Photos

28-02-13 Matti, Chris, Lance, Bruce

Ethiopian Update: February 26 to March 1, 2013

February 26, 2013 – Chris, Bruce and Lance took an early morning Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa north to Lalibela.  We were picked up at the airport by Lutheran World Federation (LWF) employee Abdu who was kind enough to chauffeur us around to a number of sites around the Lalibela area.  Of particular interest was the Kenchine Abeba water diversion project. 

The project was initiated in 1993 as a work-for-aid project resulting in a dam and diversion with a 6 kilometre aqueduct to flat land.  When Bruce and Chris visited in 2008 the dam and aqueduct were badly in need of repair and the aqueduct was in danger of being undermined and falling into the river.  Bruce and Chris raised personal funds, and with funding through ANSO, the World Food Bank, AWF and others, the necessary repairs were expedited by AWF in 2010.  The results of the repairs by any definition have been positive.  The irrigation initiative currently supports 210 families (up from 180 families in 2008) who can produce up to 3 quality crops per season whereas the best one can hope for in the adjacent dry land farming is 2 marginal crops every 3 years.  Water being a precious and limited resource is regulated by downstream cooperatives, and family plots are limited to .25 acres.  Bruce suggests fish farming is worth investigation.  The thesis is supported by many fingerlings observed in the downstream aqueduct.

After checking into Hotel Jerusalem in Lalibela, we visited the late 12^th century St Neakutoleab Monastery (also known as the cave church).  The resident priest displayed ancient artifacts such as a book written on vellum, crowns and several crosses including a six hundred year old cross given by the king of Ethiopia.  The handling of these artifacts was almost cavalier suggesting at first that they were replicas but all evidence points to originals.  Ethiopians have a way to go in preserving their heritage.

ANSO supports 15 students from grade 2 through to university.  Chris and Bruce set up a dinner event where students and relatives were invited to dine at Hotel Jerusalem.  A fun evening of socializing and eating traditional Ethiopian food ensued.

February 27, 2013 – Lance and guide Fikru Woldgeiorgis spent the morning touring the famous Lalibela rock-hewn churches:

"In a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia, some 645 km from Addis Ababa, eleven medieval monolithic churches were carved out of rock. Their building is attributed to King Lalibela who set out to construct in the 12th century a 'New Jerusalem', after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land.  Lalibela flourished after the decline of the Aksum Empire."  Source and further details: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/18.

Each feature of the church tells a story; for example, look at the picture with 10 windows carved in the side of the church.  From the top, the square windows from left to right represent the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  The window below the centre (Son) square represents Christ, below this (Christ) is the womb of Mary, and below the womb of Mary is the crucifixion of Christ.  To the left of the Crucified Christ window is a window representing the man who was crucified with Christ and denied the faith.  The window below this represents the man's descent to hell. To the right of the Crucified Christ window is a window representing the man who was crucified with Christ and accepted the faith.  The window above this represents this man's ascent into heaven.

ANSO-supported IT university student Deirbo Melkamu invited Chris, Bruce and Lance to a traditional coffee ceremony.  In the late afternoon we navigated a steep hill from our hotel down to Deirbo's home on foot.   Mrs Melkamu followed the traditional Ethiopian ritual where:

"Coffee is taken through its full life cycle of preparation in front of you in a ceremonial manner. Coffee is called 'Bunna' (boo-na) by the Ethiopians.  The ceremony starts with the woman, first bringing out the washed coffee beans and roasting them in a coffee roasting pan on small open fire/coal furnace. The pan is similar to an old fashioned popcorn roasting pan and it has a very long handle to keep the hand away from the heat. At this time most of your senses are being involved in the ceremony, the woman will be shaking the roasting pan back and forth so the beans won't burn (this sounds like shaking coins in a tin can), the coffee beans start to pop (sounds like popcorn) and the most memorable is the preparer takes the roasted coffee and walks it around the room so the smell of freshly roasted coffee fills the air. 

"The roasted coffee is then put in a small household tool called 'Mukecha' (moo-ke-ch-a) for the grinding. Most restaurants at this time incorporate modern coffee grinders into the process; this is to save time and it does not take much from the ceremony. For those interested mukecha is a heavy wooden bowl where the coffee beans are placed, and another tool called 'zenezena' which is a wooden/metal stick used to crush the beans in a rhythmic up & down manner (mortar and pestle).  The crushed fresh roasted coffee powder is then put in a traditional pot made out of clay called 'jebena' (J-be-na) with water and boiled in the small open fire/coal furnace. Again the aroma of boiling coffee fills the room, and once boiled the coffee is served in small cups called 'cini' (si-ni) which are very small China cups.  As you sip your first cup of coffee, you've gone through the full process of watching seeing the coffee beans being washed, roasted, grinded, boiled and now the culmination you're drinking them."  Source:  http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/ethiopian_coffee.html. 

Ethiopian ritual suggests it is impolite to retire until you have consumed at least three cups, as the third round is considered to bestow a blessing.  We stayed for the third cup, heartily thanked our hosts and Chris gave Mrs Melkamu a parting gift. 

Buoyed by significant caffeine, our crew scampered up the hill to our next destination, the famous Fine Art Gallery studio of local artist Tegegne Yirdaw.  Bruce, Chris and Lance bought paintings from Tegegne, then he joined our party to dine at Mountain View Hotel widely reputed to be the best hotel in Lalibela (http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g480193-d1224695-Reviews-Mountain_View_Hotel-Lalibela_Amhara_Region.html) which was built in partnership with Matti who is himself a remarkable success story (a pervious guide with aspirations for further education to help himself and his sisters) kindled with support from ANSO.  The view from the hotel is spectacular.  If you visit the hotel and are fortunate enough to have Tegegne invite you to 'view his etchings in the hotel rooms', it's not a pick-up line.  Many of his paintings are hanging from the room walls.

February 28, 2013 – We took an early morning Ethiopian airlines flight from Lalibela to Addis.  Just prior to departure we noticed that some pigeons were comfortable with landing in the De Havilland DHC-8 Dash 8 air intake.  One wit in the boarding line-up suggested it was a "Coo".  The pigeons flew off unharmed as the engines started so, 'no harm, no fowl'.  We resettled into the Addis Regency hotel and spent some time collecting gifts to distribute on the next leg of the journey.  In the afternoon we met with Dr Lemma Degefa, resident representative (head of Ethiopia) for the Lutheran World Federation.  Discussions revolved around continuing cooperation between ANSO and LWF.

In the evening Matti picked us up and we had pleasant conversation and a traditional Ethiopian supper followed by ethnic dance and music.  Fun evening!

March 1, 2013 – Bruce and Chris had meetings with 'Food for the hungry (fh) – Ethiopia' representative Craig Jaggers and 3 other associates.  This was an introductory meeting to probe the possibility of fh taking over the ground work in receiving Seacan containers filled with school supplies sent by Swan City Rotary Club from Grande Prairie, Alberta.  There was a consensus that ANSO and fh are a good fit and will proceed.  Bruce and Chris also met with Abdi from Pastoral Concern (PC), our guide and interpreter for the coming weeks, to confirm trip plans.  Lance, your humble scribe, put together today's blog and did some last minute sight-seeing.  We leave Addis tomorrow morning.

Ethiopia, 25/2/13

Ethiopian update 25 February, 2013.
 
Chris Andersen, Bruce Beairsto, and Lance Lewis met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 24 February 2013 to begin a three week tour of Ethiopian projects representing ANSO and Swan City Rotary Club (Grande Prairie, Alberta).  Chris and Bruce arrived by way of Istanbul, with a 2 day layover, and Lance by way of Kenya taking in several safaris a week prior to meeting in Addis.  Other than some mischief maker in Istanbul pulling a few Leatherman tools from Bruce's luggage, we arrived intact with donations (books, tools, assorted educational supplies, etc.) and personal gear intact which is remarkable considering the vagaries of travel half way around the world.
 
We signed into the Addis Regency Hotel and acclimatized to time zone changes and altitude on the 24th.  The following day Chris met with local NGO's discussing plans for the next three weeks while Lance and Bruce played tourist visiting the Ethiopian National Museum (home of the famous 3.2 million year old Australopithecus afarensis fossil nicknamed 'Lucy ') and St. George Cathedral.

We plan to catch an early morning flight to Lalibela tomorrow.

First Field Report from the 2012 English Language Boot Camp.

The following email was received from Jennifer Morrison from Fantalle on July 13^th, 2012

 

 

I am sending this on behalf of the group.

 

Ethiopia is wonderful so far and we are being treated very well.  The people are so kind and getting to know them has been the best part of this experience for us.

 

The first day of the bootcamp was supposed to be for the girls, however, all of them were in Matahara or elsewhere getting their final reports for the year of school.  The girls attended on Tuesday which was great.  On Tuesday night, there was a man killed as a result of the Afar and Karrayu conflict on the border of the tribes.  As a result, the boys were not in school on Wednesday as they were helping with preparations for the burial...but they did attend Thursday.

 

So far this week we have been doing many activities, trying to get a feel for where the students are with their English.  Next week we are planning on doing rotation lessons, where each of us will teach something to all four groups (7/8, 2 groups of 9/10, 11/12). 

 

The students are truly amazing and it's wonderful how excited they are to learn.  As important as it is to teach English, the relationships we are making is what is making this experience so incredible.  We will try to send you an update next week on our activities and how things are going.

 

Anyhow, better run.  Sending you well wishes from Ethiopia!!!  By the way, Gobu, Hawas, and Desi say hello!!!

 

Jen, Rebeca, Lora and Sharon.

A DEDICATED ANSO SUPPORTER

It was over five years ago that Pamela Culligan first became involved with ANSO and she has been a dedicated supporter ever since. The first donation was not unlike many others (the way it came about was a bit unusual – but that is another story), but what has followed has set Pamela apart from all others.

Pamela is the kind of person who acknowledges the various significant dates in the lives of all her friends and family with a card.  Apparently she was spending a significant amount on Hallmark (and other) cards and she approached ANSO about making a change.  We agreed on a system whereby at the beginning of each year she sends ANSO a list of her requirements (doesn’t everybody plan their annual greeting card requirements a full year in advance?) and we send her a year’s supply of cards. Friends or acquaintances may get a chicken or a goat card, but family members or special occasions often receive more expensive cards.  Every month Pamela sends ANSO a cheque for the cards she has used and at the end of the year we send her a tax receipt.

Some months she only sends a single card, most months she uses several, but over the last five years she has not missed one single month!  Now that is what can honestly be called a dedicated donor!

Pamela, your generosity has touched more lives than you will ever know.  We thank you very much.

THIRD ANNUAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE BOOT CAMP IS UNDERWAY

ANSO’S THIRD ANNUAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE BOOT CAMP (ELBC) will be held in Fantalle, Ethiopia in July, 2012. On Thursday,  June 28^th, Rebeca Elliot, Lora Swanberg and Sharon Biggs left Grande Prairie with mounds of luggage (mostly teaching supplies) for an incredible summer adventure.  After an overnight stay in Edmonton, they  departed for Ethiopia, arriving in Addis Ababa late in the evening on June 30^th.  After a short one day “adjustment” stay in Addis, they will be spending five days doing the tourist thing in the north of Ethiopia, visiting Bahir-dar, Gondar and Lalibela and getting to know a bit about the country they are in.  Saturday, July 7^th will find them back in Addis for a day of organization and shopping for last minute, additional school supplies.  At this point, they will be joined by Jennifer Morrison from Red Deer.

On Sunday, July 8^th, the four of them will make the four hour trip to Fantalle and will get introduced to their home for the next three weeks.  In Fantalle there is a boarding school run by the Gudina Tumsa Foundation of Ethiopia.  While ANSO organizes the teachers and supplies at this end, and pays the direct financial costs of running the ELBC, the Gudina Tumsa Foundation (GTF) looks after the teachers while they are in Addis and provides transportation to the school, provides each teacher with a teaching assistant, selects the students who will attend the ELBC and looks after all the logistics required to run such a project.

Rebeca, Lora, Sharon and Jennifer, along with four teaching assistance, will involve 70 Ethiopian high school students in three weeks of total immersion English instruction.  It is guaranteed that not only will the ELBC change the lives of the 70 students fortunate enough to be selected to attend, it will also have a profound impact on the lives of the Canadian teachers who volunteer to design and instruct this course.

After completing the ELBC on Friday, July 27^th, they will take two days to travel to Awasa and see some of the southern and central part of Ethiopia before returning to Addis Ababa for two days of city sightseeing and the return trip to Canada on August 1^st (actually, Jennifer is traveling in Ethiopia for an additional three weeks, but that is a different story).

Sound interesting?   Know of someone who might be interested in getting involved in ANSO’s Fourth Annual ELBC?  Why not get in touch with us and find out about the possibilities for 2013?

THIRD ANNUAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE BOOT CAMP

ANSO’s third annual English Language Boot Camp (ELBC) is taking shape.  This year there will be four teachers traveling to Ethiopia to conduct the ELBC (total immersion English instruction) to 70 high school students from the Karayu tribe between July 8^th and 28^th.  The teachers are Rebeca Elliot, Lara Swanberg and Sharon Biggs all from the Grande Prairie area and Jennifer Morrison from Red Deer.  As usual, the teachers will be paying their own airfare and volunteering their time while ANSO will be covering the expenses associated with the ELBC and the cost of room and board for all participants.

In support of this year’s camp, the ELCB alumni (the teachers that have previously taken part in an ELBC) organized the ANSO Balderdash Auction & Barnyard Buffet which was held at BJ’s Q Club & Sports Lounge on June 1^st.  The event attracted about 100 participants, featured a buffet dinner, a variety of fun auctions, a goat raffle, a piñata and a lot of good fellowship.  It raised almost $6,000 to help off-set the costs of this year’s ELCB, so it was a definite financial success.  There is a good chance something similar may happen again next year.

The teachers traveling to Ethiopia this year were very involved with the buffet & auction, have been actively preparing lesson plans and are collecting the various teaching aids they will be taking with them.  From Ethiopia we hear that student selection is taking place, support staff has been selected and the planning process is well underway.  This has all the markings of another very successful ELCB.

If this sounds like something you would like to do, consider volunteering for ANSO’s fourth annual ELBC in 2013!