Blogs from Ethiopia, Africa - page 10

If I were a songwriter I would write a song about “Everyone Needs a Little Tenderness.” I am sure there are songs about that but this would be reserved for those most in need. I would dedicate it to the Eritrean Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) living in Ethiopia. To the lovely children I just visited, shook hands with, hugged, sat in their one room mud “homes” on the beds of clay and stone, listened to their stories and who stole my heart. To say they need extra tenderness is an understatement. These are children just like ours; they like to look cute, they enjoy playing, they want to catch the eye of the opposite sex. However, on a deeper level they are children who have broken hearts. Their fathers and older siblings were taken away by ... read more

6 November, 2012 We arrived in Bahia Dar, met the truck and made for a campsite on the edge of Lake Tana. Over the next couple days, we made the most of the wifi, the bar with a large selection of drinks, the television and the rooms that some decided were worth the upgrade from the tents. The truck was parked in a large open space where we could set up the kitchen and chairs and it was a walkable distance into town. A café across the road served great coffee (so I'm told!) and Ethiopian dishes but Kevin and I found a pizzeria on the second floor of a building in town and settled on that instead. Nico and Alexis also had the same idea. I think the last time I'd had pizza was in ... read more

29 October, 2012 We in stopped in Shashamane, home to the Rastafari movement, for an afternoon en route to the capital. The population of the town is approximately 100,000 of which nowadays only 200-300 still call themselves Rastafarians, though numbers were as high as 2,000. The truck was parked at a café and we went out to the road to hail tuk tuks to drive us out to the area. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting and wouldn't be a fan of reggae and things I guess I consider to associate with them and although we were invited into a gated community, brightly painted in the red, yellow and green, no one was really able to explain anything to us. I wandered through the rooms with Bob Marley painted on the walls and articles ... read more

It is with a heavy heart that I begin this blog. I am sitting in Gondar airport waiting for my flight to Addis. After 3 months here, my time here in Gondar is up and now I am off travelling for 10 days before starting my next job in Nairobi. I know that I have moaned a fair amount in this blog but I will really miss this place. My colleagues have been a pleasure to work with. They have looked after me so well and I had a lot of fun at work. The daily problems that they face here make me rethink the things I complain about at home. I am grateful to have been born in such a stable and affluent country with all the opportunities that I have had, never left wanting ... read more

CUSO needs the help of all friends of volunteers. Please see attached link. The best part of helping CUSO with your tax deductible gift is it's generously matched by Government of Canada. A small gift can do a heckuva lot. ... read more