I’m wondering where the time went. On Sunday, I will fly to Budapest for a week to visit JDC programs and then head home to complete the last few weeks of my fellowship in New York . I am often asked, “what will you do back in the real world?” Frankly, I don’t know. But, I’m sure it will be a lot easier to figure out with electricity and a hot shower.
Before focusing on the “next,” I am trying to savor my last week here in Addis. I plan to enjoy my last caramel macchiato at Kaldi’s Coffee, a knock-off of Starbucks down to the green aprons and tall frappacino. Last week, my brother Zach and sister-in-law Clare visited. We travelled to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana to the Blue Nile, the source of the Nile River . We ate too much injera, listened to Ethiopian jazz from the 1950’s and tried chewing chat. Chat is a natural, very mild and legal (yes, mom) stimulant. Grown locally and widely exported throughout African and the Arabian peninsula , it is purchased in bags that look like pre-washed mixed lettuce. During a typical chat ceremony, one chews the leaves into a pulp swallowing only the bitter juice over the course of several hours. Truthfully, it wasn’t worth the effort and the local St George brew is a better choice which Lonely Planet seconds.
We also visited the Yeka Terara Elementary School in Addis. JDC provided funds for the school to construct a new eight-room building, chairs/desks, blackboards, materials, clean water drinking taps and latrines. Before expansion, students were turned away, forced to attend schools outside their village area or were crowded into classes with up to 90 other students in either morning or afternoon shifts for grades 1-6. Now, students enjoy a full-day of school with just 50 students per class and attend through grade 8. We met with Yeka’s teachers and principle to gain insight into Ethiopia ’s educational system and understand the challenges they face, some of which are similar to our own.
We made a brief stop at the Mother Teresa Clinic too. I am pleased to report that Mohammed, the little boy I wrote about in an early entry, was successfully treated for Hodgkin’s Disease and finished his chemotherapy. He presented at the clinic with a disfiguring growth on his face the size of a bowling ball (he is 10 years old); today there is not trace of the tumor and he was busy playing soccer in the courtyard with his friends when we arrived. Sadly, though, another young patient was diagnosed with bone cancer and required a leg amputation. The surgery was performed under local anesthetic (general was not available) using a hand saw at the hospital where electricity went in-and-out during the procedure; a nurse sat nearby taking the boy’s blood pressure by hand every few minutes since there was no machine. The state of affairs from a medical perspective is one of the worst in the world. Ethiopia has 2,000 doctors in a country of nearly 80 million; that’s just one doctor for every 40,000 people.
Ethiopia changed my picture of the real world. So did Ukraine . Elderly Jews who are forced to choose between food and medicine and street children who bathe in the gutter are now memories of my real world. I hope I am able to find a way to make these experiences drive my everyday life at home and work. As Lionel Shriver wrote in her novel, the post birthday world, “some years thanksgiving arrives in the lowercase, in July.” When I return to New York later this summer, I will celebrate thanksgiving for this incredible opportunity that expanded the boundaries of my real world.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
From the Piazza to Church and Back
At first I thought I had writer’s block only to realize it was quite the opposite. So much happened in the last few weeks, I’ve barely a moment to process much less write about it. It all began last month with a trip to Italy to a) meet my mom b) eat my body weight in pizza and c) research materials for my project. As it happens, JDC has a small office in Rome which served as an important base for the organization since the resettlement of Jews after World War II. This hub also witnessed the mass exodus of 250,000 Russian Jews over the course of twenty years. Smaller populations from Albania , Libya and Iran also made their way through Italy , one of the busiest Jewish transit sites in Europe along with Austria and Germany .
Today, there are some 13,000 Jews living in Rome who belong to one of the twelve orthodox synagogues. Jews settled in Italy before the destruction of the first Temple and continue to don their traditional roles of shopkeepers and peddlers in a largely lower-middle class workforce. The Roman philanthropic culture does not compare to what we know in the United States and fundraising efforts in the community are limited. Instead, the Jewish community has a self-imposed tax on members to help support communal institutions. In addition, JDC provides funding for the cultural center at the old orphanage and a community center with familiar programs like youth and the elderly.
After my fair share of work, pasta and sightseeing, I headed back to Ethiopia to greet my husband Jonathan who spent the last ten days here. Shocked by my living conditions, he compared it to his college fraternity house, only worse. We took the opportunity to get out of town and made three small trips. The first was to Gondar where I was able to show him the meat and potatoes of JDC’s work in Ethiopia which I have described to you in past entries.
One new project on the horizon worth noting is a small-scale irrigation program in Dembya woreda (region) that will provide rural farmers with limited capacity, diesel hand pumps, improved seeds and agricultural tools in order to increase farming production aggravated by lack of water and drought. This woreda currently has the least amount of water coverage in the region with only 8% potable water compared to the best coverage at 40% in Worega and Dabat woreadas. Farmers rely on rainfall, limited river water or make-shift surface irrigation pumps and rudimentary wells for farming, all of which fall short of the water demand. It is estimated that a farmer’s production would be increased by 50% during the farming season and by 100% in non-farming, dry seasons. Irrigation pumps allow farmers to cultivate the land year-round and produce additional sources of income such as cabbage, onions and tomatoes in the off-season when the land is not worked.
Our second excursion was to Lalibela in the Lasta Mountains and commonly referred as the Ethiopian “ Petra .” This isolated, ancient city is built into the mountainside and boasts eleven medieval rock-hewn churches built in the 12th century which are all carved below ground level (some more than 10 meters high). The city itself is a World Heritage site and is considered one of the greatest religious and historical in the Christian world; thousands of pilgrims make their way here each year to celebrate Christmas and other festivals, more than doubling the population for weeks at a time. Besides visiting the churches, there is nothing else to do in Lalibela except talk to the locals and drink their famous Tej, home-brewed honey wine, at the one bar. The only foreigners, we joined the group around a horseshoe table enjoying the traditional local entertainment, a singing comedian who goes around the room making fun of customers through impromptu lyrics. As the only farengees, you can imagine how he idled on us!
After making it back to Addis Ababa in one piece, we took a much needed vacation and checked into the Sheraton for a long-weekend. Air-conditioning, electricity, running water and room service… what more could a girl ask for? Oh, a copy of the Sex and the City movie I bought on the street for $2. It was perfect.
Today, there are some 13,000 Jews living in Rome who belong to one of the twelve orthodox synagogues. Jews settled in Italy before the destruction of the first Temple and continue to don their traditional roles of shopkeepers and peddlers in a largely lower-middle class workforce. The Roman philanthropic culture does not compare to what we know in the United States and fundraising efforts in the community are limited. Instead, the Jewish community has a self-imposed tax on members to help support communal institutions. In addition, JDC provides funding for the cultural center at the old orphanage and a community center with familiar programs like youth and the elderly.
After my fair share of work, pasta and sightseeing, I headed back to Ethiopia to greet my husband Jonathan who spent the last ten days here. Shocked by my living conditions, he compared it to his college fraternity house, only worse. We took the opportunity to get out of town and made three small trips. The first was to Gondar where I was able to show him the meat and potatoes of JDC’s work in Ethiopia which I have described to you in past entries.
One new project on the horizon worth noting is a small-scale irrigation program in Dembya woreda (region) that will provide rural farmers with limited capacity, diesel hand pumps, improved seeds and agricultural tools in order to increase farming production aggravated by lack of water and drought. This woreda currently has the least amount of water coverage in the region with only 8% potable water compared to the best coverage at 40% in Worega and Dabat woreadas. Farmers rely on rainfall, limited river water or make-shift surface irrigation pumps and rudimentary wells for farming, all of which fall short of the water demand. It is estimated that a farmer’s production would be increased by 50% during the farming season and by 100% in non-farming, dry seasons. Irrigation pumps allow farmers to cultivate the land year-round and produce additional sources of income such as cabbage, onions and tomatoes in the off-season when the land is not worked.
Our second excursion was to Lalibela in the Lasta Mountains and commonly referred as the Ethiopian “ Petra .” This isolated, ancient city is built into the mountainside and boasts eleven medieval rock-hewn churches built in the 12th century which are all carved below ground level (some more than 10 meters high). The city itself is a World Heritage site and is considered one of the greatest religious and historical in the Christian world; thousands of pilgrims make their way here each year to celebrate Christmas and other festivals, more than doubling the population for weeks at a time. Besides visiting the churches, there is nothing else to do in Lalibela except talk to the locals and drink their famous Tej, home-brewed honey wine, at the one bar. The only foreigners, we joined the group around a horseshoe table enjoying the traditional local entertainment, a singing comedian who goes around the room making fun of customers through impromptu lyrics. As the only farengees, you can imagine how he idled on us!
After making it back to Addis Ababa in one piece, we took a much needed vacation and checked into the Sheraton for a long-weekend. Air-conditioning, electricity, running water and room service… what more could a girl ask for? Oh, a copy of the Sex and the City movie I bought on the street for $2. It was perfect.
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