First orphanage experience

When we arrived at the first orphanage, kebebe tsehay, we immediately noticed the sign that stated “no photographs”. That was a bit disappointing, but kind of understandable. A staff member noticed us and we were given a tour of some of the buildings including the kitchen and the laundry area. When we entered the laundry area we were greeted by three women who immediately shook our hands and offered us coffee.

We then walked to the large building where the kids live. Right away, a few kids noticed us and ran out the doors to us. They were wanting to hold our hands and be picked up. Soon, more kids were noticing and joining the quickly growing mob. It was very overwhelming because once a kid attached him or herself to me they wouldn’t let go and it was difficult to give everyone the same amount of attention.

It was really sad that these kids had no toys. It smelled like trash outside. One kid was playing with a piece of ceramic tile (with sharp edges), one kid had a small magnet that he was excited to show me, and one kid proudly showed me a broken face of a watch.

They somehow noticed brian’s biceps and were very interested in touching them. He was picking them up with his biceps which they got a kick out of. The kids were very beautiful, but a number of them had runny noses and upper lips that were dried and crusty. Many of the younger ones also had blisters or warts (not sure) on their faces.

After playing with these kids for a bit, we unattached ourselves from kids and entered into one of the smaller buildings. We went into a small room with about 6 kiddos in cribs that were obviously older than they appeared. They were both physically and mentally delayed. It was sad to me. We were all pretty disturbed that the back of one of the kiddos’ heads was completely flat from most likely laying in the same position in his crib for hours and days on end. Kelly and Nick grew very close with these kids throughout the trip. Kelly knew some already from her past trip to Ethiopia and Nick recognized some of them from pictures that Kelly had taken last time. These are the kids that benefited the most from the physical therapy that Nick and Kelly ended up doing.

We then headed to the larger building and into the toddler room where the kids were napping. A few of them were so precious and were sleeping with their butts up in the air. Around the corner and through a door was the baby room.

It. Broke. My. Heart. The odor of dirty diapers and baby formula immediately caused my stomach to turn. It was warm and stuffy with no fresh air flowing. The majority of the 30ish babies were crying as they laid in their cribs. There was no way the two caregivers could tend to all of their needs. Kelly immediately picked up a crying baby, and got diarrhea all over her arm. The diarrhea had soaked through the diaper and gone up the baby’s back. The little babies had bottles propped up so they could feed off of them on their own. Some of the babies were holding their own bottles. Many were crying because their bottles had fallen to the side and they had no way of getting their food.

I too, picked up one of the many crying babies (careful to avoid any potential diarrhea). She stopped crying as soon as I picked her up. Even though these babies were hungry, needed their diapers changed, had flies hanging out on their faces, in their noses and ears and so forth, it seemed that what they needed the most was Human Touch. We saw it over and over again throughout our visits… a wet, hungry baby would stop crying as soon as he or she was picked up and start crying again as soon as we put him/her down.

While carrying her I walked over to another crying baby and stroked his hair which temporarily calmed him down. It was so sad to think that they don’t have a mom to sooth them. When we had to leave I put the baby back in her crib and she immediately began crying again. She was crying “mama, mama”. I tried to hide my tears, but I was broken hearted.

We walked to the next orphanage as we were just doing a basic assessment of two orphanages today and didn’t have much time to spend at either one. This second one is for older girls. The ages probably range from 4-15 years old. This one is on a beautiful piece of property. When we walked up, again, all the girls ran to us wanting to shake all of our hands. The little ones wanted to be picked up and were upset when we had to put them down. It seemed very chaotic and again, overwhelming. I did not see any toys. I threw out a hacky sack to try to start up a game, but the little ones didn’t want to share. They wanted to keep it for their own. The whole orphanage experience was depressing.

On the ride to the mercato (market) which was our next stop, I kept thinking about how sad it is that so many kids do not have families or even caregivers that can give them enough attention. I was thinking how when Lucca cries, he immediately has someone to tend to his needs. He doesn’t have to hold his own bottle if he wants to eat. He does not have to stay in a dirty diaper because there is a ration of only 2-3 diapers per day per child. He does not have flies swarming him as he lays in his crib. He has toys and he doesn’t have to compete with other children for attention. It’s just very sad.

leaving Tafo... and "buildering" fun

Day 7

The beginning of the day was very slow. Tom arrived at the Tafo house for us at about 9am. We were all packed up and ready to move out of Tafo and into the city--Addis Ababa. Our shoe distributions are completed, and the remainder of our trip will be primarily spent in the government orphanages within the city.

We ended up waiting about 2 hours for a truck Tom had hired to move the bunkbeds out of the house. While we were waiting we got Tom to participate in some “buildering”. Those who rock climb will recognize buildering as bouldering on buildings. This is something that Nick and Brian enjoyed in the evenings. On this final day at the house in Tafo I finally tried some of the problems they made up. Sadly enough, I actually got a bit of a workout. Tom tried some too, and he did awesome! We really like Tom a lot. He is super calm, kind and down to earth.

We finally checked into our guest house in the city at about 1:30pm. The guesthouse is more spacious and cleaner than we were anticipating. There is a living room when you walk in with a sofa, love seat, 2 chairs and a table. There is also a bedroom, a bathroom and a small kitchen area. It seems pretty upscale for Ethiopia and is definitely geared toward tourists “foreinges”.

I opened the living room window to let in some fresh air, but smelled and saw the large group of sheep that live across the street. So much for fresh air. That’s one thing about the city here. Lots of exhaust and foul smells of trash. It is not uncommon to see men urinating on the side of the road. It’s interesting how on one side of the road there can be a beautiful new building, but then right next to it there might be a small “house” made with corrugated metal that is just large enough for one person to sleep in.

The Ethiopian people who work here were really friendly as usual and tried to carry all of our stuff up for us after welcoming us with a handshake, “selam” and bow. They made up a bed for brian and me next to the dining area. The bed looked wonderful with freshly washed blankets and pillows. For some reason it reminded me of when I used to spend the night at my grandma’s when I was a kid. We are on the second floor. The first floor consists of a restaurant and an outdoor patio. After eating a quick lunch in our room, Kelly and I went out to the patio to order macchiatos while we waited for Hailey and Yemamu to arrive.

After everyone had gathered together, we walked down the busy city road for about 15 or 20 minutes to pick up a taxi to take us to the first orphanage. As we walked down the street there was so much to take in…. the many beautiful people, some poor, some well dressed. There were many vendors selling things on the side of the road. There were many stores fronts with beautiful clothes to look at. It made me want to do some shopping before we leave here. (I didn't end up doing much shopping though. While there were some beautiful clothing for pretty cheap prices, I kind of felt guilty purchasing luxury items when little street kids were just trying to get by selling sticks of gum and packages of tissues.)

We hopped on a taxi (mini-bus) and Brian and I sat in the front seat with the driver. He spoke English and was excited to hear that we are living in “Colorado, Denver!” He has family there. I enjoyed the conversation and Ethiopian music he had playing and was laughing at his puffy Hannah Montana stickers that decorated his windshield. I would never want to drive in Ethiopia. There are no rules and no signs or street lights. It is insane.

We had to change taxis two more times before it was time to get off and walk some more to get to the first orphanage. The next posts will include our experience at the orphanages, but for now, here is some buildering excitement.

the remainder of our day in Dahley

As Brian continued his hike up to the cliffs, I headed back down toward the school. When I arrived back I saw that the kids were everywhere. Some were playing soccer, some were playing volleyball and some were simply surrounding Nick and Kelly. Since I am a terrible soccer and volleyball player, I grabbed a hacky sack and began kicking it. Immediately a couple of boys joined me in kicking it. Soon there were a lot of kids wanting to play… maybe 20 kids. We began hitting it back and forth with our hands. That was easier for the girls and everyone seemed to enjoy this. We played and played and played on the open field with the sun beating down on us for what seemed like hours. There was lots of giggling, laughing, running and hitting of the small hacky sack.

After awhile I needed to stop playing to go get a drink of my bottled water. I left the kids with the hacky sack and said “ ciao.” I later realized the kids didn’t have the luxury of drinking clean water when they are thirsty. Nor could they simply grab a clif bar when the feel hungry, low energy, or a blood sugar drop.

After I had my quick drink and snack in private I came back out to join Nick, Kelly, Hallelujah and Haleigh in the grass. Within minutes we were surrounded by probably 50 or 60 kids who simply wanted to look at us, sit with us, touch us and shake our hands...even stroke the hair on my arms! We asked them what their names were and they shyly said “my name is…. ________” and then hid their face with their hands and giggled. It was fun. An outsider would not even be able to see us as we were seriously surrounded by so many kids.

(the next few pictures were taken of us inside the circle of the many kids)

Someone said that Brian had arrived back. I jumped up to go greet him. I was relieved that he had made it back Ok. The two of us quickly were surrounded by kids in no time. Brian said that he had a good time hiking. He found good rock. He said that he had people (mostly kids) following him up the mountain and showing him around. There were huts and homes his whole way up. The people were curious about him and he gave them candy so that they would know that he was harmless. At one point he did run into two men who were holding guns (looked like AK 47’s behind their heads). He said he was nervous. He stopped and was friendly. One spoke a little bit of English and all was well. I was very interested to see the pictures he had taken.

Tom came and picked us up at the school and drove us to a spot where a few families were selling handmade pottery on the side of the road. We checked it out and bought a few pieces—mostly to help them out.

Later this evening the four of us (Nick, Kelly, Brian and I) walked into town to the purple restaurant for dinner. We discovered apple Mirinda. Yum! I’m growing to really enjoy Ethiopian food. I still can’t get over the fact that we can buy 2 full meals and three Mirinda’s for only $2.40.

We relaxed in the restaurant for a bit after eating and enjoyed the Ethiopian music that was playing, the warm breeze that was coming through the open door and windows, and the view out the door of the beautiful people moving along the dirt road. With my sun burned face and arms, the warm breeze, the music, and my relaxed/peaceful spirit, I felt truly content.

We walked back to the house and I crocheted more hacky sacks while Kelly updated her blog and Nick and Brian did some “buildering”. Now I’m going to read a bit before going to sleep and HOPE that these dang mice (later assumed rats!) quiet down so that I can sleep. Tomorrow we will be going to the orphanages for the first time and also to the mercato (open air market). I need more chick peas for my hacky sacks. Kelly and I are also hoping to teach the older orphan girls a cool knitted project that can hopefully be sold in the U.S. I am really, really hoping that Brian will open his mind to the idea of adopting from here as I am falling more and more in love with the people and their culture.

Dahley... Checking out the potential for rock climbing

Day 6

Today occurred in the most amazing of settings! We drove into the village of dahley, and when the kids heard the truck coming, they ran up to their fences to wave at us and yell “Tom! Tom!” I wish I could describe the beauty of the fields and mountains… the tall eucalyptus trees, the round mud huts…the people…

We arrived at the final school to set up for the upcoming shoe distribution which would be occurring in a few days. The kids were so excited to get shoes and to help us set up.

The next picture is of a group of students doing physical education outside.

Brian noticed a cliff line in the distance and wanted to hike up to check it out for potential rock climbing. We didn’t know how much time we had before we needed to leave, so Brian decided to run up by himself.

(notice the cliff line in the distance)

I started the hike with him for a little bit though, because I can never resist the chance to hike in a beautiful place. We walked up the dirt road past huts with men working outside, women doing laundry by hand, donkeys carrying things… kids would excitedly run to the road to wave to us and shake our hands.

(The above is a picture of the dirt road we were walking on. To the right a little girl was peeking out of her gate at us. Her family's home is behind the gate.)

(The below picture is just another picture of the dirt road we were walking on. To the left is a home.)

It was so beautiful and quiet. There were no cars or any loud noises. It smelled amazing. I think the smell was the burning wood (eucalyptus probably) that people were using to fuel their cooking fires. Between the beauty of the land and the people, the delicious aroma, the quiet, and the warm breeze, I felt like I had found a little bit of heaven. Truly. That walk was the highlight of my day and of my trip so far as I took in the majestic beauty and wonder of God’s creation. It made me think that this may have been what it was like in Jesus’ time.

Brian continued hiking (running) as I turned around and walked by myself back to the school. We were on a time limit and I knew I couldn’t keep up with Brian to get to the cliffs and back before we had to leave. I was a little bit nervous about Brian walking around the village alone. He would obviously attract attention to himself and it could potentially be a dangerous situation as he had no way of communicating. Also we had been warned to watch out for the hyenas which was not comforting. I did feel a sense of peace though, and knew that God was in control.

When Brian arrived back later in the day he told me of his adventure. He did find some good rock was excited to come back later in the week to do some climbing (which we ended up doing twice). This is how he described his climbing experience in Dahley, Ethiopia:

"Dahley is where I found some fun bouldering and potential sport climbing. The rock feels and looks like limestone, but... is featured with slopers and small edges... I climbed on three good boulders, but did not find more. These were spread out in the farmland below a nice cliff line...Further exploration could uncover some amazing climbing.

That being said I would not make the trip unless I was headed to Ethiopia for other reasons. But if I go again I am heading back to climb and visit some friends I made the two days that I spent climbing there.

The people there are very nice and friendly. It was not uncommon for random strangers to approach me and start up a conversation. Although we did not speak the same language we were still able to communicate somewhat. Kids would run up and hold your hand and walk with you. The two days that I climbed I was not short on climbing partners.

Many of the local farmer/sheepherders joined in the fun. I may have been the first white person they had ever seen. There were some great moments when some of the locals, after some encouragement, topped out some problems and were so excited. They laughed and even cheered when someone would send."

(Below are a few pictures that Brian took that first day. We ended up spending two more days in the village doing some climbing with the kids and locals. In future posts I will add some more pictures and videos of those amazing days. As I look back at these pictures, I feel sad because I miss these kids. We ended up seeing the same kids and getting to know them during the two days that we spent running around their beautiful village and playing on the rocks.)

Day 5: the country vs. the city

Today we went to “school C” for another shoe distribution. This school was for kids in grades 5 through 8. Some of the kids don’t get to start school until later in life, so it is not uncommon to have eighth grade boys who are in their 20’s. This shoe distribution was much easier, because most of the older students chose to place the shoes on their own feet. Additionally, they took their shoes off before entering the room. Some of the kids washed their feet before coming into the room which I thought was very thoughtful. Brian did a good job of quickly estimating shoe sizes and throwing us “fitters” the sizes that we needed. During a break between classes I went outside with a hacky sack. The boys picked it right up and did a great job since they play soccer.

The teachers were all interested in talking with us. After the distribution they gave us a tour of the school and its buildings. First they took us to the “library” which did not have a single book. The teachers said that their biggest need is for books. They seemed very motivated to teach the students, but said that it is difficult to challenge them without even textbooks or reference books for the teachers.

They showed us a classroom. The typical class size per teacher is about 80 students. They sit three students per desk and the teacher said it gets very crowded in the classrooms.

After this, we left the countryside and took a taxi to the city for lunch. Going from the country to the city is like two different worlds. In the country we saw a lot of dirt roads, barefoot people, dirty clothes, women who primarily wore long skirts, lots of donkeys on the roads, large groups of uniformed kids walking to school etc.

In the city we saw lots of people dressed more modernly. Many women had their hair done beautifully, and not all were wearing skirts. There were lots of shops on the streets and tons of traffic. It is a much louder place with all the taxi (mini-buses) with their workers calling out where the taxi is heading. We also saw many more homeless people and “street kids.” if you look at the photo below, notice the toddler bed hidden behind the wood that is leaning against the wall. This is sad as I assume a little one sleeps here at night.

As we were walking down the busy street, suddenly a little homeless boy who appeared to be about two years grabbed Haleigh’s hand and started walking with her. He then noticed me behind her and ran to me and grabbed both of my hands and started laughing and kind of jumping up and down. He was so adorable. He would not let go of my hand. I kind of panicked because here was this little toddler in the middle of the busy city. I saw a women sitting on the road and asked her if this was her kid. She just kind of smiled at me and probably didn’t understand what I was saying. But she let him stay holding my hands and didn’t try to get him or anything. After several minutes she finally waved him back to her.

This was one of my first near breakdown moments. What was such a little one doing running around on the busy streets by himself? What if I would have taken him with me? I have heard of homeless women asking american’s to please take their kids to America so that they can have a better life. Not that that is legal or even possible. But what would we have done if his mom hadn’t been there? He was way too young to be on the streets alone. There is no way I could have left him.

After the little boy went back to his mother the group of us including Hallelujah and Zalalum (our Ethiopian friends) continued our walk to a restaurant in the city. Kelly’s good friend Yomamu (also Ethiopian) met us there as well. We enjoyed some delicious food and great conversation. Brian and I really, really enjoy the company of Hallelujah and Zalalum. They are both such sweet people. We love learning about their culture and about how they grew up. Brian and I have both mentioned several times that we wish we could have them come to visit us in America, but it is near to impossible for them to get Visas to be permitted into our country. And even if they were somehow able to obtain visas, it would cost them about a year’s worth of salary (each) just to afford the expensive plane fare.

We said goodbye to Hallelujah and Zalalum after lunch. Yamamu took us to see the Gladney (the adoption agency we would likely use if we adopt from Ethiopia) headquarters and then to the Kechene girls’ gift shop. This gift shop is ran by girls who are aging out of the older girls’ orphanage. They make some of their own products and then sell them. Kelly and I are hoping to come up with a knitting project to teach them. I ended up purchasing a bracelet at the gift shop.

Brian, Nick, Kelly and I then took a taxi back “home” to Tafo (the country). Brian and I decided to take a walk before it got dark. As we were walking we noticed a group of kids playing soccer in the field, and they were all wearing their new, yellow shoes! We were so excited and snapped a picture. The shoes aren’t the cutest or most stylish, especially by American standards, but they are functional and made in Ethiopia, and we were happy to see them wearing them.

As soon as the kids noticed us on the road (we definitely stand out), a group of them ran up to hug and kiss us. It’s funny, even though we don’t speak any of the same language, the kids will just hang on us and attach themselves to us. It was starting to get dark, so we eventually had to unattach ourselves from the kids to begin our walk back to the compound.

As we were walking, we saw one of the teachers from the school out on the road. He walked over to us and offered to walk us back. I walked around to the other side of him so that he was in between Brian and me. He suddenly seemed very uncomfortable and moved to the side saying that it was against their custom for a man to stand in between a married couple. We had a nice walk back and some good conversation. He was a really nice guy, and I wish I would have taken a picture of him.

When we got back to the compound Brian went to bed. I hung out with Nick and Kelly, and they coached me on how to do some band exercises. At about 8:30pm I headed to bed to read and pray. Ethiopian adoption has been so heavy on my heart, especially now that we are here. I just need to pray that it will become the same for Brian.

Days 3 and 4

Day 3

Today was kind of a rest day. Tom picked us up and brought us to their house in town where we spent the morning organizing the shoes. It really didn’t take us very long. We walked to the pizza place with tom and the kids. It was fun to get to know the kids better.

We went into the city for a little while trying to purchase an in country phone for nick and Kelly. They wouldn’t let us buy one without two Ethiopian ID’s. strange. We later went back to the house and sat in the living room and had some good conversation with tom and sally. Brian kind of dozed off as you can see from the picture.

Tom drove us back after dark. We had a bit of a sketchy moment when the road we were driving on was blocked off. We turned around to go back, but a large truck was in the process of blocking the other way. For a second, Nick and Brian freaked out into protective mode thinking we were being trapped, but it turns out the truck was just having a difficult time getting turned around. So it was no big deal, but it was a good reminder for us to be careful in another country that we are not used to. Brian and Nick decided that we would be sure to be back before dark after that night.

Day 4

We went to “school B” and distributed more shoes. We are getting more efficient. We’re still in love with the kids. They are so polite. When they enter the room where we are most of them come to shake each of our hands and do a little bow. Some of them would proudly practice their English with us. They are very respectful and sweet.

After the shoe distribution we went to lunch at the purple restaurant. We met a guy named Jeff. He is an American who has moved to Ethiopia. He adopted some kids and ended up marrying his Ethiopian housekeeper. Kind of interesting. After the purple restaurant, Tom drove us to the village market. We all walked around and looked at the various items for sale. I bought a pretty scarf for what ended up being three American dollars. The dollar goes so far here. The exchange rate is currently 1 dollar equals 16.6 burr. So we estimate that 1 burr equals about 6 cents. Giving a homeless person 6 cents is absolutely nothing for us, but is actually appreciated by the people on the streets.

After Tom dropped us back off at the compound (this is what they call the neighborhood of houses), the four of us decided to take a walk through town. On our way out of the compound we saw three young children walking on the dirt road. One of the girls looked to be maybe eight years old. She had a baby (probably her sister) who was on her back. She also had a younger brother with her. They were kicking something back and forth. I think it was a rock. I had a couple of hacky sacks with me in my purse so I gave them 2. They seemed really excited. They noticed that Brian had a sucker in his mouth, so we gave them each a piece of candy. This might have been a mistake, because on our way back into the compound after our walk, the trio spotted us, yelled to their friends, and within seconds, we had a bunch of kids following us asking for more candy. We didn’t have enough candy for all the kids. That is one thing that I found frustrating. As soon as you give to someone, whether it be food or money, it seems like you are immediately surrounded by many more people also who are needy and wanting something. It gets overwhelming. I’ll have to post about the homeless and begging situation on another day.