Despite all the conversations I have had with those who made this journey, despite all the literature I read and all the education requirements I completed, I was completely unprepared.
First and foremost I left with an injured heart. I knew leaving my children would be hard on me but I truly had no idea how hard it actually would be. The entire trip my heart yearned for their squeaky voices and sticky hands. Up until that point that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. Little did I know a week later I would top that with the new hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life: leaving my two children, Samuel and Benjamin, in the squalor they call home.
Enter: Experience and thoughts of my trip
1. The city of Addis Ababa: I have traveled quite a bit but I've never been to a capital of a third-world country. I truly felt I was in another world. Perhaps in some ways I was. Animals roam the city freely. Cows, goats, sheep, pigs, donkeys, cats...they all roam about shops, streets, highways, and driveways as though they have not a care in the world. People roam the city freely. Older folks, younger folks, homeless folks, and children (very young children) all roam about the shops, streets, highways, and driveways as though they have not a care in the world.
You can't breathe. The air is filled with smoke, smog, dust, and disease. The sick were strewn about the sides of the roads, clearly in agony. Our only chance to breathe fresh air was in our guest house, which was kept very clean.
The city isn't safe. Or at least not the safe that I'd like. Any reputable establishment like our guest house (which they aren't very many) have 10-15' barbed wire fences surrounding them with 24 hour/day guards standing at the gate. Pretty much all other buildings are made of tin or of tarp...or some combination of both.
2. The people of Addis Ababa: There are three main groups of people we came across: the scandalous people, the honest people, and the children. Many people are scandalous. They are out to hustle you and only look out for themselves and their own. Then there are the honest people. Our host and our escort were wonderfully honest people with great hearts (Praise God). We felt safe when with our escort and our host made us feel like part of the family. The children, oh the children. I'll make a separate point for the sweet children.
3. The food of Addis Ababa: I'm not a fan of the food. If I never taste, see, or smell injera (the National Food) again in my life I'll be thrilled. Our host, though, was a great cook. She did her best with what she had. Fruits and vegetables are hard to acquire. For them, the quality ones that are safe for us "Fragile Americans" (yes, we along with the French are considered fragile folk) are expensive and difficult to get. They aren't as clean as we need them to be for our bodies to safely tolerate. Refrigeration is also an issue with poor electricity and small units so dairy is out. In a day about 85% of what I consume is a fruit, a vegetable, or dairy. So my body was in quite a tizzy. I hate bananas. I actually can't stand them. I haven't eaten them as long as anyone can remember. But, when our host came to us with fresh bananas guess what...I ate the bananas. Almost every day :) I gagged but I did it. And my body loved it.
A few times we were out and about so long that we missed our lunch at our guest house so our escort would take us to a "safe" restaurant. It was amazing at how many he drove past, went into and then walked out of, or totally just waved off before he found one that was safe enough and clean enough for us. A few times we even ate a place and he would tell us certain items on the menu were okay but other ones were not. It's that bad.
4. The accommodations of Addis Ababa: The place we stayed is considered "high society." It's safe, it's clean, it has electricity (sort of) and it has plumbing (sort of). We still couldn't drink the water, plug in our hair dryer AND have the lights on, or take a hot...or even really warm...shower. There was no heating or no air (which lead to us wearing our airplane socks all week!). There were no screens on the windows. And this place is one of the good ones. Hear me: we truly loved our guest house and were so blessed by all they did to make us fragile folk comfortable. But in comparison to what we are used to we felt as though we were camping a bit. Will we stay there again - most definitely. There is no way we could top the safety and love from our host.
5. The orphanages of Addis Ababa: We traveled to a few different orphanages. Though some are much cleaner than others and some are much better staffed than others, and though some have more funding than others they are still orphanages. I'm not sure exactly how much I am "allowed" to say on a public domain but hear me loudly and clearly: I wouldn't bury my worst enemy in that place let alone raise a child there. What we saw...or what we didn't see...was unbelievable. My mind and heart are forever changed. The play areas (or lack thereof), the beds (or lack thereof), the clothing (or lack thereof), the shoes (or lack thereof), the food (or lack thereof), the hygiene areas (or lack thereof)...all I can do is shake my head and pray that every child is adopted. Adopted quickly.
6. The children of Addis Ababa: I will never know how the children are as genuinely sweet and loving as they are after living in such conditions. There is so much joy in each one of their little hearts. What I was most amazed at is how well they take care of each other. Each day we brought a meal and/or fresh produce and juice for the children. None of the older children would take any food until all the younger children were served. None of the older children would eat any of their food until the younger children had started eating. We took gifts, games, and other doo-dads each day. The older children passed out the goodies to the little ones and would take what was left. One day I gave Samuel and Benjamin their sunglasses Benjamin whispered in my ear "Mommy, come back with more" and he pointed to everyone else. So, the next day we came back with more. Samuel and Benjamin would speak of their love and friendship with each of the children there and then sadly say "They don't have a family" as if they were begging me to find them one.
The children love to laugh, they love to play, and they love to hug. We were greeted and sent-off each day with dozens of hugs and kisses. The children captured my and my sister's hearts. They taught us so many lessons. The most important thing they taught us is that they are real. Very real.
You can read about, look at, support, sponsor, or pray for the orphans (all which are great things and greatly needed) but until you see them, smell them, hold them, hug them, comfort them, feed them, clothe them, and kiss them you don't really know how real they are.
For those of you who have sent and are sending donations for food, Bibles, and clothing and for those of you who have sponsored a child for our next visit -THANK YOU. I wish you knew how much you are blessing those children. Their little eyes absolutely just light up when they know someone else cares about them...when someone else thinks they are special.
If you have any questions at all or are curious about adoption please ask. I'm happy to inform and educate no matter what decision you may make. The more people who know about these sweet kids the better a chance they have of finding a home. I cannot post pictures of all the children on my blog...only my own. But I can show you privately. They are all gifts - just like all children.
Thanks to many of you we took 200 lbs of donations and enough money to buy them healthy food for one meal each day
The view from our balcony. You will see some of the building close by are decent and guarded. A bit down the road you will see the tin/tarp shacks that people actually live in without electricity or plumbing.
A view of how folks just walk in the streets, unfinished buildings, and no proper roads
One of the many street corners where people just gather and wait for the day to be over. You'll see the unfinished building in the background with sticks for scaffolding.
My sweet boys, Samuel and Benjamin.
Benjamin and Samuel donning their new clothes, backpacks, hates, and sunglasses.
The boys with Aunt KayKay (they were thrilled with stickers and put them all over their shirts and bodies...and so did all the other children!)
A mother and her sons
Samuel trying to teach me an ethnic dance.
The washing station at the orphanage...where everything that needs washed is washed.
The boys on their beds. The children share these single beds. Older children are paired with younger children.
The boys with their Amharic Christian Bibles. A big shout out to a special sponsor who sent enough money to ensure all the children of age can receive their own Bible.
This shot captures Benjamin perfectly...a fun loving wild man!
Benjamin and Aunt KayKay
Not a lovely shot but Benjamin was sure excited to eat his first hamburger!
Samuel was equally as excited to eat his first hamburger. This was also all the children's first experience with strawberries. They LOVED them...but needed instruction not to eat the greens :) The juice boxes were a huge hit too. You'll see the whites of their eyes are yellowed (true for all the children). We hope we put a dent in the nutrition deficiencies that week. A special shout out to another few special sponsors who have sent enough donations to ensure the children can have more than one healthy meal a day!
Going bananas for bananas!
Thanks to another sponsor who funded an orphanage pizza party one of the days. It was a HUGE hit!
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