Today our groups split into two groups. The first group met with the Oromo Grassroots Development Initiative called Hundee (NGO) that empowers small farmers, women and the elderly. After speaking with them their main goal is to create awareness within the Oromo society to uplift and protect the marginalized. It was moving to see a group so passionate and caring about their people. It was also wonderful to see a group of men talk so freely about the marginalization of women and to end poverty to uplift and empower women. Hallelujah!

Next we went to a rural area outside of Addis Ababa to meet two women who are aspiring farmers. They currently have two oxen, however the oxen at this point do not provide income like cows do, so at this point they are hoping to acquire cows for the development of a small dairy farm for milk and cheese. They were so grateful to meet with us that they showed their thankfulness with a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony and some delicious popcorn. We all felt so privileged to have been able to be part of a tradition and ritual that goes back thousands of years. On our way back to Addis our gracious host Awatu picked up some cheeseburgers and fries (not exactly American style but close enough) for the road and we all chowed down!

Day 6
Woke up at 5:00 with the Muslim call to prayer followed by the Ethiopian Orthodox litany. It called me to pray and ask God’s favor on our day in Addis. At breakfast we learned that Bennie was not up to par. Our morning devotional was on dependence, and we know we must depend on God to heal her.

Karl led us in our group devotional. It was based on Matthew 18: 1-6 since our day will be spent with children. He challenged us to look at our relationship with children. On our way to our first stop, I chatted with our driver. He said the rule of the road is negotiation and it was interesting to watch how capably he used this.

We visited an orphanage supported by the Washington D.C. Evangelical Ethiopian Church (WEEC). We were all impressed by the beautiful setting (a former embassy) and the love and enthusiasm by staff and students. The ages were 3-12 and they were so well behaved and appreciative of the performance by Deb and her puppeteers. Kay and her Polaroid camera and the pictures and framing of them brought smiles to the faces of the students.

The executive director, Negatu Aberra, shared history with us. He was in the mortgage loan business but had that feeling that his calling was elsewhere. About that time he was approached to take over the directorship of this orphanage by one of the board members. There was his answer to prayer! His love to the children is apparent and they call him “daddy”.

After a shopping stop and a stop at the hotel where Bennie felt able to join us, we met Abraham Fiesha. He is on the board of directors of Hope Enterprises and previously spent 20 years in the U.S. and Canada. He escorted us to a home for street boys, purchased by the Christmas offering at MPPC. Such a thrill to see the results of the giving by members of the church! The boys we met, age 16-25, are the 2nd cohort to go through the program. The first group was in the home for a year and are now employed making furniture. One of that group, a mentor to a current student, joined us after he finished his day’s work. Ermi, the resident director, said his goal is to build young men of integrity and show what the Lord Jesus can do in their lives. He wants the boys not only to hear it, but to live it. Two boys testified that on the street they felt worthless but now they love the feeling of being loved and valued.

This group will be in the home for only six months but will stay in a group home as they move on to vocational training. Abraham is working with a Dutch company to establish a vocational training program where the boys will be able to get training in a variety of vocations. The boys are kept very busy (no idle minds here) with a program that includes character building, hygiene, work ethic, how to dialogue and discuss, evaluation of previous week’s program as well as academics. They are responsible for keeping the house clean. Abraham stressed how important it is to follow up for years after they leave the program.

The second home we visited was an orphanage with 14 boys and one girl. They all attend school, directly across that street from the school, and range in age from 10-16. They are encouraged to express themselves—one young man called himself “the artist” and was so proud as he showed us his drawings! Almaz, the girl student, does not live in the compound but with a local girl who is a runner and has dreams of competing in the Olympics. We all were thrilled to see hear of the changes in the lives of these youths, but are burdened by the many more that need to be served. Bennie and Beth met with Abraham in a discussion of establishing a home for street girls.

Day 6 - Saturday, October 22nd

I spent a whole day with Mesfin, a pastor in the Kali Nazaret Church, observing the church’s three-year old project to empower the most marginalized group which is the very poorest women in Nazeret. Mesfin is also a trained social scientist.

The project started with one year of interviews with the women to identify needs. Then the women were organized into Self Help Groups (SHGs) of 8-15 women. Bank accounts were established for each woman as well as the group. The women save 10-125 cents per week. Their money is pooled to establish a revolving fund for making loans to the members for starting micro-enterprises.

I was privileged to attend three of these SHG meetings and hear the women’s stories, business ideas, and hopes for the future. Each of the SHGs had accumulated at least $400 of capital for loans. The church provides training for preparing business plans, setting-up and operating the enterprise and health and hygiene.

The program has been a wonderful success. Over 1800 women belong to SHGs. I visited three successful micro-enterprises that ranged from making envelopes from book pages to hold spices, to a small restaurant, to providing change to the taxi drivers at a 5% profit.

These women seemed like they were well on their way to breaking the grip of poverty on their families. The church has four of these community transformation projects in Ethiopia.