Updates while in Istanbul

’m currently in a teensy-weensy apartment in Istanbul waiting for things to happen in Ehtiopia.  Yalew reports today that work is progressing with both sites we have contracted out - the first one was started while I was there and the contractor has headed off to the second.  I have thought of some more things that might be of interest to you.

In the area we are working, Mulle (my driver), Yalew and I were all struck by the relative peace in this region – it is the first time I have not needed an armed personal guard and the first time I have not seen firearms around me as ‘normal’. 

In the north, Kalashnikovs are an extremely common site but there are none here - they are considered neither a necessity nor a status symbol.  After so many years in the country, it’s oddly confronting    Make it make sense!

In Soddo, I met a Swiss woman who married an Ethiopian man.  It seems like they are doing some great work with communities by showing them how to make fire bricks with locally available materials.  The bricks are used in cooking fires to retain heat and reduce the amount of fuel required.   It must also reduce the amount of smoke that causes lung disease and contributes to pneumonia which is the highest cause of death in under 5s in this region.  They also visited a community to see how they are impacted by their lack of clean water and they spoke to the relevant council about how they could work together.   This is fabulous except for the fact that as a startup organization with no performance history, they do not have any funding!   The woman had heard about me in the hotel and approached me, asking how I thought they could raise the required funding.

The couple has great intentions but I was appalled by their approach.   However, the community they visited adjoins the communities with which we are currently working so when I return later this month, if the work has not been started, we will be able to take it on.

Again, the poverty hits me.   In Soddo one morning, Mulle and I were waiting for Yalew and saw three really small children – about 4, 6 and 10 years old.   They were very dirty and looked hungry.   Mulle went and got them some breakfast and the lady at the shop knew them – both their parents were dead and these children live on the street.   In a smaller community this wouldn’t happen – they would be taken in and cared for by the community but in a big town things are different.   And there is no government system to pick them up.

FYI

Catherine