6th August

My new Amharic phrase for today is 'yallen feeyna' – no balloons! … see below …

This morning I made my way to the orphanage for the first time on my own – woo hoo! Well, I say on my own, I went in a cab, but that's not actually as easy as it sounds: before I can go anywhere I have to go through what I have dubbed 'the taxi ceremony':

first I have to find a cab driver who has been 'vetted' by E, M or Hanna (that is, recommended by someone they know – so they're fairly sure I won't be kidnapped, apparently …)

then I call them, and it turns out they are not available … but they will send someone else …

So I call the someone else and find he doesn't speak any English and my Amharic just won't cut it in this situation

So we start again from the beginning, with a friendly cab driver Hanna has found for me called D. He speaks good English and understands my sparse Amharic …

But he doesn't know where my house is. You can't always just give addresses or street names in Addis, as most roads have several different names (and you can guarantee the name you know is the not the name anyone else knows!). Also, my road is a fairly new one (a couple of years old) so people don't know it …

So we agree I will walk to the Meridan Hotel, about 5 mins away, and meet him there.

I then try to work out exactly where the orphanage is … I know the general area, but there are many backstreets and I can't always remember where it is. Cue D turning into muddy lanes while I'm in the backseat saying 'er, I think it's this one … no, no, no, not this one …'. Luckily, he was very patient!

All that aside, I arrived safely and without to much trauma.

And then Hanna asked me could I teach a class of 25 Grade 3 students who speak very basic English? Um … sure! I don't have any problem with teaching, but I had no resources and no plan, and I don't speak Amharic well enough to be able to give instructions/explain things! Sadly, 'group juggle' - which is the game I normally throw in when a lesson is not going well or I'm not prepared - just wasn't going to work this time.

So I improvised. I found the balloons I'd brought over and found one of each colour to blow up, and we played 'Colour Catch' – each time they caught a balloon, they had to say what colour it was. Not the most sophisticated teaching device ever, but a good start!

Except then, when the class was over, everyone realised I was the balloon lady and there was a never ending cry of 'feenya, feenya!' (and occasionally 'feenya faranji, feenya faranji!') So I sat for ages blowing up balloons with the balloon pump, trying to meet demand for an orange one, or a blue one, or a white one. After an hour, my arms were aching and I had responded to most requests, so I went back to the office to finish the brochure I am writing for Hanna. And so the children followed … feenya, feenya!

Eventually, as otherwise nobody in the office would have got any work done, I had to say 'yellan feenya'. I've promised that I will bring feenya on Monday, though …

5th August 2008 - Part 2

When I was in Addis in April 2007, Hanna told me of a street boy, A, who she had tried to help. In the past, Hanna has tried very hard to help the street children in Addis, but often they are so brutalised and entrenched in the street culture, that they are beyond the limited help that Hanna can give them. Many of them are addicted to alcohol and are sniffing petrol, and are involved in inappropriate sexual behaviour and a lot of petty crime.

When A was five, he was kidnapped from his family by a criminal gang and was taken to a neighbouring country to work as a beggar. As is apparently quite common in these situations, he was mutilated so that he would inspire more sympathy while begging. For years he worked during the day, begging for money and then having to hand over enough to his 'gang masters' or be beaten.

When he was older (10 or so) he was able to tell the police, and get some help. To their eternal credit, the police rescued him and some of the other boys and their captors were put in prison. As A is from Ethiopia, the local police gave him enough money for a few months, and then sent him back to Addis. Of course, by this point, A didn't have any idea where his family were, or who to go to for help, so he did the only thing he knew how to do – beg.

This is where Hanna came across him, begging on the street. She became friends with him and asked whether he would like to come and live at the orphanage and go to school. Of course, he did want to, and so he started living in the orphanage and going to school. However, he soon struggled. Not only to live in an orphanage and abide by someone else's rules after all those years of fending for himself, but also at school. As he was mutilated by those who took him, he faced particularly difficulty, but he had also never had any formal schooling, so he found it very, very hard.

He told Hanna he would stay if he stopped going to school and could go out and beg – but one of the rules of staying at the orphanage is that all children must go to school or be taught at home. So he ran away and went back onto the streets. Why follow someone else's rules and struggle with something you don't want to do, when you can earn 5 or 6 birr a day begging from money from faranji's like me?

Hanna told me this story to both illustrate how much specialist and focussed help most street children need, and also to show me how it's not always the right thing to do to give street children (or beggars in general) money.

But good news when I visited the orphanage today – A is back! He came back of his own accord (which is probably the best way for it to happen) about 6 months ago and is currently living at the orphanage and studying with the help of others. He wasn't there today as he was with some friends, but it was some great news to hear!

Maybe one by one, we can help the street children?

5th August 2008 - Part 1

Another productive day! After being woken up at 3am this morning (Tuesday) by the biggest and noisiest thunderstorm I have ever experienced, I had a bit of trouble getting out of bed at 8am (how things change, huh?!) but by 9.30am Hanna and I were on our way to Shiro Meda.

Shiro Meda is a district of Addis where around 16 of the children from the orphanage live in a house kindly donated by an Ethiopian family living in the US. They are my favourite children (am I allowed to have favourites?!) and I love going to visit them. I took the balloons and pumps left over from the fundraising 'Balloon Race' we ran in July, some sparkly hairbands for the girls (these girls LOVE anything with glitter on!) and some Haribo left over, I think, from my cousin's wedding. Feel a tiny bit guilty bringing E numbers to Ethiopia, but not too much!

I even love travelling to Shiro Meda, and the walk through the muddy lanes – everyone is normally so friendly and I don't get anyone shouting 'You, You, You!' or 'Faranji' at me! Instead, I can smell the cooking from the houses and see the women walking along wrapped in their Nutellas (a kind of wrap that is normally wrapped over the head and round the shoulders). I always want to take pictures, but it feels disrespectful, somehow. Anyway, I always enjoy the long bus or taxi ride and then the short walk.

And when we open the gates to the compound, 16 small children come hurtling out of the house and throw themselves at me and Hanna! They always remember me, which always surprises me, and generally the smaller ones attach themselves to one of my available body parts, and there they stay until I leave!

Today, Hanna had been told by one of the men who comes in to teach them English during the holidays (it's school holidays in Ethiopia as well as the UK) that two of the boys were fighting a lot and wouldn't listen to anyone. They respect and love Hanna very much, so a short talk from her (of the 'I'm so disappointed in you' variety) was enough to make the boys apologise and sort out their fight.

Of course, I think the effect of the talk may have been spoiled slightly by my attack of the giggles half way through. I couldn't understand what Hanna was saying (apart from 'eshe' which means 'okay?' and which, be warned, I will be saying constantly when I get back to England!) but the tone of the talk was very evident, and there was no reason at all for me to laugh. Except that behind Hanna there was a regular parade of chickens that had come in the open back door and were making their way into the younger girl's bedroom - to have a quick peck around, I presume, and get comfy on the beds. These chickens looked so business like (if you can say that of a chicken!) and so focussed, and paid so little attention to the people around them, that it just made me giggle. And once I'd started giggling, the children's bemused faces made me laugh even more! Eventually the chickens were removed, and I put my 'serious face' back on …

We did have to leave Shiro Meda and lunch time, but I shall definitely be back. I plan to spend a couple of nights there some time in September, too. Spending time with those kids is one of the best ways I know to cheer me up, and they seem to appreciate my hugs, too!

Ps. On a completely random note, one of the advantages of being far away from anyone who has any real concept of English pop music (apart from hip hop and rap, which is very popular here!) is that I can listen to the most awful, cheesiest music in the world and nobody bats an eyelid! It's fabulous! Spice Girls album, anyone …?! :o)

Sunday 3rd August

On Thursday last week I had the first – and I certainly don't expect it to be the last – moment of feeling 'Oh God, what have I done? What am I doing here?'

I was missing London and my friends, and was mourning the fact that in London I can go around the city without people pointing and laughing, and without what feels like 30 children following me shouting 'You! You! You!'. I thought I'd made a big mistake.

And then I went to the orphanage and remembered exactly why I came here! Hanna Teshome, who runs the orphanage and was the reason I got involved, came to meet me and took me to the new orphanage premises. Sometime last year, while we were busy fundraising in the UK to replace the orphanage's kitchen, the landlord of the orphanage (nearly everywhere in Addis is rented, and it's very expensive) decided that he didn't want so many children using his property, and raised the rent. Luckily, Hanna and the staff managed to find another place only 10 minutes walk away which is cheaper and bigger – and has a decent kitchen!

So the money we raised isn't needed for a kitchen – but their new premises are perfect! There is a big place for the children to play, with a volley ball net, a basket ball hoop, and enough room for a very small, very well behaved game of football (using the footballs we bought for them, and normally wearing the tee shirts CSV donated!). There is also a Fuseball table (think Joey and Chandler in Friends), which seem to be popping up all over Addis! There are several just on the side of the road in Wollo Seffer, and teenage boys congregate around them at all times of the day. The play area is surrounded by classrooms, the library (stocked with books we have provided) and the computer room. Then there are offices for the accountants, for Hanna, and for the social workers and psychologist who work with the children.

It was great to see all the children again (some who remembered me and were keen to say hi, some who weren't the slightest bit interested!) and even better to be able to talk to Hanna about how we can continue to help. Some of the money we have raised for the kitchen will now – as per the updates on our myspace page – go towards creating an education centre which will provide a safe and productive place for the children of the orphanage and the surrounding community to study.

However, some of the money will now go to support the Prisoner's Children Programme, one of the new ways Hanna has found to help the children of Ethiopia. In rural Ethiopia there are quite a number of women in prison, serving long sentences for murder or similar crimes. These crimes are frequently the result of domestic violence and family problems, and there are often no relatives to look after the women's children. Consequently, their children have to go to jail with them, meaning they suffer the horrible prison conditions whilst completely losing their chance of a childhood.

Hanna has been working with the prisons, other NGOs and social services in Ethiopia to try and solve this problem. They have opened a 'children's centre' in Jimma, a place about 350 kms from Addis. This centre is similar to the orphanage, and it's a place where the children can grow up while their mother serves her sentence and still get education, care, medical treatment, food (there is rarely enough food in prison) and, most importantly, the chance to be a child. The mother and children get time together during the week, so the bond is not broken, and when the mother is released they will be given help to build a life together.

So, another donor has paid for the first year's rent of the children's centre, and the money we have raised will pay for the second year's rent. A few people have donated money to us to buy animals for the children, so that will go towards three sheep for the centre. Animals are very useful for any branch of the orphanage; as well as providing food and other things such as milk, looking after the animals teaches the children responsibility and discipline. It can also be the beginning of a small business for some of the older boys – they were able to sell chicken eggs and baby rabbits at the local markets. Sadly, any chickens we bought for the Wollo Seffer orphanage keep dying (apparently that's what happens to chickens in Addis – nobody here can give me any other reason!!) but the ones in Shiro Meda are still going strong!

I hope to be able to put some pictures up on here soon, so that you can see directly where your money is going. Thank you for all you have given over the last two years, and all your support!

I'm off to eat Injera …

Arrivals and Weddings!

I'm here, I arrived and I'm safe! It was touch and go whether we were actually going to be able to leave Heathrow due to the thunder and lightning but after a three hour delay, we eventually left. We landed in Addis at about 10.00am local time and came through immigration without a problem. Luckily, E and M (and baby bump!) came to meet me at the airport, so they could help me with the 10 tonne of luggage that I've brought …

So I'm here, rested (I slept like a dead person last night!) and starting to get to grips with everything. In fact, I was thrown into the deep end slightly – I'd only been here 10 hours and I'd already been involved in the ritual slaughtering of a sheep (for a wedding – it's not like it happens every day before lunch!), been yelled at by a drunk man, and danced like a crazy person at a family wedding.

Ethiopian weddings are a very grand affair! They generally last for three days, with the actual wedding bit as we would recognise it on the second day. I joined in on the third day, which is where the Bride and Groom's family get together and have a meal, and then there's lots of dancing. LOTS of dancing!

In my experience of family weddings, the little boys are generally skidding across the dance floor and shouting, and a few mums and their teenage daughters will be up dancing around their handbags, but it takes a while for everyone else – particularly grandmothers and the older generation – to join in. Not in Ethiopia. The oldest people in the room were up, drums slung over their shoulders, beating out a rhythm and leading the rest of the room in whichever tribal dance it is: Amhara, Tigrinia, Uragy (sorry about the spelling!).

And wow, the energy! The Uragy dance is probably the most energetic, with lots of jumping and leaping, but even the Tigray dance, which is mostly stepping round in a large circle, really takes its toll on your thigh muscles! I impressed everyone – and made everyone laugh – with my attempts at Ethiopian dancing, and I think I got the hang of it!

I wish I was better at writing, so that I could convey to you exactly how amazing, beautiful and energetic an Ethiopian wedding is. I have taken some pictures, which I will try and post as soon as I can, but even they can't really do it justice.

It was a great first night in Addis, and left me no time to be thinking 'Oh God, what have I done?'! I grinned so much my face hurt, and it reminded me how lucky I am that I have access to this 'personal' side of Addis. I'm so grateful to my Ethiopian 'extended family' out here!

So, this afternoon I start planning what on earth I'm going to do for the next three months! So I shall be mostly opening a bank account, visiting the orphanage, sorting out a phone … and finding some time to eat some injera! :o)

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!!

'Faranj' goes to Addis ...

(that really should have been the title of my blog ...)

I have exactly 10 days left before I fly to Addis and become a 'faranj' (foreigner) in Ethiopia ... and panic has set in!!

This blog will give you the chance to keep an eye on my adventures and, more importantly, what your donations are doing to help the children of Addis Ababa.

Do feel free to send me an email at honeyjenny@gmail.com, and if you would like any more information about Hanna's Orphanage (reg charity: 1119773) please look at www.myspace.com/hannasorphanage

x