK-YOU to everyone who has sponsored me for the Great Ethiopian Run! Your help is much appreciated by both us and VSO! The last 6 weeks or so have been a total blur - in Assosa I've hosted our friend Marta (the ex-VSO from Assosa) and our French friends Christine, Bernard and Liana. Then in Addis Sara and I have hosted her sister, Jan and husband Al. Lots of nice pictures that are completley blog-worthy, but with time against me now I'll be working hard in moments of free time to update you all too. In the meantime I took a slight detour from Assosa....to Kenya! When we first got clearance from VSO London to remain in Ethiopia, we were told Sara must stay in Addis - because of the malaria risk in Assosa - but ... read more
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