6-20-09
This past week has been very busy for me. On Monday, I went back to the African Services Committee to find that there was little work for me to do once again. After coming home Monday night a little disappointed about the work day, I talked to my program managers to find a solution to my problems I was having with my placement. The program managers and I decided that the best thing for me would be to switch placements. There was a placement at SIM (Services of the International Missionaries) that Cherokee needed a volunteer at badly because the volunteer that was supposed to be there backed out and did not come to Ethiopia. SIM is an organization that works with HIV/AIDS positive patients of all ages and gives them support as well as treatment. We figured the best thing for me to do would be to go work at SIM. However, to not harm the relationship that Cherokee built with African Services, it was my task to talk to the director at ASC and tell her I was leaving in a professional manner. I called the director up on Tuesday morning and asked her if I could meet with her to discuss some things. I met her a couple hours later and explained to her that the placement was not working out for me. I explained that I was not really doing anything every day I came to work. The outreach workers that I was supposed to be working with hardly did much work throughout the day, and it was hard for me not working directly with a director or head decision maker in the organization. I also related to her that I needed to fulfill specific requirements for my minor, and that I just was not meeting those requirements at ASC. The director fully understood my situation and said that there were no hard feelings. I felt great about the conversation and how well that meeting went. After that meeting I went over to the SIM compound in Bole to hang out there for the rest of the day. I met my friend Danny who is Ethiopian and works for SIM. I had previously met Danny my first week in Addis when I spent some time with SIM. I was surprised that Danny called me “Wojo” and remembered my nickname that I shared with him a couple weeks ago. Now, just about everyone that I work with on the SIM staff calls me Wojo. It’s great because they pronounce it with an Ethiopian accent and it makes me laugh. The other day one of the members on the SIM staff said he loves the way I am always smiling. That made me feel pretty good. Anyways, when I was at the Bole SIM compound on Tuesday, there was a team visiting from Dallas, TX. One of the ladies’ support groups was having a coffee ceremony for the team and I was invited to participate. It was my first coffee ceremony while I was here in Addis, and it was a great experience. A traditional coffee ceremony in Ethiopia involves making the coffee from scratch. The cook the coffee beans, grind them down, boil the water, and make the coffee right there in front of you. I already felt like I was in a good place when they had a coffee ceremony for me on the first day that I was working with SIM. On Wednesday, JT (my program manager) and I went to meet with the head director of SIM, Andy. He told us a little about their needs this rainy season and we got to meet with another manager, Teddy, who would have the say on my role within the organization. SIM is in desperate need of someone to work with the boys groups this rainy season. All the kids just got out of school and need a place to go to stay out of trouble and continue their learning throughout the rainy season. There is no really set program for the kids this rainy season, so part of my job will be to develop a schedule for the kids for a couple months. On Thursday when I came into the SIM office, I sat down with Tsegaye, the man in charge of the programs at SIM. Tsegaye and I together talked about the needs of the boys’ and girls’ groups and came up with a schedule for the groups this rainy season. My role within this schedule is pretty complex. I will be teaching the kids English, math, environmental science, and sports (had to throw that last one in there) this rainy season. I will be helping out at the Lideta compound on Mondays and Tuesdays. I will be helping out at the Kolfe 06 compound on Wednesdays. I will be at the Kolfe 07 compound on Thursday. (There are two sites in Kolfe that SIM works at, and these two sites are in completely different parts of the city.) And I will be with my friends at the Bole compound on Fridays. So I will be traveling throughout the city every week at different SIM compounds. In addition to teaching and helping out with the boys’ and girls’ groups, I will be helping out with the home visits and the men’s and women’s groups. My schedule is extremely packed with SIM and it will be great to fill this need that they have. Another project that I am working on (mostly on weekends and Tuesday mornings) is a project to help organize a plan to improve the income of a company that works with the deaf and the blind. This company has a huge compound where the deaf and blind employees work to make items such as mops, brooms, mats, rugs, cement blocks, and other useful household items. Most of the woodwork machines that these employees use are very old. There is a big building that can be renovated into an auditorium that can be used for weddings, meetings, and other functions. There is also an abundance of land on the compound that can be used to plant crops, raise livestock, and for other income generating purposes. Another volunteer and I took on the responsibility of helping the director of this company improve the income generation by coming up with new ideas and opportunities to make money. Just at first glance, there seems to be overwhelming opportunity to reinvent the compound and the image of the company. I look forward to working on this project as well as filling the void that is needed at SIM. This past week has been very busy for me, but earlier today I was able to release some tension by playing basketball with some local foreigngees. Most of the guys were older, and just about all of them were here working with one church or another. One of the guys is actually the preacher at a local church that all the girl volunteers at Cherokee go to. It was great to get some exercise and talk with others who were from the states. We also went salsa dancing again on Thursday night, although my skills are still not up to par. It was still really fun, and we actually sat next to a local boxer who will be fighting Evander Holifield later this year in Ethiopia. It has been a crazy week, and I am looking forward to my upcoming challenges with work. Ciao for now!
