Xavier comes to village

   A good friend and fellow DePaul graduate, Xavier is now a temporary
resident of Kololo. For the last three weeks X (his full name when
pronounced by Ethiopians sounds eerily like the Amharic word for
god...awkward) has been assisting on the build and using his cameras
and recording equipment to document everyday life. Back in his home of Chicago, X is the development and marketing director for YMEN. A youth leadership nonprofit organization that provides educational and employment opportunities to young men and their families. All of us here at Tesfa and Ethiopia Reads are happy to have him, and eager to work with him over his three month stay.

      At 6'5, the man stands out. And as result, he usually has quite the following; whether it be in the village, where upwards of 20 children will follow him to wash his clothes, or the market, where three times the amount stop everything to simply stare, he is a popular guy. It has been great having him out here.  People seem to genuinely enjoy his presence. And Between his nightly Daniel-son (imagine sandals instead of chopstick) assault on house flies, to him somehow training the village dogs, we all have shared many  a good time with Xavier.

X channeling his inner Stevie Wonder

   Although I have done a pretty decent job of capturing much of Ijigu
and I's lives, Xavier came much better equiped. Xavier brought out a
very nice HD quality DSLR and numerous microphones.  With that camera in hand for the better part of most days, he has amassed a wealth of awe inspiring footage. Once back in Addis, he is planning on utilizing the material to create a short film concentrating on how Tesfa and Ethiopia Reads do exactly what we do. Once finished, you can be sure that the video will make it's way on the blog. Patience though,it may be a few weeks.