Michelle Strong in Ethiopia
Michelle Strong is a fellow VSO volunteer serving in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Michelle and I roomed together last November in Ottawa during VSO's “Preparing for Change” course. She is one of those people whom everybody loves. Smart, pretty and full of energy, Michelle is in Addis for one year before she returns to Vancouver (she arrived in Ethiopia one month before I reached Kenya). Recently, Michelle took a two-week tour of rural villages and shared a write-up of her experiences. When I asked permission to use some of her words on this blog, she graciously agreed. It's important to know, when reading her account, that Michelle is about five-foot, 3 inches with blond hair and blue eyes. Though they are both East African countries, Ethiopia and Kenya are very different, geographically and culturally. With unrest between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, land mines are a huge concern for Ethiopians, something Kenya doesn't deal with (thank goodness!).
Michelle has a balanced perspective and writes with much sensitivity about the people and their struggles. We can learn a great deal from her when she writes, “I left with our work team for a two week field trip to the Tigray and Afar regions of Ethiopia to do an impact and needs assessment on our projects. The regions mentioned are the northern areas where poverty is at its worst and therefore the areas where RaDO (Rehabilitation and Disability – the organization I work for) has camps to support the communities as best they can. Poverty is so bad due to very dry and hot conditions where nothing can grow, there is a serious water shortage (much worse than in Addis where we have access to reservoirs) and, of course, there is the devastation from the Eritrea/Ethiopia war which has taken the region's limited resources. Off-shooting effects include terrible disease, lack of education and starvation. Okay, having said that, the trip was an experience I cannot describe nor express the impact it had on me.”
Here are other excerpts from Michelle's 5-page trip summary:
“The first place we went was the most memorable. We were 60km from the hottest place in the world, Dennikil Desert, which is considered another planet from a scientist point of view due to the unique terrain. When I stepped out of the SUV the wind felt like a powerful blowdryer on extreme heat. This was close to the area Lucy was found, the first human. The village people had never seen a foreigner and I was asked (by translation) if I was a boy or a girl. Too funny – I knew I was having a bad hair day but this is the ultimate. Truly, they were just as fascinated by me as I was by them.
“Although I sneaked a few pictures, from a professional (business) point of view, I couldn’t take many because I didn’t want to be perceived as a tourist. I especially wish I captured the picture of the tribe leader of the village who gave each of us a pop bottle and opened it with the trigger of his gun. It was quite the site as the gun was pointed at each of us as he opened it. All my questions were answered through a translator and I was so proud to be alive that day and witness a tribal village of 100% Muslims that hasn’t changed much from their ancestors thousands of years ago.
“We visited a school to understand the impact of our mine awareness program and their needs. When the children saw me, they all ran out of their classrooms to greet me. Another emotional moment. I shook each hand and did all that I could inside to hold back my emotions as I witnessed the shaved heads due to lice, the lack of nutrition, the bathing problems and their innocence of life that was sheltered by their village. The children and community have nothing including electricity and water but they showed so much love and spirit of life.
“We then left Mekelle and traveled to our next main camp Adigrat. This is the basecamp we used to venture to the town that bordered Eritrea. It was a bit dangerous due to the potential outbreak of war which has been mentioned in our local papers. We visited the border town of Eritrea/Ethiopia called Zalinabasa which has been devastated by war. I witnessed the blown out buildings and the tents that had been set up for the displaced people. We met with the key task force members to understand how we can help the community. This consisted of the head of the army, the head of the police force, the head of the HIV/Aids administration, the priest and other key members of society. I wish I could have taken a picture but, again, not appropriate. They were all such fascinating individuals and our meeting was held in the remains of a rock-built compound that had been blown up by war. We sat on the rocks and talked via a translator. The priest had a special fly swatter which he used regularly and I secretly envied. I forgot to mention that flies are a serious problem in the north and they attack your eyes mostly and face. Flies are everywhere and are much more aggressive than anything we are familiar with. It is horrible and they have a way of attaching on to eyelids and swarming the eyes. It was a real issue for me as I couldn’t sit still. I was always swatting flies and they are eerie. Unfortunately, they have caused a lot of eye diseases in the region.
“We moved on to the next remote village. A few celebrities were in the area we were in to promote land mine awareness (i.e. Danny Glover). The problem was serious enough that we traveled in two SUVs and when we got to the risk areas, our backup SUV drove ahead to assess and if anything happened we obviously wouldn’t travel on that road. Well, all was fine but when we arrived at the village, we were sadly met by a father whose ten year old girl had just been impacted by a land mine. She survived but was rushed to the nearest hospital four hours away. The father was beside himself and couldn’t go with her but the mother went (due to cost). So we drove the father to the hospital and the team met the ten year old victim in the hospital in Adwa. It was a tough thing as she was so young and all bandaged up and RaDO wanted me to take pictures as I had the digital. We needed the pictures to help support the issue of land mines but it was very difficult to take the photos. The precious girl will be maimed for life. When asked why she picked up the “foreign object,” her parents spoke for her and said she had never been to school (she was ten!) and didn’t get the education about the dangers of land mines. That was a real killer – her life is changed forever and all because she didn’t have the opportunity to go to school and get the education about the dangers of land mines that RaDO works so hard to implement. It was a painful moment for me. I opened my wallet and gave a limited sum of money to help but it will never be enough. I think now I should have given more but that seems to be a theme around here. Ugh – the hospitals here are horrible, too, a must mention. The lack thereof, the horrible smells, the brown water and the suffering.
“So we moved on to Axum and I got some sightseeing in (for just two hours due to a hectic schedule). Axum is one of the cultural cities in Ethiopia. Complete with two bodyguards, I saw Queen Sheba’s Palace, the absolute famous house of the Ark of the Covenant ( the one Indiana Jones was after) though, of course, it was just the building as no one is allowed inside. I also saw some cool tombs and the Obelisks made of stone. All great and a nice diversion.
“I was elated to arrive back in Addis. It had a new feeling and after the things I had seen on the field trip, I was glad to be back in the capital and the things I complained about suddenly became luxuries. So that is the latest adventure. Crazy, but we lived on (literally) bread and water and gravy during that time. It truly was an experience of a lifetime and hopefully our efforts will help these remote communities over time.”
Thanks, Michelle, for sharing your stories and your insights and yourself!!!
Michelle has a balanced perspective and writes with much sensitivity about the people and their struggles. We can learn a great deal from her when she writes, “I left with our work team for a two week field trip to the Tigray and Afar regions of Ethiopia to do an impact and needs assessment on our projects. The regions mentioned are the northern areas where poverty is at its worst and therefore the areas where RaDO (Rehabilitation and Disability – the organization I work for) has camps to support the communities as best they can. Poverty is so bad due to very dry and hot conditions where nothing can grow, there is a serious water shortage (much worse than in Addis where we have access to reservoirs) and, of course, there is the devastation from the Eritrea/Ethiopia war which has taken the region's limited resources. Off-shooting effects include terrible disease, lack of education and starvation. Okay, having said that, the trip was an experience I cannot describe nor express the impact it had on me.”
Here are other excerpts from Michelle's 5-page trip summary:
“The first place we went was the most memorable. We were 60km from the hottest place in the world, Dennikil Desert, which is considered another planet from a scientist point of view due to the unique terrain. When I stepped out of the SUV the wind felt like a powerful blowdryer on extreme heat. This was close to the area Lucy was found, the first human. The village people had never seen a foreigner and I was asked (by translation) if I was a boy or a girl. Too funny – I knew I was having a bad hair day but this is the ultimate. Truly, they were just as fascinated by me as I was by them.
“Although I sneaked a few pictures, from a professional (business) point of view, I couldn’t take many because I didn’t want to be perceived as a tourist. I especially wish I captured the picture of the tribe leader of the village who gave each of us a pop bottle and opened it with the trigger of his gun. It was quite the site as the gun was pointed at each of us as he opened it. All my questions were answered through a translator and I was so proud to be alive that day and witness a tribal village of 100% Muslims that hasn’t changed much from their ancestors thousands of years ago.
“We visited a school to understand the impact of our mine awareness program and their needs. When the children saw me, they all ran out of their classrooms to greet me. Another emotional moment. I shook each hand and did all that I could inside to hold back my emotions as I witnessed the shaved heads due to lice, the lack of nutrition, the bathing problems and their innocence of life that was sheltered by their village. The children and community have nothing including electricity and water but they showed so much love and spirit of life.
“We then left Mekelle and traveled to our next main camp Adigrat. This is the basecamp we used to venture to the town that bordered Eritrea. It was a bit dangerous due to the potential outbreak of war which has been mentioned in our local papers. We visited the border town of Eritrea/Ethiopia called Zalinabasa which has been devastated by war. I witnessed the blown out buildings and the tents that had been set up for the displaced people. We met with the key task force members to understand how we can help the community. This consisted of the head of the army, the head of the police force, the head of the HIV/Aids administration, the priest and other key members of society. I wish I could have taken a picture but, again, not appropriate. They were all such fascinating individuals and our meeting was held in the remains of a rock-built compound that had been blown up by war. We sat on the rocks and talked via a translator. The priest had a special fly swatter which he used regularly and I secretly envied. I forgot to mention that flies are a serious problem in the north and they attack your eyes mostly and face. Flies are everywhere and are much more aggressive than anything we are familiar with. It is horrible and they have a way of attaching on to eyelids and swarming the eyes. It was a real issue for me as I couldn’t sit still. I was always swatting flies and they are eerie. Unfortunately, they have caused a lot of eye diseases in the region.
“We moved on to the next remote village. A few celebrities were in the area we were in to promote land mine awareness (i.e. Danny Glover). The problem was serious enough that we traveled in two SUVs and when we got to the risk areas, our backup SUV drove ahead to assess and if anything happened we obviously wouldn’t travel on that road. Well, all was fine but when we arrived at the village, we were sadly met by a father whose ten year old girl had just been impacted by a land mine. She survived but was rushed to the nearest hospital four hours away. The father was beside himself and couldn’t go with her but the mother went (due to cost). So we drove the father to the hospital and the team met the ten year old victim in the hospital in Adwa. It was a tough thing as she was so young and all bandaged up and RaDO wanted me to take pictures as I had the digital. We needed the pictures to help support the issue of land mines but it was very difficult to take the photos. The precious girl will be maimed for life. When asked why she picked up the “foreign object,” her parents spoke for her and said she had never been to school (she was ten!) and didn’t get the education about the dangers of land mines. That was a real killer – her life is changed forever and all because she didn’t have the opportunity to go to school and get the education about the dangers of land mines that RaDO works so hard to implement. It was a painful moment for me. I opened my wallet and gave a limited sum of money to help but it will never be enough. I think now I should have given more but that seems to be a theme around here. Ugh – the hospitals here are horrible, too, a must mention. The lack thereof, the horrible smells, the brown water and the suffering.
“So we moved on to Axum and I got some sightseeing in (for just two hours due to a hectic schedule). Axum is one of the cultural cities in Ethiopia. Complete with two bodyguards, I saw Queen Sheba’s Palace, the absolute famous house of the Ark of the Covenant ( the one Indiana Jones was after) though, of course, it was just the building as no one is allowed inside. I also saw some cool tombs and the Obelisks made of stone. All great and a nice diversion.
“I was elated to arrive back in Addis. It had a new feeling and after the things I had seen on the field trip, I was glad to be back in the capital and the things I complained about suddenly became luxuries. So that is the latest adventure. Crazy, but we lived on (literally) bread and water and gravy during that time. It truly was an experience of a lifetime and hopefully our efforts will help these remote communities over time.”
Thanks, Michelle, for sharing your stories and your insights and yourself!!!
posted by Cindi at 6:17 AM
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