4 days to go ... and 'Ethiopia in the news'

Wow, I have about 4 days before I leave so I have come home to my mum’s house for the hardcore organising and preparing to begin! Today I’ve been to the dentist, the doctor (various vaccinations – ouch!) and the hairdresser (new hair - nice!) and tomorrow I will deal with the bank and other administrative nightmares. Everything I own is currently in boxes in my mum’s living room, waiting to be sorted and then packed …

However, the really important news is that I have a shiny new work visa in my passport! This means I will be able to work and earn money once I’m in Addis and I won’t have to come home after 2 months. Hurrah!

So, everything is a lot more organised than it was last week, thank goodness. I’m still Little Miss Mood Swing, but people who have done all this before tell me this is completely normal! :o) I’ve said my goodbyes to London and to as many friends as I could – I’m sorry to those I haven’t managed to see, and to those I met, but was pretty much asleep at the time … I miss people already.


>>> Ethiopia in the News

Despite what you may have read in the media, the whole of Ethiopia is not in the grip of a famine. There is currently a food crisis in Ethiopia, but as far as I know it is mostly affecting the rural areas, particularly the Afar region. It’s not affecting the children of the orphanage at the moment (apart from the fact that food prices are rising, like everywhere else in the world), and sadly Hanna’s Orphanage aren’t in a position to be able to help the others who are suffering. However, there are lots of charities who can, so feel free to donate to them.

The media often seems to forget that Ethiopia is a big country (over four times the size of the UK!) and so what happens in the north of the country isn’t necessarily happening in the South. In fact, if you’re the Metro newspaper, occasionally you forget where Ethiopia is and you write an article saying it’s a West African country … sigh. I worry that giving people the impression that the whole of Ethiopia is experiencing a famine will discourage anyone from visiting, which of course will affect the tourism industry which is so important to the economy.

So do keep planning your trip!!