Wordless Wednesday (Nearly)

School is in session.

September 12th. Biggest Day Ever.

This Wednesday is a really big day for our family.

This girl turns seven...

 

This boy tries school again...

And the school opens.

In Kololo.

 

Wanna place a bet on # of ugly cries??

Teret! Teret! About Tesfa School Number 1 of 5x3.

In Ethiopia before they tell a story they shout, "Teret, Teret!" "A story! A story!'

School number one of the 5x3 initiative has been fully funded. Tesfa has received the 56k for this school from this adorable family...

Jon, Elijah, David, and Liz Moss

From Liz Moss:

 My grandfather had an 8th grade education. He worked hard his entire life, living frugally and simply on the same farm for over 60 years of his life. He loved to see his two daughters and his six grandchildren live out life through education and travel. He rarely stayed in a hotel, preferring the comfort of his own bed. And, never took a vacation far from home, except if it was a day trip to watch a harness race for one of the horses he trained. He left a legacy of deep faith.

Four years ago, Jon and I started to fall in love with Ethiopia. It grew as we brought our two sons home (3 years ago and 1 year go). And, it grew deeper as we traveled and met the beautiful people in this amazing land. I truly have left part of my heart in Ethiopia each time I leave this country I have grown to love. I dream about it, think about it, and read as much as I can about Ethiopia. Ethiopia has changed my life--much more than just our two sons. When we traveled there last January, we went away committing ourselves to do more in the future. We came across Tesfa (actually through a chance meeting with Mike from Wisconsin in the Addis Ababa airport) and were intrigued. We have been dreaming and praying about this opportunity for the last year.

My grandparents both passed away in the last five years. Not only did they leave a legacy of faith, but they left money for their children and grandchildren. We don't understand how and why they lived on so little for so long, leaving us with so much. We truly see this as a gift and desire to give some it of away. With Ethiopia on our hearts and in our life, with a desire for everyone to have access to education, and with an ever growing faith, we desire to partner with Tesfa to build schools in Ethiopia. We are committed to this long term. The people of Ethiopia have changed my life...we're just humbly trying to change a few other lives.

 Liz and Jon's school, Tesfa's 9th, will be in or around Durame. The Moss Family is in Ethiopia now, probably on their way to see the school in Kololo.

But wait, there's more, Jon and Liz want to help raise the funds for 5x3's second school as well. In a couple of weeks, in their home state of Iowa, they will have a fundraiser with Jane Kurtz to get that second school off to a good start.

Amazing people. Amazing story.

Thanks to everyone who filled out the 5x3 survey. We are assessing location requests and moving forward. Please know that you don't have to fund a whole school to participate. If you'd like to contribute to school number 2 this second, head over to Tesfa.org.

If you live in Iowa and would like to help the Moss family with their April fundraiser, please let me know.

Exciting News From Tesfa

Remember this picture?

Look what you did...

What they did.

 

To say that it has been rewarding to watch this school go up would be an enormous understatement. This is Kololo. This is Meazi and Melese's village. This village now has a school. There is now great hope for this village. Kids here will go to school. THEY WILL GO TO SCHOOL!

Thank you. All of you.

Would you like to build a school in Kembata? Maybe in your child's village? I'd like you to feel like I feel right now. I'd like you to feel like you can help create change. Do you want to build a school in Kembata?

Go HERE for more information.
I'll help you do it. You helped me. You helped them...

5 in 3. 5x3. Easy Peasy. Let's do this.

Notes From Cien, Our Man in Kololo.

From Cien...An Update.

Since the Western new year, many of you may have wondered where the blogging has gone.  And that is for good reason.  I have gone from making weekly posts to providing merely a couple in the last month.  I offer my apologies to all the curious and possibly frustrated parties.  There  is an explanation behind my digital absence, a good one, and  it is about time I shared.

The day before the ferenji  New Year, Daniel and I packed up for a 9 day trip to Addis.  We were to renew/extend our expiring visa’s, enjoy new years celebrations, and attend a mutual friends wedding.    We were due back in Kololo on the 9th of January to finish up the build in early February.  Unfortunately, we were unable to stick to our schedule.

New Years and the wedding celebrations went as expected.  All of our weekend nights slept away in a mud hut, surely stored up an adequate amount of partying energy.  It was the visa’s that got us where we are now.  Presently,  I am taking a rest from lumberjack chores on my father’s Serbian farm, while Daniel is catching up with friend and family in the US.  Sure, the convenience of not having to answer nature’s midnight call with a crank flashlight and a dulling machete is appreciated, but we both wish we were in Kololo.

On December 29th, all structural work was complete, a majority of the roof was in place, window openings were leveled, squared and ready for frame installation.  Hay and heavy soils were blended in preparation for the creation of cob.  Construction was going soundly, and community relations were at a peak.  Daniel and I were both were discreetly offered wives.  We respectfully declined.  We left for Addis on the 30th, while build assistant manager, Ijigu, remained in Kololo.

 Ijigu,  is a trusted friend, 7 year Tesfa employee, and was my assistant manager for a similar build in Ekodaga in 2010.  Just as with Kololo, Ijigu assisted me in construction planning, ordering materials, delegating labor, and dolling out payroll.  Because of his previous experience, and the communities respect for his leadership, we decided to continue the build in my absence.  Ijigu was to supervise the process of mixing and applying the first coat of cob to the exterior of the schools 3 buildings; he is well versed in this messy exercise, and was ready.  I am very confident in Ijigu’s ability to manage a worksite.   

In country visa processing has never been a streamlined activity.   Tesfa and Ethiopia Reads in country director tells many a ghastly tale of his trips to the Ethiopian immigration office.  Every year it’s something different, and the officials responsible for processing paperwork become more and more inept. Officials arbitrarily hand out visa extension amounts, with no standard protocol, just based on your interaction, and their mood that day.  Daniel for instance was in luck, after the office lost his visa, the ball was in his court, after some back and forth chatter, he was given that days maximum visa extension.  Meanwhile the very professional gentleman behind him was provided a single day extension.  Very little reasoning was offered.  

 I on the other hand was not looking for an extension, rather, I was hoping to renew my two year business visa.  To do so, I had to fulfill a scavenger hunt of requests; proof of employment, in country banking information, a organizational information, project proposals (for those I implemented),  and many other “certified” documents, all this including a full and might I add a very thorough health exam.  In a blur of nearly round the clock activity we fulfilled all of the immigration offices requests… Only to be thwarted. Other documents were requested, while others needed different stamps of approval.  It was ridiculous. As time ran out, we worked with a lawyer to acquire a 10 day extension.  We got it.  The office visits and scavenger hunt continued.  After 9 more days of certifying original graduate diplomas, rounding up an array of stamps, visiting with countless officials, and spending a few thousand birr on cabs, we were still without a work permit, temporary residence, and of course time to figure any way out of this mess.   I am now working with Serbian consulates and Tesfa/Ethiopia Reads management to acquire a visa from outside of the country.  Oddly, the process is much tidier from a far.

While this melee was taking place in early January, I caught some sort of stomach virus, and my computer’s battery  refused to take charge.  I was sicker than I have ever been, and was without a means to watch type emails, blog, or simply watch a movie to pass the time.  Things were not really going my way.  Meanwhile, Daniel’s visa extension was gradually expiring.  We all were consumed with taking care of my paperwork, consequently Daniel’s was never finished.  Things were obviously not going his way either.  Well, except that he now is now able to attend this year’s New Orleans  Mardi Gras festivities. 

So we both, mid-build, were forced out of the country, the same country that are were trying to assist.  Uncomfortably ironic isn’t it? 

Since I left, Ijigu and I have been in steady communication.  While in country we spoke every evening to discuss the day’s progress.  Work was going as planned.  We were going to use almost all of the dirt that excavated for the school’s foundations to construct the structure’s walls.  Organic recycling at its best. I now have been in Serbia for 7 days, allowing Tesfa management to relay phone conversations with Ijigu to me via email on a regular basis.  There has been minimal complications, and right now, the first coat of cob is complete on all interior and exterior walls.  The first 2 structures second coat of cob is nearing completion.  Ijigu expects the cob portion of the built to be finished by the end of the month.  At that point, work will stop, and Ijigu will return to Addis, enjoy some family time, and wait for my return.

 When we return on the 11th or 12th of February we will finish the final phase of the build.  Laying the floors for the buildings, erecting the bathroom,  painting, the installation of glass in the window frames, and finishing the water management system, including our bridges.  We expect that the work be complete by the second week of March.  

I am very excited to return.

One note: These sort of experiences are representative of the drawn out processes involved in many developing world bureaucracies.  A delicate balance of patience and assertiveness is critical in our work.  However,  Ethiopia’s political environment is more stringent than ever, and regardless of tact, many of these such road blocks are becoming common place.  I can assure you all, our wealth of project implementation experience, and effective management communication will ensure project success.  

Notes From Kololo.

 Tesfa's eighth school, the one that all of you helped build, is nearing completion. It is amazing to see the progress. Thanks again to all of you. You did this!

 Some interesting notes from our crew in Kololo:
 

·       Kololo is said to be established during Emperor Haile Silasse’s time

·       More than 200 family heads live in Kololo.

·       Farmers grow Maize, Ginger, Teff, Godere (potato-like plant root), Coffee, Mango, Avocado, and Banana.

·       The Tembaregna, Hadiyagna, Wolaytigna and Amharic languages are said to be spoken by the villagers but the dominant language is Tembarigna.

·       There is no other school in the village.

·       The only school relatively near to Kololo is the Debub Ambocara school which is 2.5 hrs away.  Students from Kololo go to that school and have to travel 5 hrs both ways.

Here are some future students:

The children of Andesew and Kebebush. 

The children of Molore and Tadelech.

Get ready kiddos! School is almost in session!

Groundbreaking.

Groundbreaking?

I just signed on to do what seems to be my third Wordless Wednesday post in a row. Sorry about the lack of posts. I seem to be spending a huge amount of time in the car driving the kids around, and I have yet to figure out how to blog while driving.

I have also been waiting to share pictures from what I think was this week's ground breaking for the school in Kololo. Cien is documenting his time in Kololo and I am checking his blog constantly. I believe he has no internet access, so it may take some time to get an update.

I am picturing shovels digging. I believe it is happening right this minute. Thank you, again, to everyone who contributed. I can hardly believe it is happening. If you signed up to be a sponsor and I haven't gotten your info yet, it is because I haven't figured out how to do that while driving either. Please contact me if you didn't sign up, and you want to. I believe we have room for a few more. It will be a group/school sponsorship instead of an individual student situation. We hope to have a Student of the Month. There is also a Facebook group for the school's first sponsors. Let me know if you'd like to be added.

So we wait together, for the first pictures.

While we wait, may I present, Les Lapin...

And des carrots...

All costumes made by Steven. Unfortunately Steven and I are apparently, well uhm, rounder, then we thought. Everyone thought we were pumpkins and not skinny carrots. Alas...middle age.

Weights and Measures

Meazi and Melese wandered onto this old scale at a birthday party. Their bellies were full of cheeseburgers and cupcakes. Melese was on it by himself, and while watching him my mind flashed to that picture of a malnourished Ethiopian child in a feeding scale. Do you remember the picture I am talking about? I can't find it now, but it was a picture of a food distribution center where families went to get Plumpy Nut. They had to be a certain weight to get it. If you have been to Ethiopia, and you are now following what is happened in the Horn of Africa, it is impossible not to constantly see those hungry kids when looking at your own kids. They don't have to be on a scale to notice it.

What to do? I feel like anyone who reads this blog already cares about Ethiopia and supports organizations that they believe in. For those readers who may be looking for a way to help, here are some suggestions:

 Tesfa. I have basically walked into the boardroom of Tesfa, and pinned my heart onto their bulletin board. I believe that they are the organization that can help my Ethiopian family the most. The new school and library in M&m's village will change many, many, lives. While they are not directly doing famine relief,  they are educating future leaders and thinkers. Although our school in Kololo is fully funded, they still need funds to keep all of their current programs strong. Tesfa  Ethiopia Reads, and The Fregenet Foundation are my ideas, here are some of my wise friends' ideas:

Mudula water is a network of adoptive families, supporters and the non-profit organization Children's Home Society and Family Services. It's goal is to  develop a gravity water scheme for Mudula, a town or "kebele" of 10,000 people in Southern Ethiopia. A natural spring that pumps 5 liters per second sits in the mountains, 2000 feet about the kebele, waiting to be tapped. Mudula Water will harness that natural spring, and feed to the people below. The impact on the Mudula society and surrounding areas upon completion of the project will be quick and significant. Positive effects of the project will include sustainability, feasibility and community driven involvement within the society, leading to a stronger sense of local responsibility. Vital health and hygiene education, as well as technical training will also be provided to the community. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this project will not only give people clean water, it will relieve the burden of women and children who spend hours every day, sometimes multiple times every day, fetching water.  They will have time to run small businesses, to do household chores, to tend to their farms and to get an education.

Mudula is located in the drought zone of East Africa and is in dire need of water. This project is crucial now more than ever. This is a grassroots fundraising effort and we are continuously looking for support.   We cannot do this without you. For more information please visit www.mudulawater.org or visit https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorreg/donorpledge.asp?ievent=469401&supID=331974821 to donate to our wonderful relay team, the Mudula Mamas, who are racing in the Janus Charity Challenge to raise money for our cause!   Together we can deliver potable water to over 10,000 people, keep girls in school, improve sanitation, and end the cycle of poverty.

Molly, who adopted a girl from Mudula, which in the Southwest region of Ethiopia, started a non-profit called Hope by Twelve . They have several projects their girlpods are raising money for, but one in particular is in dire need of help. The Mudula Water project is a gravity flow water system that will deliver clean water to the rural village of Mudula (Molly’s daughter’s home village and where her daughter’s family is still located) and surrounding villages.  With the current drought in the Horn of Africa, it is now more vital than ever that they quickly raise the money necessary to build the water project.What is a girlpod? A girlpod is girls helping girls. It’s a simple solution. But it has the power to change the world. And it’s easier than you might think.

If you are interested in getting involved with Hope by Twelve,  if you know any girls or boys that might be interested in helping raise funds with Hope by Twelve, or you and your kids want to start a girlpod (boys are welcome too!) in your area, email Molly at molly@hopebytwelve.org.

You can find them at:
Hopebytwelve.org
facebook.com/hopebytwelve 

Sarah Lensen has started, Ask5for5 :


I began pursuing a BIG dream two weeks ago. After deciding I could no longer avoid the news about the famine in the horn of Africa, I had that gut feeling that I couldn't sit this one out. I HAD to do something because I could. Something bigger than I could do alone. That's when #Ask5for5 was born.

Two of my children, Ashen and Bereket, were adopted and are from the region affected by the drought in Ethiopia. They would be two of the statistics if they still lived there. I see my son’s and daughter’s faces in the photos of those suffering in the refugee camps. It could have been him. It could have been her. The thought haunts me. And moms just like us are watching their children go hungry day after day. I can't imagine what it's like, but I have to –I have to be there to help them, because it could have been my children. These families have lost their livestock, their crops, food prices are inflated at the market if there any food there, and don’t have any more lifelines to tap into. Many are traveling hundreds of miles through parched land in hope of finding help. Many are dying along the way. It is estimated that 29,000 children have died in the last 90 days in the famine in Somalia alone.

But I KNOW we can do something about it. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed, we can rally ourselves and our friends to respond! I set up a fundraiser through See Your Impact. 100% of your gift will go to the relief and development organization World Vision, where it will be combined with government grants to multiply up to 5 times in impact!
  It's so so simple; here's what you need to do:

1. Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)
2. Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.
3. Share Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter, and join our page to stay updated too! 
4.  

My dear friend Meghan is working with Doctors Without Borders again. Read this post. And donate HERE. She is also working on funding grain stations in Hadero. Leave a comment on her blog or mine if you'd like more information about that opportunity.

Please feel free to add your own ideas in the comments.

In the morning I will make Meazi and Melese their favorite breakfast, Trader Joe's whole wheat Farina. We'll add two cups of whole milk, and gobs and gobs of our home brewed honey. Meazi will say, "Mmmm, mom my belly feels sooooooo warm." Melese will spill his on his lap, and we will get him another bowl. Maybe we won't be thinking about their brothers and sisters at that exact moment...
maybe we will.

Eyes of my eyes Giveaway! This is your feet on drugs...

Some of you may know that I had asked Mary Louise Parker to host our Fundraiser. I bombarded her with incessant requests sent her an e-mail. Unfortunately she was in NY on April 17th, and everyone was stuck with me as the host. Mary Louise is the beautiful and talented star of the show Weeds. She has a daughter from Ethiopia, and does a lot of work for WWO, Jane Aronson's charity.

Converse has designed a special shoe for Mary Louise, a Weeds shoe. Mary Louise has donated these shoes to me. I want to give them to you. I would have listed them in the online auction if I had had them by then, but I didn't. I know that the majority of the readers of this blog have already donated to the school and library in Ethiopia, and I don't want to ask for donations, or raffle tickets, or anything like that again. I want someone to win them. Someone with biggish feet. They are a men's size 8 or a woman's size 10. They are signed by Mary Louise and have a cool Weeds season 7 logo on the heel. Even if they are not your size, they are cool and you could give them as a gift like she did, and like I'm about to.

 You don't need to have made a donation to the school or library to win. You just have to leave a comment. Season 7 airs on Monday night, I will pick a winner by random integer generator, or whatever that thing is, at 4:20 pm Monday. I will announce the winner on Tuesday morning. If you want more chances to win post on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc, and leave another comment saying that you did. (Isn't that what people do? Seems like a good idea I guess? Maybe MLP will see the contest and know how grateful I am and sign right up for hosting a future fundraiser? Yes please.)

Good luck! Just say yes to drugs! Er, I mean SHOES!

*If you feel too guilty about being in the running for cool shoes without having made a donation for the school you can always go here or here and enter guilt free. :)

Good Luck!

Haves and Have Nots....

The beauty about a new project, about a first time collaboration, is that the people involved can have a say in how thing go. We are working out the details for the sponsorship program for the school in Meazi and Melese's village. I would like your input.

After the event in April, I met with the president of The Fregenet Foundation . Tafesse told me all about his wonderful school, and asked me if I knew any adoptive parents who might want to help him keep the school going strong. He really does have an incredible foundation, and he could use a family or two to become his school's cheerleaders. In an incredible, full-circle, crazy, kind of coincidence, Tafesse's dreams of a school came after the death of his only child- Leeza. Leeza was Dana Roskey's (of the Tesfa Foundation) fiancee. The grief following this young woman's death has spurred ripples of goodness and hope for thousands of Ethiopians.

Tafesse has run his school for many years and had some very wise words of advice. He told me that individual sponsorships had proved disastrous in his school. Those who were sponsored received visitors, sometimes new uniforms, letters, etc, and those that weren't did not. It was upsetting to students and parents alike. His school is a little different than ours will be (Fregenet is in Addis Ababa), but I can't help but think that we should consider being a unified group of sponsors. Yes, it is fantastic to get assigned a specific child and to see that picture and to make that connection, but really that is a gift for the sponsor not the sponsored. If all of you who pledged to take on a student agree, I think we should form a group and not count on having our own personal student.

Sponsorship for the Kololo school is $21 a month, or $252 a year. 

Thoughts? Concerns? Who is in our group? Who wants to help a city school?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

A Book in Their Hands

Dear Kololo Cuties,

Did you know that not only do you have family in Los Angeles, but you have family all over the country? If family are the people who love you the most, want the best for you, and would do anything to make your life better, then you have family in Maine, South Carolina, Upstate, Tenne ssee, further Upstate, Massachusetts, Washington, New York,  Georgia, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin, and pretty much every other state in the US, and in Canada, France, and the UK.

I wish you could have been there. People were talking about you all night; what you need, how they could help you. Ordinary extraordinary people. Mothers, fathers, readers, writers, artists, and educators.

Your school and library are fully funded, well beyond kindergarten. Tesfa and Ethiopia Reads will break ground in your village as soon as it stops raining, most likely in October.

Get some rest. You are going to need to be at your best to absorb all the new and wondrous things you'll see. Dust off your small hands, you're about to hold your first book.

Don't worry, I'll thank your family for you. It will be my pleasure.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally-Kris Persson.

 Kris Persson has contributed the above photos for our auction on Sunday. I think they are incredibly moving.

Kris traveled with Amy when she met little LT.

LT loves her Uncle Kris.

We love him too.

Thank you Kris, for these absolutely beautiful  shots.

See you Sunday.

 

Online Auction Starts Tuesday on Facebook!

Here is the Facebook link. This auction is to coincide with our event in Venice on April 17th. It will last for one week. Not every event participant wanted their work online, so I am offering as much as I can. Here are the rules: Pieces will be posted one by one with their descriptions, comments are bids. Please bid in at least 10% increments. Last highest bid on 4-19, 8:00 pm PST, wins. Bidder/buyer agrees to pay for shipping costs. All sales final. Payment can be a check to me, or possibly, (If I can figure it out) the Paypal on the Eyes of My Eyes Shop blog. Based on your preference the money will be donated to Tesfa for the Kambata school OR can be used to become a sponsor of a Kololo cutie for their second school year. Sponsorship is $252 a year. (Obviously bid would have to be that amount or higher). I will start posting items now, but bidding is not open until 4-12 at 6:00 am. Thanks for your continuing support for this exciting project. I will be adding more items as I get them!

Woo Hoo!

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Her Personally- Heather Cox

My dear friend Heather Cox has donated this print for the event.

She is another one of our friends who just happens to be an amazing photographer.

Imagine how lucky I felt when we met Heather and Chris, and discovered that they live around the corner.

Heather is a wonderful friend, caring, kind, and generous. She is a great mom to her two girls.

 She has M&m's too.

Thanks Heather, for this beautiful print, and for so many other things. We love you!