Well, this morning the temperature was 5 degrees in Madison when
we left for our Sunday routine at our favorite coffee shop: good tea, good
coffee, and the New York Times. That is 75 or 80 degrees colder than the
weather we enjoyed during our family vacation in Florida a couple of weeks ago.
However precious was the time with our family in Florida, we
currently are not looking backward, but forward to our travels and volunteer
work in Ethiopia. We depart for Ethiopia
next week.
During our first week there, we will travel with a guide to southern
Ethiopia, the Lower Omo Valley, passing through the cities of Awasa and Arba
Minch. It’s an area bordered by verdant mountains and two of Ethiopia’s largest
Rift Valley lakes and it is home to some of Africa’s most fascinating ethnic
groups. We’ll travel through this hot, dry region to learn about and meet with
groups that have kept their ancient traditions for centuries, if not millennia.
The major part of our stay in Ethiopia, which will follow
our travels in the Lower Omo Valley, will involve teaching English for four
weeks in Addis Ababa. We eagerly await our specific assignment which we expect
to receive this week.
Another exciting part of our adventure in Ethiopia, after
teaching English in Addis Ababa, will be volunteering for two weeks in the city
of Gonder. Through Meketa, a UK-based charity that supports the Jewish
community in Gonder, we will likely tutor some of the older children in the
After School Club that Meketa supports. You can learn more about the
educational programs and the various initiatives that focus on vocational
assistance to the Jewish community in Gonder on Meketa’s website: http://www.meketa.org.uk/ and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeketaUK
