Impressions from Trevor

Trevor and Children

After breakfast, we split up into two groups. One group went to the kindergarten Bible camp and the rest went on a hike into the mountains surrounding Project Mercy. On the hike we passed an open area where women meet to sell goods every Wednesday. We hiked for an hour to the homes of a group of potters, basket weavers and farmers. One woman simultaneously wove a basket while taking care of her two children. Another women pounded dry mud with a large stick to create clay. There were also about 10 men and boys working in the field. It was sad to note that the farmers used an agricultural technique that promotes erosion and the loss of minerals in the soil. Sushmita pointed out that they could easily use a terraced method that would solve both problems.

After lunch, we held a Q&A session with Malaku, a 19 year-old Ethiopian who attended Project Mercy through 8th grade and is now a rising senior at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He had just returned to Ethiopia for the first time in 3 years. He received this opportunity because a woman who taught English at Project Mercy had applied to Deerfield for him and when he was accepted, she sponsored him to come to America. He talked to us about the difficulty of transitioning to America in both language and culture. Although Malaku had learned English at Project Mercy, it took him a full year of hard work and a summer of ESL to truly acclimate to English in the classroom and the hallways. He also talked about the reverse culture shock from returning from Deerfield to a mud and thatch home in Yetebon, Ethiopia.

Playing Soccer

After this, several of us played a game of soccer with the local boys. Finally, after a good game (in which us Americans were panting like dogs due to both the altitude and the stamina of the locals), we ended with a score of 2-0 (my team lost). We then transitioned to volleyball, rotating a new team of 6 in every game.

As some continued to play volleyball, the rest of us returned to the main lawn where Elizabeth and Deb led a conversation about HIV/AIDS. They started by talking about their experiences in South Africa and Tanzania, respectively. Elizabeth said that in her village in South Africa, they estimated (using testing of pregnant women) that 1 in 4 people had contracted the virus. She talked of measures used to prevent pregnant mothers from passing the disease on to their children. She also said that in her village of 2,500, 3 to 4 funerals were held every weekend for HIV/AIDS victims. Deb talked about how everyone in Tanzania, both the people and the government, was in complete denial about the disease. We discussed the chemistry behind the disease, the medication used to suppress it (“the cocktail”) and the major steps in removing the stigma surrounding it (Nelson Mandela announcing that his son died of AIDS). We also had a lengthy discussion on the danger of contracting HIV from circumcision ceremonies, both male and female. This then transitioned to a conversation of the treatment of women in many African countries and the way this made them specifically susceptible to HIV/AIDS.

After this discussion, Kerry led a couple of us in an impromptu Yoga session on the lawn. This stretched and calmed us just in time for a delicious dinner of spaghetti, eggplant, beats and our daily snack of PB&J. After dinner, we put on a talent show for the children (because they had sang for us earlier this week). It started with Kate and Kerry sharing a wonderful rendition of Old McDonald. This was followed by “Yonder Come Day,” sung by Gennie, Brittany, Will and me (Trevor). Paul and Ray then graced our ears with “What’s Your Name” by Don and Juan. Miriam displayed her talents in the field of cheerleading and then, with the help of Sarah, taught all the students how to sing and act like a teapot. We ended with the quartet, this time singing “Rockin’ My Soul.”

After the talent show, the children went to bed and we made our announcements for the night and returned to the hospital to get to bed early so that most of us can wake up for a hike to the top of a nearby mountain to watch the sunrise.
Written by Trevor from Potomac on June 29th

At Project Mercy

At Project Mercy

After our first night sleeping in the hospital we headed back towards the school. We were lucky enough to watch the morning line up and flag ceremony. Marta introduced us and told the children to be the best they could be no matter what that may mean. She gave the example of “if you are a cleaner then be the best cleaner, it doesn’t matter just study as hard as you can.” On a personal note it was immediately evident that she was not a wonderful hostess but reminded me of my grandma in the Netherlands, which made her that much more likeable. Then I heard the voices echo of the children sing as the flag slowly moved up the pole. Then we headed towards breakfast with eggs, orange slices, teas and coffee.

Once we finished our breakfast we walked to the library to use it as a sorting area for all our supplies we brought with us to donate. This took a majority of the morning because the amount of supplies was enormous. We made about six different sections to help organize ourselves. It consisted of a school supplies area, a clothing area, a sports equipment area, a food area and an arts and craft area. We had to make sure everything was in order and not left in a pile. I helped sort some of the papers and placed them in covers to protect them.

Then to give us a break we left the library and headed outside to play with the kids who had just finished their day’s exam(s). The students seemed eager to play with us and show off their talents.

Volleyball

Walking down the hill to the various playing fields of basketball, jump rope, soccer and volleyball it was overwhelming to see the hundreds of children. I chose to play volleyball and soon learned how competitive the children were.

The boys from Project Mercy immediately assumed that girls couldn’t play volleyball so not only was the presence of women small on the court but the participation was interrupted by the boys stepping in front of them. My first reaction to this was complete frustration and anger because this was something I was not familiar to and was not prepared to be view as a weaker person just because of my sex. Then I thought about the customs that they are used to and that I couldn’t be mad at the specific boy who stepped in front of me because that was all he knew. Eventually I learned to accept this custom and decided to make the best of it. Just when I was getting comfortable Kate informed us that it was lunch, so we walked to back towards the main building to eat.

Marta and Demi again graciously made sure we were satisfied with the food and came and sat down with a group of us.

Julia, Washington International School

Reflections from the plane

Starting the LSE process 2 years ago, I didn’t really have a clue as to what things I would find and what things I would experience. I had my stereo types of Ethiopia and also Africa in general. What I didn’t know was how polite and courteous the citizens are. Their culture and their environment are so unique.

Teaching English

When we visited the Save the Children School during the first week of our stay, I was culture shocked and amazed. I would’ve never thought that these children, despite their lack of wealth, had so much energy, care and strength. The children we met at Save were some of the most beautiful, eager and strong children I have ever met. During a classroom setting, where we were teaching basic math building skills, there were students trying to force their way into the classroom to also engage in the learning process. This was another surprise to me. I am not used to children rushing into class to learn, even a class that is not theirs. Their willingness to learn made me smile and appreciate my education.

During my experience at Project Mercy, I witnessed a strong community working together and being a family. The House Kids at PM called each other brother and sister. This made me happy. I felt that these children knew the value of family and even if they didn’t have their original family, they were loved and cared for but the family of Project Mercy.

This trip to Ethiopia was an experience that I would never forget. I will use what I learned about the strength of family, the value of an education and also basic manners and courtesy, to make me a stronger and better person. I will also teach my peers at home and my family members what I have learned. I came into this program trying to see what I can teach Ethiopian children but I came out learning more than I taught, and I am very grateful.

Khadeeja, Seed Public Charter

We have returned

We arrived back from Ethiopia on the morning of July 3. Over the next few weeks, each participant will write some of his or her reflections about the trip and its meaning. We packed a lot of experiences into two weeks, and we look forward to sharing what we have learned and how this trip has changed each of us...

Project Mercy

Here is a basic summary of our events at Project Mercy in Yetebon, a small village located about 9 km from the town of Butajira. Butajira is about a two-hour car ride Southwest of Addis.

Monday we arrived just before lunch at Project Mercy. After a spaghetti lunch, most of us took a tour of the hospital and Kindergarten on the grounds here (Project Mercy is on 53 acres of land, donated by the elders of the tiny village of Yetebon). We had an afternoon thunderstorm -- it is the rainy season here, after all -- and we were trapped with our luggage in the rain for a little while. Eventually, we headed down to dinner, and the people at Project Mercy brought our luggage to our rooms. We settled in and went to sleep.

William tutoring math

Project Mercy serves nearly 1000 students from the nearby villages in grades K-10. However, because we have come at the end of the school year, students at Project Mercy were taking final exams Monday through Thursday. We helped them study in the hours just before their exams, and we also helped them relax after exams by playing soccer, Frisbee, volleyball, and basketball; believe it or not, they have facilities for all of that!

It was not a typical week here at Project Mercy, but we did enjoy working with the students very much.

Tuesday morning, we got up to see morning exercises and the morning flag ceremony and national anthem. When students were not in exams, we engaged them in activities ranging from knitting to sports to teaching them songs and activities. After lunch, we had a tour of the entire Project Mercy compound (except for the kindergarten and hospital, which are located about a 20-minute walk from the rest of the campus) from Marta and Deme, the founders of Project Mercy.

On Tuesday afternoon, some of us went to see the Kindergarten and Hospital (most of us saw those buildings Monday on the initial tour). We then had an early dinner Tuesday night at 6:30 and then some students who live on the compound at Project Mercy (known as "house kids") sang songs for us.

On Wednesday, while students were taking morning exams, we got a ride over to the nearby crater lake and hiked around the rim of the crater. In the late afternoon, we had a fun soccer match against our drivers (we actually tied them 0-0). We then joined forces with our drivers and proceeded to lose to the teachers and students at Project Mercy 2-1 (although we did score the first goal!).

Following the soccer matches, we had dinner and then our group had an evening meeting to discuss our days at Project Mercy (PM). Because PM is orthodox Christian, and because the area where it's located is predominantly Muslim, issues of religion came up, and we talked about those issues.

Thursday morning, we tutored some students before their final exams (see pic of William) in math. After lunch on Thursday, we had the opportunity to meet Melaku, a student from Yetebon who attended Project Mercy through eighth grade, and who just finished three years of study at Deerfield Academy, a private boarding high school in Massachusetts. Melaku is home for the first time in three years (he spent his first two summers in the USA).

Melaku's English is excellent (as you would expect), and he was able to give students from LSE some insights into what it was like to go from Yetebon to one of the elite prep schools in America. After talking with us for an hour, Melaku joined some of us for a soccer game, while a myriad of other activities went on throughout the Project Mercy compound.

We had lovely crisp weather Thursday evening (we understand there has been a little rain in the DC area!) and some teachers and students even took some Yoga lessons from Kerri, the LSE teacher on the trip from Cardozo High School.

On Friday morning, we prepared to leave PM. On the way back to Addis, we will stop at a church carved out of a single piece of stone. This evening in Addis, we will have Shabbat Dinner at the house of Dr. Rick Hodes.

Impressions from Woliso

Our group at Nagash Lodge

I could have woken up at around 9:30 am to give myself enough time to change, brush my teeth, and walk down to breakfast. But, alas, I am Genevieve Parker and seem unable to sleep past 6:00 am. That morning I woke up at around 5:30 am with the chirping birds and the howling monkeys (I was not exactly used to the second).

Waking up this early in the morning almost everyday of my life has given me much practice in the art of "Finding Things to do that Do Not Wake People Up" I slipped out of bed and tip-toed around Julia, my roommate, to the bathroom to brush my teeth. One I was finished with my morning washing ritual I picked up my SET cards and walked outside to practice my game.

To be perfectly honest I was ready to do whatever I could to involve myself with people and if that meant practicing a game which was practically impossible for me to figure out, I would in a second. While I was outside on the porch I began to hear a man chanting from far away and yet his voice was very clear. His voice was so loud that I assumed he was on a megaphone of sorts. I listened to the chant while my brain strained to find a SET.

My mind wandered from my game as I looked up to a huge swarm of tiny flies. My normal reaction of freaking out and running away when seeing a large amount of any flying creatures did not come as I stared almost entranced at the swarm. I realized they were not coming after me at all. Instead they were just hovering in the air. Heaven forbid, I started to look at the flies as if they were little electrons bouncing off one another and fleeing in all directions. After a minute or two I saw the tiny flies begin to fall to the ground, dead. Strangely enough, I began to cry.

Woman carring wood

Now, after all I had seen in the past days of full of poverty and disease, it seems as if I should have been crying while I was driving through the streets and moping at night after a day of witnessing people dying of hunger. But right then I felt such an utter build up of loss; I could not handle to hold it in. Watching these little creatures flying around in complete chaos, seeing some of their bodies fall from the air, and listening to the man's chant from afar pulled what I had seen in the past few days together all at once.

Gennie, Potomac School

Back to Addis Ababa

The following entries, all written by students, describe the experiences of LearnServe Ethiopia – a group of 17 high school students and 12 teachers from DC-area public and private schools – as they experience Ethiopia in the summer of 2006.

Thorny Plant

Reliable access to the internet has been slightly less accomodating than the indigenous "thorny plant". Please keep checking the site for updates--we promise to keep them coming as best as we can!

As you will read about below, the first day of the trip was spent in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. We then ventured about two hours south west of Addis, to a town called Woliso (see map), where we stayed at a "resort" by Ethiopian standards called the Nagash Lodge.

Map

The first day in Woliso, after we dropped off our bags, we went out to visit the site of the community school where we would be doing community service for the next few days. It took a little over an hour to get to the school site on bumpy "roads," and we had an unexpected adventure because of a rainstorm that made the "roads" treacherous, as you can read in our first blog posts.

Each of the next two mornings, we awoke at the Lodge, had breakfast, and drove the hour out to the Save the Children site where our group split into three tasks: laying pipe for a water source (manual labor at a site nearby the school); teaching English to young Ethiopian students; and painting a world map on one of the school walls (the teaching and the mural both happened at the same site).

It is now Sunday morning, Ethiopian time (seven hours ahead of DC time, so it's just after midnight in DC) and we are about to head back to Addis, where we will again stay in the same hotel that has served as our "base". We will then explore the city in groups, and then have dinner at the Clarke's house. Monday morning, we will head out to Project Mercy.

Crossing the Language Barrier (day 4)

Birhani

As I woke up this morning, the first thought in my mind was, "What? I'm in Ethiopia? Then why in the world is it so cold?" Even though we’re near the equator, it's still cold in the mornings and nights here. They don’t put that tidbit in the travel brochures.

I marched out of my bungalow in a timely manner, only to be bombarded by sensory overload from my five overwhelmed senses. I smell that unique scent of Africa- of cooking fires, and animal feces. I hear monkeys howling as they frolic in the trees, and the mating calls of large birds. I see lush plants in the back of our resort, as well as a deer trotting among the grass. I taste the fresh morning air, void of Washington pollutants. I can feel the sun already beating down on my neck- but I don't have to worry, since I just applied my sun block!

Our morning started off with a scrumptious breakfast. Assaulted with new tastes and experiences, it was comforting to try new foods that still resembled our familiar diets. After breakfast, we were pleased to host Suadik, a representative from Save the Children, the foundation with which we are working in here near Woliso. He shared with us the main problems in government schools and the proposed solutions and actions taken by this catalyst of a foundation. The main problems are:

1. Education- poor access, poor quality, no furniture in rooms, overcrowded
2. School Health and Nutrition- parasite infection, vitamin A deficiencies
3. Adolescent Development- reproductive and sexual health problems, youth unemployment
4. Water and Sanitation- many villages have no access to clean water (93%), distance from water (average 2 hours roundtrip)

Save the Children works to make Community based Centers that solve most or all of these problems in one package. One thing I found extremely interesting was their advocacy for gender equality in the schools.

After the presentation, we set off optimistically for our first day of work. My group had the delectable job of physical labor in connecting a pipe from a water source to a tap. We headed off eleven strong, ten squeezed into the back of the car- they told us the car seated eleven, but I wasn’t so sure when I was sandwiched in the back going over a multitude of bumps.

Our workday started off with a bang- our driver accidentally ran over a section of a woman's potato field with the truck. The pandemonium that occurred was momentous- the woman was beating on the car with her walking stick, and even though I couldn't understand the Orromo (dialect) she was screaming in, I was pretty sure they were some choice words without a good intention. After thinking, we realized that she was so angry because this potato field was her source of income. We apologized to the women with gestures, and the driver apologized in Orromo and paid her reparations for the damaged crops. This event really reminded us of our invasiveness and the potential negative effects it can have on the people who live here.

Carrying Water Pipe up the Hill

With our first adventure of the day behind us, we took some time to climb up the hill to survey our job. We were amazed that the Ethiopians around us walked on the rocks barefoot—it made us feel like wimps. Our work on the water point consisted of digging a trench, removing the old one-inch pipe, carrying pieces of two-inch pipe up the hill, coupling (connecting) these pieces, clearing the brush from the path of the pipe, and replacing the one-inch pipe with the two-inch pipe. As we walked back and forth up the mountain, we had to be assertive to keep our posts--the helpful Ethiopians would often try to take over for us. We conjectured as to why, and we came up with that they were used to catering or working for Westerners, they saw us as a higher class than them, or simply because they thought their role was to do village work and we were out of our comfort zone.

After carrying a few pipes, we hiked up to the water source. It was at least a mile's hike, and at an altitude of about 8,000 feet, we were soon short of breath and drenched in sweat. The Ethiopians looked on, unfatigued, chuckling at us as they wondered why we were so tired.

We discussed eating lunch at the source, but since were surrounded by Ethiopian workers and guides, we decided against it. We thought it would be rude to flaunt our comparative influence, and thus waited until the workday was over and we were in the truck before eating.

We returned to our work with a new fervor. There were no conflicts, but it was interesting to see the Ethiopians’ reactions to our girls hard at work. They seemed surprised at first, and then the men seemed eager to take over for them as soon as their hands touched a tool. We attributed this to no more than cultural difference, and though the girls were frustrated, none took it as an insult.

We rotated all eleven bodies through our numerous jobs, using a pickaxe, shovel and even our hands to excavate the thin pipe. There weren't enough tools, but we all managed to do our part. When people weren't working, they were either interacting with the children nearby or (in my case) journaling on the day's events.

One funny occurrence today happened while I was sitting on the dirt writing. A little girl named Tegi walked by and started giggling hysterically at me. She ran over to her older brother and whispered something, which caused him to crack up in laughter as well. Her older brother came over to me and motioned for me to get up. He tore a large leafy branch off a nearby shrub and put it under me. It turns out my butt was covered in mud and was getting more dirt on it from me sitting on the ground. I was laughing at myself, but still wowed by the brother's willingness to help me.

During my other times of work breaks, I interacted with the children. I met two boys about my age that knew a little bit of English. We still managed to have a conversation, and the channel of learning was bi-directional. When I left to go work in the trench, Ali, the college counselor at Potomac, talked about the World Cup with the boys, which turned into a geography lesson about the 32 countries involved. Ali and I even managed to get a picture with our new friends.

Danielle, Gennie, Brittany, and Miriam passed their breaks playing hand games with the kids. Danielle started the initiative by teaching some children "slide" and "Miss Mary Mack." I was amazed that these girls managed to cross the language barrier and find common ground and still have fun.

The angelic highlight of our day was Tegi, a beautiful little girl who was a little shy at first, but opened up to all of us. She had a little aluminum foil ball that she used as a volleyball, and many of us played with her. She showed us that even though someone is in abject poverty, he or she can still improvise and have fun with the unlikeliest of materials.

All in all, our day was incredibly successful. We carried more than twenty pipes up a hill and dug a trench for the pipe. We removed the one-inch pipe from the entire course and coupled some of the two-inch pipes. We also learned a lot on the way from the Ethiopians we encountered: humility, how to cross the language barrier, service, and the amount of work it takes to bring water to a village. As our first day of work here in Ethiopia, it wasn't half bad; in fact, it was an incredible learning experience.

By William, Thomas Jefferson School of Science and Technology

To Woliso (day 3)

Women at night

We started our first full day with a three-hour drive from Addis Ababa to Woliso (about 120 km away). This was no ordinary drive. Our feelings vacillated between horror and relief as we nearly collided with donkeys, horse drawn carts which serve as taxis and cattle. Whenever we stopped in a town many people came to the windows asking for money. When a member of our group gave a little boy cookies, they thought they were helping. Unfortunately, a group of larger boys beat up the smaller boy causing the cookies to fall into the dirt. This experience caused us to realize that while giving to beggars may seem like an immediate solution, it causes greater problems in the long term.

We arrived in Woliso, which is a small town, mostly located on one main road. As we drove to the hotel we saw people chewing on the popular local drug, chat. People who do chat in Ethiopia are not out of place at all, as we realized the next day when all three of our drivers offered us some (we politely declined).

After eating a great lunch at our new hotel, where some are staying in bungalows, we set out to a school run by an organization called Save the Children. During the drive, we drove on a dirt road, which soon became a rocky path. After driving about fourteen kilometers on the path, we finally reached the school. When we arrived, a whole bunch of shy little Ethiopian children ran out to greet us. At first they were very hesitant to talk to us. After we pulled out our cameras, they demanded that we take pictures of them. This really broke the ice as we showed the little kids their pictures in our digital camera screens.

One of the most interesting experiences that we had at the school was talking to one of the teachers. The teacher really expressed the needs of the school in plain terms. He said that his dream was the installment of a generator, the building of a clinic, and better access to the water source, about a thirty-minute walk away. This really made us think about what we could realistically do to help this school. One thing we focused on was the generator. We started thinking about the installment of a solar powered generator, which would solve the electricity problem and be easily sustainable.

Umbrella Boy

It is the beginning of the rainy season here, and it rains around six or seven in the evening each night. As 6:00 pm was approaching, dark clouds loomed on the horizon. We could see the anxiety building on the faces of our drivers. We left the school just as the rain was arriving, and about five minutes into the drive it started pouring. The drive home on the rocky, extremely muddy path was very dramatic. At one particularly muddy spot, multiple vehicles got stuck. One car slid off the path and got stuck in a tree. Another car also slipped and hit the corner of the stuck car. Many Ethiopians gathered to watch and help us get the cars unstuck. We used another one of our cars to pull the stuck cars. Ethiopians and members of our group pushed against the cars, cheering when we finally succeeded. While we waited for the final cars to come across the muddy part of the path, many of us tried to talk to a group of children who had gathered to watch. We were struck by the friendliness of the Ethiopian people. Finally, with some expert driving, we got home at around 9:30 pm. We had an excellent dinner of soup, spaghetti and fruit, and went to bed.

By Sarah, Maret School (with help from Trevor, Potomac and Mike, Maret)