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.