The first portion of this blog entry was drafted several weeks ago while in Tanzania. For reasons that we cannot quite remember, we chose not to post it at that time. Maybe we were waiting to see if the discussion was fleeting or perhaps how we would feel after several more weeks in the road. In any event, read on
Their future organization has a working name of The Shining Light or The Shining Star which are the Ethiopian meanings of Mabret.
They plan on using our visit to Mabret's Village as a fact finding mission to determine what projects they can undertake upon our return to the States.
Whether anything comes of this discussion will only be known as the future unfolds but we are proud of their vision and desire.
Below is the picture that we planned to post when this was originally drafted.
The rest of this entry picks up with our activities today, December 28, 2013. Happy Birthday to Bob's Dad who passed away in August 2009. We all miss you.
As you know, we have spent significant time in the village during the last week and a half and learned much about the people and the area. For the last 5 days, we have been staying in Awasssa which is approximately 50 miles north of Aleto Chuko. The vast differences between life in Awassa and life in Aleto Chuko are striking and often disconcerting. Awassa is a growing city with much flavor and significant opportunity. It is home to Awassa University which boasts an impressive campus. There are flourishing businesses and a decent tourist industry particularly as a vacation destination for African people. While there is still significant poverty, running water and food are available to most residents.
The nature of life in the deep rural areas of southern Ethiopia makes it virtually impossible for families to simply pick-up and move elsewhere. Without any money saved and a yearly income of only $100 to $200, the funds to relocate with food and shelter are simply not available. Further, the nature of life in these villages requires the adults to work all day just to transport water to the home and ensure that some food will be available. The residents work tremendously hard each and every day just to survive.
Today we traveled back to Aleto Chuko and specifically to Mabret's village, Dongora Morocho. This trip had two purposes. For now, we need only discuss one of the objectives. Within Aleto Chuko and not too far from Dongora Morocho, there is a well and functioning battery-powered generator. There are also two locations within a reasonable distance of the village that have water tanks and taps. Unfortunately, these taps have not functioned for almost two years. As a result, the walk for fresh water is at least 40 minutes and longer on the return trip when carrying full containers. The residents have been unable to secure government or private assistance in assessing the problem for possible repair.
As the boys continue to stay focused on creating a charitable organization to assist this village, Mom and Dad have attempted to lend some assistance by doing what we do best...staying on task. Our hope is that by creating a lofty but reachable goal, Mabret and Roman will remain engaged and interested even after leaving Ethiopia.
Today we visited the well and pumping station.
Walking back to the car from the well.
Mabret leads the walk to the water tower which is closest to the village.
The non-functioning water tap.
We will continue to talk with Roman and Mabret about how to solve this problem for the village. Our friend and interpreter, Hagirso Desta, has agreed to assist in securing an assessment of the situation.
We will keep you posted on how we intend to proceed as we learn more.
Peace Out.
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