9% Economic Growth and Begging children on Addis Ababa main roads

www.nazrett.com Home of Ethiopian News and Blog Breaking News Ethiopia: Part 1 By Melissa Mendonca September 17, 2009 No Comments Printer-Friendly ShareThis Last November, as I filled out an application for a Rotary Group Study Exchange trip to Ethiopia and Kenya, I was thrilled to learn that Rotary International President, DK Lee, had chosen Make Dreams Real as the theme of his term. I’d later learn that it was in reference to the millions of vulnerable children around the world in need of safe, clean drinking water, medicine, shelter and educational opportunities. For me, it became a sign that my own dream was about to come true. I was born with wanderlust and Ethiopia was tied with Portugal as my next great destination. Ethiopia, the birthplace of the human race and its most valued evolutionary tool, coffee. Ethiopia, the home of my favorite cuisine, characterized by the sour and spongy injera, and berberie-infused wats, sauces and stews that transform chicken, beef, goat and lamb into tender, tasty melt-in-your-mouth morsels. Ethiopia, the final resting place of Lucy, our smaller brained, yet upright walking ancestor. Yes, Mr. Lee, a dream came true the day I was awarded the opportunity to travel here. Rotary Group Study Exchange teams take non-Rotarian professionals between the ages of 25-40 on overseas trips to a reciprocating Rotary District. District 5160, which encompasses the north state, engaged with District 9200 for the 2008-09 year. While District 5160 encompasses an area from Walnut Creek to Yreka, District 9200 is comprised of 5 countries: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Our study was based in Ethiopia, but we were also welcomed in Kenya for a Rotary District Conference. As our team, comprised of Rotarian leader Kathy Gailey of San Ramon, Gretchen Ash and Martin Pehl of Vacaville, Alex Cousins of Weaverville, and myself, set out for our exchange (we were always told that this would be neither an “adventure” nor a “vacation”) we were filled with questions. One thing I knew though: the food would be delicious. Travel to a developing country requires a balancing act of belief. You must be able to face up to the fact in a very literal way that much of the world lives in grinding poverty. You must witness children begging when they should be in school, girls–and it is always girls–hauling back breaking loads of firewood or scooping water from polluted streams. But you must also witness and believe in the hope and the promise of the country. And with Ethiopia, you must stand in awe that a people have a history that is thousands of years old. As our team overlooked the Great Rift Valley in Awash National Park, we saw a woman walking on a trail below. Behind her a baboon frolicked at a respectable distance. It was heady to realize we were watching a scene that has been playing out at that location for thousands of years. While most of the news the western world receives of Africa involves war, famine, poverty or AIDS, our group was able to experience a more complete experience of modern life in an ancient land. Please join me for future postings as I write about our experiences.