Cycle 5 Travelogue: A week at Hope for Korah!

Ethiopia, Day 1 (June 21st)

We’ve arrived in Ethiopia to visit our amazing Cycle 5 to Survive charity partner, Hope for Korah! Learn more here about how the Hope for Korah team is working to break the cycle of extreme poverty for the most vulnerable children and families living in Korah.

• Arrived in Addis Ababa at 10:30pm. Landed and got picked up by a van right at the bottom of the stairs while everybody else boarded the bus.
• Got us to the front of the line, but then we had to fill out a declaration form which we didn’t have done. So we ended up at the end of the line. Then a guy just said don’t worry about it just go.
• Finally made it to get our bags and were on our way out through security and we saw Eve and Seanna from Hope for Korah waiting for us.
• Ready to put our bags through the scanner when he asked whether we were staying or going. Said we were staying, so then he sent us to another line.
• Long line, with not enough people so we waited. Lots of budging, but we made it to the scanner.
• Went through the scanner, but then they said we had to come back. Turns out you’re not allowed to bring binoculars into the country because of the political unrest. They assume you will be spying!
• Had to leave them at the airport, with a photograph of a number written on a piece of paper that would allow us to pick them up before we leave.
• Finally made it out and after a few pictures were in the van heading to our hotel. The whole process probably took us an hour and a half.
• Settled into our hotel for the night.

 

Ethiopia, Day 2: Hope for Korah!

• Up early for breakfast and then off to the main office. We were given a tour and introduced to everyone: finance, counseling, medical, elders, baskets, everyone.
• Got to watch and met all the basket weavers. These women were so much fun.
• Had our coffee ceremony and then we were off to the daycare, and then off to the Youth Empowerment Center…our focus here at HFK.
• Saw our amazing sign being painted for the festival later in the week.
• Able to check out the different rooms and activities being offered. The kids were A LOT of fun and were so curious as to who we were.
• Then off to dinner for Italian. Dinners have been late but the days have been full and we are loving it.
• Late to bed

   

Ethiopia, Day 3

• Up early and off to the Berta breakfast program. Spent a few hours giving out the Berta pancakes and the tea and milk.
• Then we were back at the hotel for breakfast.
• After that we had our basket weaving class with the women. It was so fun…PL had the women laughing which made us laugh. We each walked out with a little coaster.
• Then we did a home visit with Wobetu and his sister Lamrot.
• Then we were off to watch the boys play soccer. It was a great game and we had a lot of fun cheering from the sidelines.
• Then we went for burgers which were great. Another late night as we watched a bit of FIFA in the lobby.

Ethiopia, Day 4

• A slower morning for us before we went over to the compound to hang out with our weaving ladies before we went on some home visits.
• PL has had a lot of fun with these ladies, and today it was measuring his feet against one of the basket weavers. We used the word “Gammash” which means half as that was about the size of her foot compared to his!
• They got Pamoja Safari shirts made for us, so we were able to wear those for the rest of the day, which was pretty cool.
• We then went to visit Werke & Meron for a home visit. We used to sponsor them so it was great to see where they were living and how Meron was doing.
• She’s fully able to take care of herself and walking and eating on her own, which is pretty spectacular.
• After that, we went to visit Tewatchew, Ereyus and Hulabanchi. We’ve been sponsoring him to finish his schooling.
• We had great discussions on what their dreams were and how we could support them in that. We gave them homework to write their dreams down and bring them to us at the dinner tomorrow night.
• After that, we were invited to the Hilton to watch the Canada / Switzerland World Cup game with the ambassadors from both countries. It was pretty cool to walk in with a Canada flag and see everybody in red and white for both teams. We were able to have snacks and a beer and sit upfront to watch on the big screen.
• We met Johannes and his wife, from Abbotsford, who are doing soccer ministries here in Ethiopia. He has connections with Coach Pohl and Coach Rob from back home so it was fun to reminisce.
• Game was at 10pm, so it was a late night, but it was a lot of fun with some great connections.
• Back to the hotel after a tough loss (2 to 1) to the Swiss team.

Ethiopia, Day 5

• Slept in again until 930, and found PL had already gone down for breakfast with everybody.
• Got ready and made our way over to the compound.
• Spent the morning putting the bikes together (they arrived!) and going through our packing.
• Went to the office and spent time with the women weaving baskets. Had lunch and then waited to head to the Youth Empowerment Center for the festival.
• Zeke, A local TV celebrity / podcasterwho is very wellknown in the country was in the office as he is going to be our announcer for Sunday’s event. We spent a long time talking about us, Hope for Korah, and what he is going to be doing.
• Took the van over to the center and entered into over 300 kids sitting and waiting for the festival to begin. Their eyes when they saw Zeke walk in was priceless. They were starstruck!
• We were able to watch some drama performances created by Workesew that brought tears to her eyes. They were very real life scenarios of being a mother who couldn’t support her children, and then children on the garbage dump, finding food, eating it and becoming very sick. It was incredible and we felt like proud parents.
• We then proceeded to each of the classrooms to see all of the programs being delivered, from the Library to Music to IT to Boys and Girls Clubs to Art. It was incredibly fulfilling to see the fruits of our initiative. Again, the staff and leaders there are incredible.
• Back to the hotel for a birthday celebration for Hulabanchi and dinner with Wobetu & Tewatchew and their sisters. Had a great dinner, with some cake and then said our goodbyes and went to bed.

Ethiopia, Day 6

• Nothing planned for today, so we went for breakfast around 8:30 AM. Dave met us and we had some good chats about HFK and future goals, etc.
• A lady overheard us talking and came over and told us that HFK was the most incredible charity. She worked with a teaching program and works with HFK. She now lives here in Ethiopia. It was cool to get such a strong endorsement.
• Grabbed our bikes and went across the street to get air filled into the tires. A spin up and down the block a few times just to make sure everything was working.
• PL to a meeting with the media crew to try to negotiate a better price.
• I went to the lobby to watch the FIFA games, to read, and to catch up on my travel blogging.
• Met up with everyone and went to have lunch at the IG.
• Saw a few goats tired to the fence…found out they are lunch for tomorrow 😏 Then had a meeting about the Father’s Day celebration tomorrow. Should be exciting.
• Went to visit Workesew and his family. Weree able to watch him get a phone and camera equipment so he can make films. It was beautiful.
• Back to the hotel until dinner. Met Sammy the manager of the Elgel and he introduced us to a few connections. One is in Kenya and he called us already to connect.
• Off to dinner in the van which was fun as we had a tough time finding it. The driving rules are fun…as they’re aren’t many…lol.
• We were able to eat at a cultural Ethiopian restaurant where we were treated to singing and dancing while we ate authentic Ethiopian cuisine with Eve and Dave.
• Back to the hotel to watch a little bit of FIFA and then to bed.

Ethiopia, Day 7

• Down for breakfast at 8:45 AM so we could head to the IG for the Father’s Day celebration starting at 9:30 AM.
• Arrived at the compound to a group of fathers who have been waiting. Had the chance to watch them play games, try to learn each other‘s names, and then Dave and PL got to share.
• Then we had an amazing feast of fresh lamb that had been cooking all day, and then the fathers were able to reflect on what was said and share what they took away from the talk.
• Each father left with a Canada cap, a new shirt, and a Cycle 5 Pamoja Safari T-shirt .
• Finally made it to the girls soccer practice! There’s probably 40 girls here, some with cleats but most without. It’s a dirt field with rocks but there’s a lot of coaches and people that care.
• Had fun watching the warm-up (it’s almost like a synchronized dance so it’s a lot more fun than what our kids are probably doing).
• Spent a few hours watching them do drills and then scrimmage in the pouring rain. Mel and I were both pretty chilly, but it was pretty awesome.
• Back to the hotel and then chilled out until dinner. Ate with Mel and Dave while Eve was busy setting up for the event tomorrow.
• Had some incredible chats, sharing testimonies and just talking about Hope for Korah and some of our ideas. Eve joined us near the end for a quick bite to eat, and then we were off to bed.

Ethiopia, Day 8

• Up at 6:15 to have breakfast to get ready to head to the morning events at 7:30.
• Found out Mel had been sick all night so she wasn’t going to be able to join us.
• We rode to the start and spent a couple of hours there hanging out with kids and then up on stage during the introductions.
• It was great as the elders were praying and sharing a blessing for us for the ride and for their community.
• We were given two blankets “Gabis” which are normally only given to those in a respectful position, so we felt very honored.
• Then off we went at 9:30 AM! The course was basically uphill the whole way, and quite a few kids had to walk the first and second hill as they didn’t have the gearing, or the bikes were really worn so they weren’t shifting properly.
• PL rode with a couple of young cyclists from the Cycling Association who were pretty keen to chat all things Tour de France and racing.
• I found one of the girls and rode with her. We had to stop to put air in her tires, and then we caught up to her sister and her friend up ahead.
• I must admit I was out of breath on that last climb. I was happy it was only 10 km instead of 15 km… lol!
• Hung around at the bottom of the stairs and took pictures and chatted with some of the cyclists. Then we brought our bikes upstairs to the top and put them by the front stage.
• We then had tea, some food, and the program began.
• It was a great celebration of Hope for Korah and we were able to share about our ride and why we believe so strongly in the Youth Empowerment Program.
• Took some more photos and PL was able to do an interview with the local radio station which was pretty cool.
• Had a lot of people thank us for what we’re doing so we felt pretty special.
• Wanted to ride back so we followed one of the trucks that was carrying equipment back to the compound. (That was probably the most fun of our day as we were mostly going downhill, but able to follow this truck and weave in and out of traffic as necessary.)
• Started to rain so we had a few good muddy streaks up our backs!
• Quick showers and then we were downstairs to celebrate with the staff with traditional Ethiopian food.
• Back in our rooms at 5:30 to rest and then met Dave and Eve in the lobby bar for a glass of wine and some guacamole. Had some more great discussions about life in general and HFK.
• Back up to our room to watch the Canada / South Africa game. Worth staying up late as Canada scored an extra time to advance to the round of 16!

Ethiopia, Day 9

• Up around 8 to head to breakfast for 8:30 AM. PL said his stomach felt a bit queasy and he had a bit of the runs. Hopefully that turns out to be nothing!
• Dropped off a small load of laundry as we fly out tomorrow.
• Had breakfast with Mel as she’s feeling better while the boys had a breakfast meeting with Jonas.
• Mel and I walked around to Sabahar (handmade Ethiopian textiles) to check out some of the scarves/blankets that they have for sale. Had a fun time shopping grabbing some personal items and some gifts for the girls.
• Back to Elgel for a vision meeting with Sosena, Dave & Eve, and then off to the office for lunch and to prep for the podcast with Zeke.
• There was quite a bit of traffic so there was a delay in starting the podcast. By the time we were finished, it was 4 o’clock.
• I hustled into town to the stadium area to buy some jerseys with Sosena’s son. Then we were back to the office to get ready to head back to the hotel.
• Wobetu and Wakasa stopped by to read us the letter that they wrote and to say goodbye. We had a great meeting and it was so nice to share one last visit with them.
• Quick stop at the hotel and then off to Sosena’s house for family dinner to send us off. We had dinner with her and her husband and their kids and Abby from the office. Therese was also there so it was one big family dinner.
• Had some great chats, sang some worship songs and then they prayed over us before we took one big group picture and said goodbye.
• Back to the hotel to pack up our bikes, all our baskets and things we bought, and our gear.
• Got to watch the Japan – Brazil game while we packed. Then had showers and a quick chat with Marijke.
• In bed at 12:30 AM.