This is a repost from 3/26/2007:

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Last night I heard the sad news about Haregewoin Teferra passing away.

This lady took care of several hundred children in Ethiopia over the last ten years. She took in children with HIV at a time when very little was known about the disease virus or how it was spread. I haven't read it, but I know Kel really liked the book that was written about her: There Is No Me Without You. Here's a quote:

Haregewoin Teferra was happily married to Worku Kebede, a biology teacher and high school principal. She worked in the accounting office of Addis Ababa University and of Burroughs Computer Corporation. The middle-class couple lived in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, and doted upon their daughters, Atetegeb, born in 1967, and Suzie, born in 1969. Then a pair of tragedies altered Haregewoin’s life. In 1990, at the age of 54, Worku collapsed and died from a heart attack. Bereft, Haregewoin raised her daughters alone. Atetegeb married, had a baby boy, then fell ill. Her sickness seemed untreatable. Haregewoin spent eight months at her daughter’s side, seeking every cure, consulting every clinic and physician, until, at the age of 24, Atetegeb died.

Haregewoin’s life ended. She spent all day every day draped in black, seated beside her daughter’s grave. A year passed in this way. She felt unable to return to work, unable to accept visits from her friends. “But my daughter,” she protested when they sought her out. “I liked her very much.”

She typed out a line from a song she remembered – “There is no me without you” – and placed it over an old photograph of teenage Atetegeb and Suzie laughing together. After 18 months of profound mourning, Haregewoin asked the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to take her into seclusion. She would leave the world, she would inhabit a hut in the cemetery near her daughter’s grave.

Instead, a Catholic organization approached Waizero [Mrs.] Haregewoin and asked her to shelter a homeless teenage girl. “My life is over,” she replied. “It doesn’t matter what I do. If you think God wants me to take her, then I will take her.” Two weeks later, the Catholic group phoned again to ask if she could shelter a homeless 17-year-old boy. Again she replied, “My life is over,” and she took the boy. Two weeks later, the agency phoned again, this time with two orphaned little girls. They’d lost their parents to AIDS; no one, in that moment of the dawning pandemic, wanted to risk contacting the disease by sheltering the children. But Haregewoin, who felt her life had ended anyway, accepted them into her compound, into her heart.

All that occurred roughly 400 children ago. Today Mrs. Haregewoin provides two houses to about 40 orphaned children, half of them HIV positive.

via: Ethiopian Review.

Our best day in Ethiopia had to be the one we spent at the home of our new friends. We had the best food of the trip and possibly the best coffee I have ever drank. Our friend S and his family's hospitality was amazing - I ate to uncomfortable excess and this was even while refusing lots of offers for more delicious food. Sparkle had a blast too. She had taken over the use of my camera and I was amused later to find quite a lot of photos of one member of the household in particular that she seemed quite fond of :) Here are some pictures of her with some of our very gracious hosts: And here she is helping out with the coffee ceremony: Bug was pretty pouty for the first hour or so when the cameras were out, but she warmed up later - don't worry! S, his brothers and his sisters were really helpful with her: Our friends also showed us how to make shirowat and injera. After a short demonstration, I decided to give the injera a whirl. Here I am cleaning the press: And here's the mess I left: I realize that you really would probably need video for the full effect, but trust me when I say I do not have good form either. Everyone was in stitches after watching me though, so I guess that's something :) We really had a great day and it is one we will always remember. Thank you, M Family!

There are definitely more exciting and scenic places to go in Ethiopia, but if you are traveling with children and don't want to do any extended travel with them, Debra Zeit is a nice place to go to see some green and have a relaxing afternoon. Here are some photos from the park, where there were lots of interesting birds and plants: And yes: After an hour or two at the park, we decided to take a short taxi ride. Yes, this is regular transportation in the town, but they are also used to tourists so the driver didn't seem too surprised to hear we only wanted to go up the block and back. Our driver negotiated the price and was irritated at the amount the guy tried to charge us. I can't even remember what it was, but I think we only paid around a buck, and the girls loved it: After our horse ride, we went to lunch at a restaurant with mediocre food and an excellent view: We also tried an avocado drink. It was also lovely, but tasted quite bland: Again, it wasn't the most exciting trip but it was just the right pace for a mom finding her feet with two new kids. It was a half day trip for us. We left at 8:30 am, went to the park, for a buggy ride, then out to lunch and were back at the guest house by 2:00. We did not use an agency to book our trip. We just hired a private driver and the cost was about $100 total for the four of us.

We were lucky enough to be selected to be couriers for our friends Zygo and D to deliver some things for Zygo's family in ET. Our reward? Four days with Zygo's fabulous brother and our new friend, S. Zygo recommended that we go see Entoto Mountain with S at night, so that we could see all the lights. Unfortunately, my girls were ready for bed by 7:00 and generally began to meltdown around 6:00, so we had to make it a day trip. We still had a fabulous time though. Entoto Mountain is a great day trip if you want to see a little more than the downtown area of Addis Ababa but only have say, a half day to spare. It was the perfect kind of outing for groups like us with two kids in tow. There is also some decent shopping near the base of the mountain. (Is it called Shiromeda? Please correct me here...) This is also the area where the Former Women Woodcarriers' Compound is located. The women who work there used to earn a living by carrying firewood down the mountain. They sell hand woven scarves and baskets. It is a fair trade organization and you can get beautiful stuff for less than the price of lower quality items at the tourist shops. Anyway, here are some pics from that day - Landscapes driving up the mountain. The trees are mostly eucalyptus, I believe. As you can see, deforestation and erosion is a serious problem: View from the mountain: Emperor Menelik II was the Emperor who founded the city of Addis Ababa. He built his palace on Entoto Mountain. You can tour the remains of the palace and grounds. There is also a small museum and a church on the mountain. The church from a distance: The museum (the church and the museum are actually very near each other): Inside Menelik's bedroom: And the tourist shot:

One of the things I loved about this trip to Addis Ababa was that I felt that I got to see more of the "real" Addis. Don't get me wrong - our drivers still took us to a lot of Ferengi(foreigner)-friendly restaurants (the kind that serve chicken sandwiches as well as misirwat) but we also did venture out and take a public taxi, go to some smaller cafes, and avoided the really obvious tourist shops for trinkets to take home with us. We typically went to one restaurant a day and ate our other meals at the guest house. I bought for three adults (Erika, our driver, and myself) plus the two kids. At restaurants clearly geared toward our "type", I would spend around $10-20 for meals and drinks for everyone. Once I spent nearly $30, but that was because I splurged on ice cream sundaes and appetizers too - and that was at a straight up Ferengi joint of course. At a local cafe where the customers were all locals, I spent less than $4 for a plate of pasta and a plate of misirwat to share, plus Fantas and Cokes for everyone. This was one of our favorite tourist-type restaurants: Here was our view from our table - the restaurant is on the 10th floor: Here is what we ate: And here is Erika holding my daughter so she doesn't go off the top: For a little added adventure, the only elevator developed some problems while we were eating, so we had to take a scary steep spiral staircase attached to the outside of the building down the first three of the ten flights of stairs to get down: We also did a lot of shopping. We probably shopped in some capacity almost every other day. I did go to a mall type place to buy the girls' traveling home clothes (they were so thrilled to be able to pick out an outfit all for themselves), but mostly we shopped roadside. Here's where the girls and I bought our shoes: We mostly went grocery shopping in the Western style stores like this: But here are some great shots Erika got of food sold on the street: And here is my favorite discovery of all - the world's greatest pottery shop: I bought about 15 great items here for less than $15 - and I think that was the Ferengi price - coffee pots, wat bowls (anyone know the real name for those?), small dishes, little carves animals, a vase, and spice bowls. I would have bought more if I thought I could have gotten them safely home in my bag - and now I wish I would have tried! ***Thanks again to Erika for being my trip photographer and sharing her pics! I think nearly all the pics on this site were taken by her.

Erika and I slept very little in Dubai, in spite of the fact that we were exhausted. We just couldn't sleep � I don't know if it was nerves or jet lag or both, but we started the day at 4:30 am with no more than 2-3 hours of sleep. We arrived at the Dubai airport before 6 and were in the Departures Area by 6:30. The Dubai Airport has a crazy shopping area and it was so busy the crowds were hard to navigate around by 7 am: Many of the morning flights were delayed due to the fog, including ours. We were scheduled to depart at 8:30 am but the plane did not take off until 10:30. We napped a little on the four hour flight from Dubai to Addis. Things went smoothly at the airport until it was time to find our driver � he was not there. We were having trouble using the payphones, then a stranger offered us a cell phone. I think he regretted it eventually though because we must have made ten calls before K, our driver, could understand it � either the phone had poor reception or I didn't know how to talk into it. The man who loaned us the phone ended up talking to K for us and letting him know where we were and that we were waiting for him: We made a couple of stops on the way, to exchange money and to buy bottled water. It was about a half hour to The New Flower, where we are staying. We brought our suitcases to our rooms right away � both very nice and right next to each other. We also share a balcony that looks out over the neighborhood, and our view to the left is the mountains. Erika's door doesn't close though � we'll have to discuss that with the management. We went downstairs to call our agency rep, to let her know we were in town. It was after 3:00 now so we weren't sure we would see the girls today. To our surprise, she said she was on her way to KM with another family right now. Our girls were waiting. How fast could we get there? I scrambled in my room, emptying a bag to just bring water, the documents, etc I needed to give our agency rep, and Erika's camera. We were in the van again within 20 minutes of our arrival. I think we both were in shock. On our way to KM we got stuck in traffic. A group of buildings were on fire and the road was filled with spectators as well as buses, cars, vans and the usual Addis traffic. The fire was very close to a gas station and K was worried about what would happen if the fire reached that or the electrical lines. It was not well-controlled and was spreading quickly. He very skillfully turned the van around in spite of the crowd and the bumpy dirt and rock road. We were going to have to backtrack and drive around. I called our agency rep to let her know we would be late. They had arrived and she was there with the girls. She said they were dressed and ready and very anxious to meet us. She also told us that members of their biological family were there to say goodbye. We had hoped to meet someone from their family during our stay in Ethiopia, but I had no idea it would be at the same time that I met the girls. I could not even begin to process all of this. We got a little lost after backtracking and having to find a new route, but we made it to the KM office within about a half hour. We spoke with orphanage staff in private briefly before the girls were brought in by our agency rep. Their hair was freshly braided, they were wearing the t-shirts we sent them and the traditional dresses that a member of their birth family had bought for them over that. They had the hair do-dads we sent them in and were clutching the Welcome Bags we sent them � which to my surprise appeared to be intact. They looked so sad. Our agency rep said that they had been very excited about our arrival all day. When the other little girl�s family arrived without us, they thought we weren't coming. This, plus seeing members of their birth family, was very confusing and upsetting for them. I pulled Bug on my lap and Sparkle sat next to me. Neither made a sound, but they accepted my kisses andhugs. Eventually Sparkle was leaning into me too. During this time members of the girls� birth family also came in. We will keep the details of that meeting private, and will allow the girls to decide how much of their story they wish to share with others as they get older. However, I can say that we feel confident that the girls were/are well loved, that their family cannot care for them, and that they have no expectations for themselves, but are very relieved and have found peace with the knowledge that the children will be moving to America and will have a bright future. We were also given a more than a dozen priceless family photos. The meeting was very emotional and difficult for everyone, but overall I think it was good for all of us to experience that closure. We were then shown around the compound. This was also very emotional for everyone, so I ended up cutting the tour short. We made plans to return on Saturday at 10:30 am for a good-bye party with the other families whose children were leaving this week. We got into the van � Bug on my lap and Sparkle clinging to my side. She leaned her head into me and grabbed for my hand. I kissed the girls on their heads and cheeks and kissed Sparkle's hand that I was holding. We drove back to the compound. Erika helped me carry the girls upstairs to our rooms. Our suitcases were out and open but not unpacked or organized at all. Bug immediately made quick work of things � pulling out all the candy and toys she could find. She chattered in Amharic as she worked. They found the backpacks I had put together for the plane ride home, but I just let them take them � hoping they would distract them for a while so I could get my suitcases organized and things put away: It didn't happen though. I got pulled into playing with the girls, which of course I was happy to do. They loved everything they had � the Barbies, the magna doodle, the stickerbooks. Sparkle still had not said a word. She opened up her stickerbook � obviously overjoyed with it � pointed to an animal and said its name in English (I wish I could remember what it was!). I praised her and she moved through the book, pointing to and naming animals, colors, body parts, everyday objects, etc and correctly saying their name in English. She has an accent and says many words with a rolling "r" like "car-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r" but she is easy to understand. She smiled hugely as we went through the book and as I praised her for naming things correctly. Later she said "I love you, Mommy" and I told her I loved her too. Bug was very busy this whole time. She is in constant motion, opening things, collecting things, and carrying armloads of stuff (especially snacks) to her backpack. She actually has trouble walking because her backpack is so heavy. She is a happy kid � smiles easily and loves affection. We went downstairs and had Ethiopian food for dinner. Bug ate a ton of injera and some misirwat too. Sparkle did not eat as much. She was shy about telling us which foods she liked and which she didn't and I encouraged her to tell us. Bug, on the other hand, made her thoughts clear by doing the Ethiopian shoulder shrug (a negative gesture with a snotty connotation) and tossing what she did not want directly on the floor. We were escorted to the other guest house, which is three compounds down. There are a lot of dogs in the area and the girls seem frightened of them, so we carried them. Erika was able to reach a friend on email who then called Jeremiah and ask him to call us on the landline at the guesthouse. It was wonderful to hear his voice and my Sunshine's and to tell him about our whirlwind day. I had thought of him often throughout the day, wishing he and Sunshine were there with me. Sparkle also got on the phone and said "hello" to her daddy, which she was very excited and happy to do. When we got back, I began to get the girls ready for bed. They LOVED their toothbrushes and were very enthusiastic about it. They kept brushing them and asking for more toothpaste when it was gone, until I finally had to just put it away and say "no more". I was using bottled water to brush my teeth and initially tried to get them to do the same, but soon learned it was impossible. It was all I could do to keep Bug from dipping her brush in the buckets of standing water used to flush the toilets (and she still managed to do that twice). After the toothbrushing was the enthusiastic face and hand washing. They both love soap. They lathered their faces and hands heavily and multiple times, then cupped their hands to catch water from the faucet to wash with. Bug cannot reach the sink so I must lift her up for this. I don't think they were used to having free access to running water so this was a huge treat. Again, I finally just had to warn them that this was the last time and end it. Neither girl wanted to wear their pajamas so I just put new outer clothes on them and decided to bath them in the morning. They both insisted on me sleeping in the middle. They clung to me, moved around a lot in the night, and both talk a bit in their sleep. I was very nervous about them falling out of bed � particularly Bug. Eventually, once they were asleep, I went to the outside and moved Bug to the middle. I caught Sparkle once falling out of bed. A second time I did not catch her, however, and she fell. She was disoriented but not hurt. I held her for a few minutes, then laid her down in the middle and got in next to her. Needless to say, I got very little sleep once again � but it was good :)

I traveled this year with my amazing friend Erika while J stayed home with our Helen. His mother came part way through the week to help with her so he could return to work while I was away. Erika and I left Chicago on a Saturday and had an eight hour layover in New York, which was annoying. However, once we got on the Emirates plane we were instantly impressed. The plane entertainment system is ridiculous - literally 100+ movies to choose from including dozens of current releases like "No Country for Old Men" and "Juno". They also had dozens of computer games to choose from: It still isn't physically comfortable to sit there in coach for 12 hours, but the first class people have it made - they can literally lay flat. Our first big event of the trip was an unexpected discovery. On the plane, I was looking at the Emirates literature in their seatback. They have a booklet about Emirates Foundation, and it talks about a recent project with KM in Addis Ababa where they helped beautify the place by bringing in colorful curtains etc. They have photos of about six kids, and guess who is one of them? Our Bug with her top teeth over bottom lip smile!: I didn't sleep as much on the flight as I should have - both from nerves and from my addiction to "Bedazzled", but really for a twelve hour flight it was relatively painless. We spent twelve hours in Dubai. The airport security was relatively easy to deal with - not nearly the hassle it is in America, but the airport is under construction so we had to take a 15 minute bus ride from our plane to the terminal, which I wasn't crazy about. We got the cheapest hotel room our travel agent offered us, and it amuses me to say that we are staying at a Holiday Inn in the UAE. It was about $120 a night and in a suburb about a half hour away. We enjoyed the drive though - it gave us a chance to see a bit of this famous city. The hotel is the nicest Holiday Inn I have ever seen - beautiful and ornate lobby, roomy guest room and bathroom: The staff and service were also far superior to anything I have had at a Holiday Inn in the US, but other than that the only difference between this Holiday Inn and the others I have been to was the fact that this was there in place of the typical Bible in the bureau drawer: Overall, I would recommend Emirates and was impressed with my experience traveling through Dubai.

I got an e-mail from Kel this morning saying that the girls got their visas yesterday!!! Now we just wait for them all to come home :)

Received two more photos :) the first is of Kel, Doodlebug, and Sparkle shopping for shoes. The three of them had a pretty good time.

Here's one of them at KM... They were a little overwhelmed at the time.

Yay!!! Pics!!! Kel found a way to shrink the pics so she could send them over dial-up! so, so happy right now...

Pics of Bug and Sparkle playing with the craft/jewelry set Kel brought to Ethiopia.