Azedebo Completion Party

Back in early November Ejigu and I bused ourselves down to Kembata-Tembaro to begin work on Ethiopia Reads' two scheduled school/library builds. Both were to be completed by early May, along side a variety of ancillary Ethiopia Reads' programming in the region. Daunting on paper, but to some, seemingly impossible in the flesh; we were taking on allot, though we were as prepared as two could be.  Not to mention very excited.

Ejigu and I have done it all before...

"Normal" country living: raw meat and moonshine, fleas, hyenas, pesky monkeys, flies in amounts most cannot fathom, poisonous snakes and spiders, limited communication, late night bathroom runs with a machete and TP in hand, gallons of butter salt coffee, diets of 70 percent avocados and peanut butter... it goes on.

The disheartening: encounters with would be thieves, crooked officials, long obnoxious waits in country bus-yards, the fernegie price hikes, run ins with the some of the harshest bacteria, and the loss of members of the community 

And the incredibly rewarding:  inspiring meetings with community leaders and village elders, building a tighter community while building a structure with the potential to change the lives of all those in the region, working and living alongside Ethiopia Reads beneficiaries, sharing knowledge with shemegalees, creating friendships that will last a life time, training an entire workforce in skills that will enable them to better provide for themselves and family, bolstering the confidence of young and elder woman alike, creating cultures of independence where dependency once ruled, laughter and shared smiles with the people of all ages and backgrounds, and becoming completely accepted, and even revered by a once foreign community.

We are well weathered, a bit hardened, but most importantly we are becoming well versed in what it takes to function and work effectively where most would not bother to visit.  We also are perceptually being educated on the unique and complex beauty of SW rural Ethiopia.

There is no template for the work we do.  Rough guidelines offer the critical broad strokes, while our everyday action's provide the finer touches that ensure proper project implementation.  We built one school in each of the last two years. The process of doing so, provided the experience and wisdom to take on this years intimidating workload.  By no means did it come easy, we made our share of missteps  yet great progress in our leadership, financial management  and construction tactics were made. All of which have been and will continue to be paid forward.  I am very proud to write that Ejigu, Sallamnesh, Temsgin and I were able to guide the community through building the most beautiful structure yet.   All while doing so in just over 4 months and simultaneously preparing for and building another school of equal quality in Fundame.

Thursday April 11th was a day devoted to celebrating Azedebo's completion of the one of KT's only KG's and a much needed library.  Village elders, community leaders, teachers, administrators, local government officials, and much of our workforce were invited to the days greatly anticipated program.  The community was elated to show off their hard work, and joyously celebrated a new beginning to Azedebo's education culture.  People came from as far as two hours a way to enjoy the festivities, and all that were in attendance were gleeming the awe and appreciation of the communities work. 

The Azedebo 1-8 school director co MC'd the program along side Ejigu, while a worader official, an ER rep from the Addis office, and I each spoke to the significance of the communities work and the gravity of the occasion.  As with everyone of ER's completion parties it was marked with shared stories from the community as well as a delicious and plentiful feast.  Each guest left with a smile, a full stomach and inspired by their family and neighbors.   

A big thank you goes out to Jon and Liz Moss for their unwavering support of the Azedebo school and library.  Your gift has already begun to positively change the lives of hundreds in Azedebo, and that number will grow exponentially in the years to come.  Much love from the Azedebo community to your own.

The following photos are organized so the reader can get a sense of what it would be like to have been there.

Enjoy... 

*credit to Kahlyn for helping out with the photos, there are more photos of me in this post then there has been in the last 20 combined. 

Welcome to the Azedebo KG and library completion party

The finished product.  Grass already coming in.

Discussing the organization of the days program

Prepping the grub

Effram helping to keep Lolo at bay

The village elders start to arrive

Food prep and cooking is ongoing throughout the morning

Cooking up a portion of the good eating

Village elders, community leaders and our elite workers are all ready to go, kids and moms are still on their way

Local government officials on the left community on the right as the school director starts off the program

Ejigu talking through ER's administration plans for Azedebo's library and KG

Folks listen intently as Ejigu discusses the finer points of the schools "collective ownership"

A dear friend from Addis, Ashu, came along for the last week in Azedebo.  Here is assisting with some translations of my improptu speachifying 

One of 25 Azedebo workers receiving their ER construction skilled training certificate

The community pitched in and purchased a gift for me. I was surprised and elated

The compound tour lead by Ejigu and myself

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Talking through the bathroom design

Sharing good humor with one of the visiting worader officials 

Then the food was ready

Ashu is an amazing cook.  He helped in prep, as well as serving the 100 or so guests

Enjoying the grub

And like that the 3 hour program was finished up

After the program Lolo was even happy to smile for a photo with the guys 

Kiddies looking perplexed 

Getting past normal

I live in rural East Africa.  People die out here much earlier and much more often than a majority of other places in the world.  Regardless of line of work, location, or poverty level, the regular loss of human life is a very difficult thing to become accustom to.   However it is something that I have come to expect to encounter in my daily life.  Viewing death constructively is something I am working through. 

Since I’ve been in Azedebo, I‘ve noticed that within the average week, the population of around 3,000 buries two of its community members. Often the deaths are violence related, old age, or attributed to one of three types of “malaria” (the last is in quotes because any time someone dies with an elevated temperature it is blamed on mosquitos).   This week was no different.  We lost 3.  A school directors wife to what seems to have been meningitis, a village elder to “old age” at 65, and my neighbors 14 year old son to a Hyena attack in their front yard in the middle of the afternoon. 

Over the last 2 and half years I have worked and lived along-side the communities that benefit from Tesfa/Ethiopia Reads mission.  It can be an incredibly sobering life. Coming from a middle class Midwestern neighborhood where death was the back of my mind, this current life of mine has ushered it to the forefront.   

I believe that in the moment, death is often avoidable.  Fate may exist, but in my mind, we each are largely in control of our own actions in the parameters we exist within.  My life in South Minneapolis, Chicago and New Orleans was at times tumultuous, though the dangers I encountered were for whatever reason searched out.  Danger is relative, and here in Kembata-Tembaro, danger and it’s confidant, death, are so pervasive they have become normalized.   Rural South West Ethiopia’s cards are unfortunately stacked against its people.  Living amongst a population that has a life expectancy hovering around 42 (that number is dragged down by the high rate of death of children under the age of 5) urges a white male from a fortunate upbringing to reflect.

I will be the first to admit that I am an emotionally distant guy.  That’s been one of the key reasons why I have been able to effectively work and live as I do.  At its root, it’s a conscious decision.  My work is based on immersing myself in communities where hardship, poverty, corruption, drought, poor health is ordinary.  There is hope for eventual change, but most concentrate on getting though the day, rather than building for tomorrow.  To function, I actively mentally disengage as much as possible.  I file all of the negativity somewhere in my memory banks, but I strive to concentrate on the beautiful moments.   If I begin to focus on the plethora of negativity, my capacity falters.  So I digest what I can as I encounter it, and continue to move forward.

Sometimes I do stumble.  The avoidable death of a child, with a future largely undecided, is a rough one to side step; especially in incidents involving local fauna and preventable diseases.  That hardened exterior of mine can only do so much. This week I caught myself going through the motions of asking why and even blaming those life parameters.  In time those sentiments faded, and a more constructive approach amassed.  I am finding that the more I assimilate the more I am processing these events as tangible evidence for the dire need of expansion of ER’s work.  In coming years to better enable our beneficiaries, education and healthcare outreach is a start… but in time we can work with the communities and other NGO’s  to better enable our beneficiaries to create more stable and positive lives for themselves and future generations. 

Ekodaga kiddies

"Aund Lai"

Folks keep asking me how we are doing so much, so fast.  It may sound like a recipe for poor craftsmanship, but its because we are doing as much as we possibly can at once.  Dont, fret we have it all, mostly under control ;-).

The main reasons for us working so efficiently is our constant effort to do more than one thing at once. Rather than splitting the project into numerous short phases, like roofing, mud work, doors and windows, ect. We do our very best to tackle as many aspects of the build at once.  Thus the Amhaic phrase aund lai (to the effect of "at one time").  Currently we are finishing up roofing, the first coat of cob, just completed the classrooms rock foundation, all while planting the posts for the covered walk way.  By effectively combining what are usually individual build phases, we greatly shorten the time of the over all project.  Thus enabling us to build two KG's within a single dry season.  

Getch and Matios leveling out the rafters

Interior first layer cob work is complete

From a roofers prespective

Tightening up the leveling strings

Cob water on it way to storage

5 more weeks

3 in 3 years and counting

Been working in central and south western Ethiopia for the majority of the last three years.  Lived as countryside local, put a miles and miles on once dependable work boots, taken thousands of photos, broken my fare share of hand tools and made a few friends along the way.  Azedebo's completion this last Saturday marks the third ER/Tesfa school I have had the privileged to lead. Took just over three and a half months.  

Considering Kololo and Ekodaga's builds were somewhat similar in size, and they each consumed over 5 months of time... well you can say that we are efficiently moving along. 

At request from the local officials, we are going to be postponing the community celebrations for two weeks.  The school's director and some local government bigwigs types, have invited Radio and News agencies to the event, and everyone wants to make sure that the media has plenty of time to squeeze the party into their schedule.   

Now to really get moving in Fundame.

Not bad

Taking care of the door trim

Library after a fresh mopping

Notice the window trim

The ladies helping out with cleaning 

The outdoor reading/meeting area

Finishing the last of the cement work

The rainwater canals

Last  of the touch ups 

Covered Walkway

Last couple days of work are consumed with cleaning, paint touch ups, and the last of the cement.  Today, 12 of us dedicated our days to either mixing, carrying our applying the top coat of cement in the covered walkways.  The rest beautified the buildings and the grounds they are perched on.

Tafassa and Tashala smoothing out the top coat 

Not what you think of when one says rural african build

All the posts will be cleaned of their cement dust tomorrow afternoon

Proud of our days work

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