They came to Ethiopia to make a movie. They wanted to promote MCC’s work and to document the musical experience and interactions of a violin guy who plays a wicked fiddle. Leading actors: MCC’s partner MSCFSO based in Debre Markos (MSCFSO stands for a very long string of words which mean “good deeds–Migbare Senay–child and … More Notes on a Gold Star Day
Lying on my camping mat in our grass hut, I woke up to a strange noise: a sloppy, sloshy sound. I squeezed out of the hut–bend over double, one shoulder then the other, one hip then the other. And discovered the source of the sloshing. Asia Hassan Ali, 6, was churning goat milk into butter. … More Our house is a very very very fine house: Day 3 with the Afar Pastoralists
In a land without water, even the simplest things need a second thought. How do you clean the milk container? In the Afar, many things are cleaned and sanitized not by soap and water, but by fire and light. That’s why the milk tastes smoky. The wooden or grass collections bowls are smoked between milkings, … More Got Milk? Camel, goat, sheep, or cow: Day 2 with the Afar Pastoralists
We’re visiting the nomadic pastorialist people in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia. We get to do this because of our partner APDA–Afar Pastorialist Development Association. MCC has supported APDA since 2006 with emergency water provision, goat restocking and feeding, and in the near future emergency veterinary services. APDA was founded by an Australian Christian … More Valerie, Queen of the Desert: Day 1 With the Afar Pastorialists
Quick follow up to a project site we visited in my last blog, Rain, Mud, and Moonshine. The site brings water and sanitation to school children at the Dembola Primary School in West Gojam, North Achefer Woreda. It consists of a 20,000 liter rainwater catchment tank connected to a watering station. When we visited the … More Update–AEID Rainwater Harvesting Project
We just got back from a week out and about visiting projects with the boys. It’s rainy season in Ethiopia, so we thought it a good opportunity to see a watershed rehabilitation project and see if it was indeed, holding the water in place and preventing erosion. This is the Berbenz Watershed near Debre Markos. … More Rain, mud, and moonshine
We did it. It works. It’s on time. It’s cheap. It’s comfy. It’s fun. It’s fast. It’s kind-of hassle free. And it’s up and running just in time to show off a big infrastructure success ahead of next month’s Kenyan elections! Only kind-of hassle free? It’s the ticket part of the trip that’s the catch … More How to take the new Nairobi-Mombasa SGR Train
