First Day in Ethiopia

Today was our first day in Addis Ababa, my first in Ethiopia and all of Africa. It was a day of heartache and beauty with a strong dose reality of what the world is and how we live. By we I mean exclusively those who choose to ignore the realities of our brothers and sisters that need our support - not just to prosper but to merely survive.

There are no words to explain what it is like here. You can be shown all of the images ever created of the city and yet still not understand what it means to be here. To walk through the streets. To talk to the poor. To ignore the children begging for food who approach you every few minutes, sometimes in groups of 5 of more. The television cannot convey to its audience what it feels like to know that some of the children you saw earlier today may not survive through the night. Every time I saw an infant or toddler I was haunted by the reality that 1 in 6 of them will not see their fifth birthday. One in six. Need more be said? What will it take for the world to realize that poverty is not tolerable. As most Americans can afford buying or renting a house for $500-$1000 per month - the average Ethiopian living in Addis Ababa makes less then $30 per month finding themselves in shelters made of tin walls, roofs, and doors with mud floors.

Food certainly doesn't have the same taste. In the States I enjoyed my meals with little regret, having little trouble with spending $5-$25 on a single meal. Here I do not want to eat and quite honestly if Maarten wasn't here I probably wouldn't be eating much at all. During my meals all I can think about is how badly I would rather give my plate to the child in the alleyway across from the restaurant, or the man 'standing' a foot and a half tall on his butt as he has only one leg - forcing him to transport himself with his one mobile foot and opposite hand on the ground. If he is lucky, he has an extra shoe to put on his hand for protection. Or should I give it to the paternal orphan who attends fifth grade that accompanied Maarten and I around the city center and helped us find our way through the city? He is so intelligent - he shines shoes when he's not attending school and as today is a holiday he is fasting and playing soccer with his friends in the streets. Perhaps I should give it to the child approaching my vehicle with tissue for sale given to him by a local aid agency; allowing him to earn a little bit of money for his family. A boy of six earning an income for a family of seven; how horribly sad.

There is beauty and heartache everywhere. Please do not be one who dismisses the heartache because it saddens your heart. It is our world and if we do not take care of each other than there will be a world no more. The beauty of the world is within every child, every smile, every tear, and of course, every heart.