13th August 2009

I managed to get to Addis for a few days this week and pop into the orphanage. Unfortunately, due to lack of communication infastucture in Lalibela (oh, and the fact that I left my phone at the school) I hadn’t called to let them know, and when P and I did arrive, we walked straight into their celebration event for the end of academic year.

Of course, this wasn’t all bad as it meant I got to see all the kids receiving their prizes for good academic work or for winning the ‘inter-house’ football competition. Everyone was out in the compound where they would normally play basketball or football, and Hanna and the rest of the staff were handing out prizes from behind a big table. The children from the Shiro Meda branch had come over to Wollo Seffer, the little ones were bundled onto the laps of the bigger children, and everyone was clapping and cheering each time someone received an award. I love the atmosphere there on normal days, but this was even better!

However, it wasn’t the most convenient time to sit and chat with Hanna, so I came back the next morning (while a patient P sat and waited).

Everything seems to be working out well. The £2000 we sent over a month or so ago has been used to pay for the house rent on one of the new Prisoners Children's houses as well as providing a small salary to a computer tutor who will teach the staff and the students computer skills. The £2,500 we are able to provide for the refurbishment of the library also arrived in their bank account (taking slightly longer than normal this time, so we starting to get worried!), which means they can start gathering quotes for the chairs and desks they are going to buy. Hopefully, all the work on this will be done by September, just in time for the new school year.

In October, two wonderful people are visiting Ethiopia and have volunteered to take over whatever the orphanage needs (within reason, obviously). They are hoping to take over a lot of basic medical supplies like asprin, paracetamol, bandages and plasters, but also vitamins for the children. They’re simple things, but they’re not always easily available in Ethiopia and having a proper stock makes all the difference. We’re very grateful to the people fundraising to buy these things for the orphanage!

The other thing in the pipeline is that the older children at the orphanage have been invited to take part in a ‘social skills’ training course. The course lasts for 10 days, with three days residential, and the orphanage have managed to pay for around 30 children to attend. There wasn’t the budget to allow all eligible children to attend, but thanks to your donations, we are able to make up the shortfall. £450.00 is on its way there now. It sounds a small amount, but it really does make a huge difference.

With all this spending, our coffers are getting low ... so it’s a good job we have some fundraising events lined up! Our next music night has a latin slant, with Salsa lessons and demonstrations – email Maria for details at maria@blueskyonline.co.uk. You can also find us on twitter or facebook to keep up to date.