Kimbj - Kim Bouldin-Jones

I haven't blog in years, but I have not stopped traveling! Along with Africa, I have been to South America, Central America and Europe, since I have last blogged. But I am really going to try to blog this next trip because it is special. Heading back to Ethiopia to work on my hospital project with my little non-profit, Medical Facility Aid. www.medicalfacilityaid.org I started this non-profit to provide infrastructure support for little poor rural hospitals in the developing world. This trip is to document my project and to help provide good basic care to some of the poorest people in the world.

Ethiopia 2009
June 13th 2009 -» June 30th 2009

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Joined on: May 29th 2005
Last Login: December 28th 2009

Blog Entries: 40
Photos: 206

TB Code: [blogger=3847]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Kimbj, order by Date newest first.

By Kimbj
July 3rd 2009

Just a few observations Africa » Ethiopia » Addis Ababa Region » Addis Ababa

Sitting on your feet

Just some observations... Traveling on the other side of the world shows you how things can be so different then what we are use too and also shows you how many things are exactly the same. These are just a few observations that I found interesting. Bottles… glass returnable bottles that some of us remember from our youth. (You actually need a bottle opener to open them). They are totally recyclable and they do not litter the streets since you get money back on each bottle. Why did we change that system here in the developed world? It just seems to [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 29th 2009

Black Lion Hospital Africa » Ethiopia » Addis Ababa Region » Addis Ababa

KItchen with Mold dripping from the ceilings

Black Lion The largest hospital in all of Ethiopia is Black Lion. I again was granted unlimited access to video and photograph the conditions of this public facility. Black Lion is the last referral hospital in Ethiopia, if your illness requires more care then what they can offer, the next place you will go is Nairobi, Kenya and from there to South Africa. This hospital sees approximately 370,000- 400,000 patients a year but the exact number is not known. They have 800 beds, with 130 specialists, 50 non-teaching doctors. This is the largest teaching hospital for the University of Addis Medical [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 27th 2009

Walking People Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region

Typical Home

The Rural Areas Traveling to the rural area was literally a step back in time. It is a simple, difficult and fulfilling life people lead. Women, men and children spends their days pretty much the same everyday. They get up and go early to gathering water for the day to tend to their farm, animals and families. The earlier you get to the watering hole the less muddy it is from everyone else who goes there. Sometimes this walk might be 2 hours each way, returning with heavy containers of water. So it was 5:30am and the roads are full of [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 25th 2009

Rural Areas Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region

Beauty

Here are some photos I took while I was in the rural areas of Ethiopia. Click on them to make them larger for the full affect. [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 24th 2009

What can I say to help you understand the way it is here? Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region » Bahir Dar

Lake Tana and very old tree

I love the Bahir Dar area. I love it. But it is so sad because it's citizens deserve more. The city by the lake is a mixed blend of new and old, with condos and huts within the same area of town. Just walking the streets you get a sense of all these time periods colliding into one. There is so much I could write and I have volumes of photo's of the rural areas, the hospitals and Bahir Dar. But for now here are some photo's until I can condense the information into a non-novel form. I am a [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 24th 2009

Charlie and Dee Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region » Bahir Dar

Charlie : )

Charlie and Dee… The best way I can describe my first face to face meeting with Charlie was a white man in a sea of Ethiopian faces who spots me with my bags in tow at the hospital and runs up and hugs me like a long lost favorite uncle would. His smile was warm and his hug was deep. I know in that instant, he was a man I was proud to know. He couldn’t have helped more in my visit to Bahir Dar and it’s health facilities. He even invited me via email to stay in his home with [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 24th 2009

WHY I am here! Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region » Bahir Dar

The entrance to the hospital

Where do I begin? There is so much to tell; I don’t know where to start. We arrived in Bahir Dar and almost immediately went to Feledge Hiwot Regional Hospital where the CEO of the hospital along with a doctor from Spain who is working on the sewage project and my friend Charlie who is assigned here from the Clinton Foundation met us with open arms. Nolawi, my filmmaker with camera in tow was well prepared to film the conditions of the hospital. He is Ethiopian and he has said he knows how poor his country is and wants to help [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 19th 2009

Windy Night/ Star Trek The Final Frontier?? Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region » Bahir Dar

The little homes in the Wind

Up very early or late, I couldn't sleep with the upcoming trip tomorrow actually today. This is very windy night and I lay in bed wondering about the little subdivision next door to the hotel and what it must be like inside a press metal house with strong winds that roar like lions half the night. I am sure they are use to it but I know in my own strong house my kids coming running and jump right into bed to be protected from the angry roar beyond their windows. So what does a small child here whose entire house [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 19th 2009

Oh Happy Day Africa » Ethiopia » Addis Ababa Region » Addis Ababa

I must write this quickly since I am to be downstairs to head to the airport 4am. First today was a happy day at the hotel; American couples just arrived back from meeting their children for the first time, which they are adopting. Many happy expected parents walked the lobby, with joy on their faces. Most of these couples I talked to were adopting older children between 4 and 6. Those are the hardest to place and the shortest wait times. Babies have long waiting list, so many choose to bring an older child. They all talk about meeting their children [View Full Entry]

By Kimbj
June 18th 2009

Coming to the States Africa » Ethiopia » Addis Ababa Region » Addis Ababa

Clay Court at the Hotel

This morning about 5am, the call to prayer echo's across the city. I had forgotten the familar call that rings out in the morning sky. The country is mostly Eastern Christian Orthodox, which I think of an intense version of Christian and Islamic. I heard here once, there is no such thing as not being religious. It is ingrained in the culture from the calls to prayer with loud speakers across the city; to the Holy men you see in the streets with large crosses as tall as they are. Addis wakes early to the echoes of prayer but the haze [View Full Entry]

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