What are we doing now exactly?

I know many of you already know what we are up to, but for those of you who have not heard or are just now re-connecting with us, let me fill you with the what/where/why/how’s of it all.

Andrew and I were offered a volunteer position with a non-profit organization called Lalmba (check out the website at Lalmba.org) to run a small health center and orphan program in Chiri, a small village in the breath-taking mountains of southern Ethiopia. It is a two-year commitment, but could be extended if we wanted. We moved here in April of 2009 and will probably be here until at least the summer of 2011.

Andrew is the project director, which means he is the Big Cheese! J I am working with our childrens' program, working with the guardians (kind of like foster parents) of our orphan children. There are 3 other volunteers here as well. An American MD, his wife who is a Masters in Public Health, and a New Zealander MD. The doctors are responsible for running the clinic and training the staff to give a high standard care to the people of this community. The MPH is in charge of doing preventative health in the surrounding villages. The rest of the employees are Ethiopian- nearly 50 total. One day, we hope to see this place be completely self-sufficient and ran by Ethiopians. Our main job while we are here is to train them to move closer to that goal.

We really enjoy our work and our life here. The Ethiopians are fabulous, and the other volunteers we work with are just wonderful partners is this work. We all have a really good time. And of course, living in a village setting, well, let’s just say we have plenty of help raising our children. The proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” really is applicable here, and it is a great joy to us.

This is our third African country to live in (Mali and Niger being the two previous ones), and life here is different in a lot of ways, but similar in many ways as well. In West Africa (Mali/Niger), we lived near the Sahara desert, with scorching heat and lots of dust. Here, we live in a semi-tropical area with a mountain climate and lush vegetation. In West Africa, we had no running water or electricity. Here, we have both. We even have a hot shower!!! We have a small, one room square house that we basically just sleep in, and then a communal house that all the volunteers share with a living area, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It is very comfortable and peaceful here. It almost seems like we are living at a retreat center.

As for the Ethiopian people, they are very similar to the people of West Africa, although a little more reserved and aloof. But they always open their homes with great hospitality, are very friendly, and always greet you with a smile. Family is very important and the community is very tight knit.

Of course, the language is different here, so we have been working to learn as much as we can so we can communicate effectively with all friends and co-workers without the assistance of a translator. Andrew, being the language goo-roo, has picked up on Amharic very quickly, and is now learning the local language of Kafanono, as am I.