A day out at Entoto

On Saturday most of the YFC staff went for an outing to

Entoto. Yeti and Mesi came for me at 8am. We headed off down the hill and around a couple of corners to catch our first taxi (minibus) for the day and to meet Mena. This day included a LOT of walking. Next was another taxi and then another taxi and then another taxi, each one climbing higher than the last until we reached the place where we had arranged to meet the others: Mekwanent, Amen, Alex, Desta, Guday and three little ones.

Here we began our real walking

with stops along the way when necessary for a rest or a photo opportunity.

With rolling green hills and many eucalyptus trees this reminded me of many parts of the countryside in Victoria, apart from the VERY different houses.  Here is some interesting info about Eucalyptus in Ethiopia

We passed many donkeys carrying firewood down to the town below. Here they really are 'beasts of burden'

 

To quote some of the above link: "Also fallen branches and leaves are gathered up, mostly by women, and are carried down the mountain for sale to vendors and families. This is literally back breaking work for minimal pay although it does provide some income for these women." This is SERIOUSLY hard work.

 When we arrived at St Raguel Ethiopian Orthodox Church higher up the mountain we spent some time wandering around and taking photos, mostly of our group.

Next stop lunch. As we approached the restaurant I couldn't see it coming,

nor did I recognise it when we entered the gate. It was different from what I had expected. The restaurant was called 'Two Brothers' and we met both of them.

The first was cutting our meat for purchase and in preparation for cooking,

and the second was working away in the middle shed 

 cooking our lunch.

(I did wonder if these were future meals!)

As we would be eating with our hands it's always important to wash them before we eat.

Ethiopians almost always eat with their fingers and so we did. After all, I am part Ethiopian now!

 Deborah and Kalkedan entertained us with their dancing before our meal

and Emmanuel and Kalkedan played happily with bottle tops on the ground. Children are so easily entertained.

We all enjoyed 

 being together

in this very rural

and relaxed setting.

Then it was time for home,

so we set off down the BIG hill

as the skies turned grey

and we arrived at Alex's house just after the rain started to pour. After the downpour we all headed home our separate ways after a really enjoyable, memorable and VERY tiring day together.

Farewell YFC Ethiopia

So it's almost time to say Goodbye to my new friends/colleagues/family in YFC Ethiopia.

 

On Tuesday the team celebrated both my time here

 and Desta's graduation as an accountant.

There were many words of affirmation

spoken to us both and gifts given. It was a very special time together and we all recognised God's good gifts to each of us.

 On Wednesday it was my turn to say my goodbyes and give small Aussie gifts to each person. Some weeks ago I baked some Anzacs and they all loved them and so I decided that it would be a popular move to bake some more as part of my gift to the team.

 First of all each of my English students received a Certificate of Participation. They were SO excited.

 and then it was time for gift-giving. I had invited a few people, other than staff, who have been significant to me over my time here as well.

Each person seemed to be pleased

 with the gift and card received

and finally the Australian flag for everyone to share. This included a lesson on the flag, of course.

It's always such a challenge to bring gifts with an Aussie flavour when one has no idea how many on the staff,  whether they are male or female and if there will be 'other people' I will connect with during my stay and want to give a gift to at the end.

I am thankful that God knows ahead of time and there have always been suitable gifts for everyone.

And so I have three more sleeps until I fly back to Australia on Monday afternoon. Not sure if I will blog again or not. Let's wait and see.

English classes

One of the things I have spent some of my time doing whilst working with YFC in Ethiopia is giving English lessons to some of the staff. English is my mother tongue, I was trained as a teacher and have done training to Teach English as a Second Language - TESL (in Thailand in 2012). This doesn't mean that I love it. In fact, I find lesson preparation quite stressful and certainly time-consuming, BUT I really enjoy the time with my students. They seem to enjoy it too and I do believe they are learning new things to strengthen their ability in English and so it has been quite rewarding.

In our first lesson we talked about the things we liked and disliked, hence the random items on the desk.

I dislike phones being used in class and so we agreed that phones were to be put aside during class, but here Yeti was using her phone to show that she likes listening to music on her phone.

Desta told us that she likes eating cakes from Enrico 

and so the next lesson was a walk to Enrico cake shop to enjoy cake together chatting, in English, as we walked. SO GOOD.

 My students are very conscientious

and always actively involved

in whatever the lesson is for the day

 

Everyone seems to enjoy themselves and we have some fun times together.

I teach Tazeb in a class of his own and often it's outside because he is the guard and must keep an eye on the comings and goings of the compound.

Sometimes Tazeb needs help with things other than English 

and enjoyed the bonus of a visiting Canadian student teacher.

Tazeb is a regular nice guy and although we can't really have a proper conversation, we have a good time together.
English teaching may not be my favourite activity, but spending regular time with the students is certainly one of my favourite things to do .

Return to Uganda

There were two main reasons for my return to Uganda this year. They were to catch up with the staff I had spent such quality time with last year and to visit the YFC Young Leaders who are sponsored by Australians for tertiary courses.

I stayed with Miriam, the National Director of YFC in Uganda. She's a great host and here she was ready to head off to a wedding of one of the YFC Board members. Beautiful yes?

I caught up with most of the YFC staff, (but didn't get to photograph many of them)

and also with Lynn whom I had spent every Tuesday with last year when she was doing her internship with YFC. She's gone wonderfully crazy with knitting and crochet since I was there. We share a passion for crafting and for Christian fiction and talked about those and many other things. It was good to connect again.

I was able to welcome a new little bundle (hardly recognisable as a baby in this photo (!)

and cuddle and take photos

 before he went home with his mum and grandmother.

It was great to catch up

with the young people

who are sponsored

to do tertiary studies

through the generosity

of Australians.

A huge thank you to each of you from these young people who all recognise that without your assistance they would not be working towards their dreams right now.

There were some lovely invitations to lunch with members of staff and their families

here at Mary's home in a beautiful garden 

and outside in the shade when the house got too hot after lunch at Luke and Nora's home.

At church on Sunday I was the only white person in the congregation and the bishop spotted me from behind as he entered the church. He called me up front to welcome me and ask a few questions - including why Australia has a separate territory for its capital! He then continued to include me a number of times in the 4+ hour service. As the Sunday School children left the church, the leader asked if I would share something with the children. This is Africa and so not unexpected. One must always be prepared to share at a moment's notice. So off I went to speak with them for a little while and pray for them before returning to the church service.

My time in Uganda was special for reconnecting with dear friends and keeping in touch with what's new in their lives and the YFC ministry. It was a time of mutual encouragement and joy.
Ugandans are very frequently saying: "Welcome back". I sure felt that welcome.