Haribu Chulele, Ethiopia. I can’t say it properly, I have no idea where it is on a map, but what I do know is that it must be the happiest place on earth.
This month we are working for a Christian organization by the name of HopeEthiopia. If you have heard of Compassion International, it is a very similar concept. People from North America sponsor children and families to receive education, healthcare, and homes.
We live on a compound of about 20 acres in the middle of the valley. 5 houses on the property are homes for the orphans, we live in the volunteer house and there is also a building for the kitchen. HopeEthiopia wants to bring wholistic impact to the community of Haribu Chulele so in addition to orphan care they bring in woman from the community who have no home to be housemothers for the orphans, they have a brick yard where locals work to create bricks for building projects, an apple orchard where trees are grown and given to neighborhood families, several plots of land for gardening, chicken coops for fresh eggs, beehives for fresh honey, grass that is grown tall every year to feed all the ox in the area which then feed families for months, a well that provides clean water for the whole village, and watering troughs so that local shepherds and cattle herders no longer have to walk 14km a day to the closest river. In addition to the ongoing projects within the compound, the organization is working on improving deforestation efforts surrounding the village, protecting wildlife, improving irrigation, educating locals on sustainable farming, and are in the process of building a home and school for people with disabilities.
So if this isn’t already one of the most beautiful things you have ever heard, let me tell you about my experience here thus far.
Written: Jan 15th, 2018
As we departed Addis Ababa on narrow road headed south toward the small village of Haribu Chulele, the van bounced along the potholes and dodged the donkeys, churning up swirls of dust as the road turned to dirt. Only a few miles out of Addis we began to see stretches of African plains for miles in all directions. It was The Lion King in real life. The sun was a perfect circle high in the sky, the thin sparse trees decorated the rolling hills and the air was warm, dry and welcoming. Every so often we would pass by small villages with buildings made of mud and straw roofs. We would come across the occasional well and see the gathering of tribal locals and their livestock, or the pasture with small children holding long sticks, looking after flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.
We arrived at the compound just as the perfect yellow circle of sun was setting along the vast horizon painting the sky with most glorious hues of red and gold. 30 beautiful children greeted us waving and chanting, in an African accent “welcome, welcome, welcome”. Little did I know that in a few short days these children would completely capture my heart.
In Ethiopia, adoption is illegal for fear of Western ideas overtaking the government, so these children consider the compound their permanent home and we are their lucky guests.
Each day I spend here I am overwhelmed by the fact that I was chosen to be part of this story. I have a new theory that when places in the world have “less”, physically speaking, the Lord just generously showers on them so much more natural beauty. I can’t even capture in a photo, not to mention in words what the sunrises and sunsets look like here. Every morning the sun jumps up over the mountains in hues of pink, purple, and yellow, illuminating the rolling plains of farmland as far as the eye can see. Then in the evening just as the crisp, cool winds start to roll in the sun turns into a perfect red circle, painting the sky in gold, red, orange and finally dark purple, just before dropping behind the earth as if being swallowed whole.
And don’t even get me started on the stars.
Outside of the compound the village homes are mostly made of mud and straw and do not have electricity. Our compound loses power quite often, and it is a lucky day when the water doesn’t run out, but generally speaking the orphans and housemothers are beyond blessed with much more luxury then those families on the other side of the fence. The closest access to Internet or a supermarket is a $200, 3-hour ride back to Addis so safe to say, we are living the real African experience this month and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
While the children are in school in the morning we do tasks around the compound such as cutting grass to feed the ox, making bricks for the new building that will be a school for the disabled, watering the gardens and orchards and helping the house moms prepare the daily ingira. We cut the long wiry grass with small sickles, which is quite the humbling experience. Our friend Monge who works to manage the compound had never once heard of a lawnmower when we asked him! Also I now know how to make a clay brick from start to finish, by hand, if anyone is interested.
Many afternoons we have what is called “Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony” with the housemothers. We drink the mouthwatering coffee that is grinded by hand each day and roasted over a tiny fire, from tiny porcelain cups, and laugh as they try to teach us the local language Oromo and we teach them English.
We run around outside with the kids playing soccer, tag, picking wild flowers, laughing and giving lots of hugs until the sun sets.
Many evenings we invite all the kids into the volunteer home, heap pillows and blankets all over the concrete floor, pile onto the couches grabbing 2 or 3 kids to snuggle, and have movie nights. We make popcorn and sugar cookies and project the movies onto the wall. We watch the classics such as Prince of Egypt, and Madagascar, knowing that we will be hearing a chorus of “I like to Move It Move It” for the next week.
On weekends we plan celebrations, field days and scavenger hunts and many times I think we have just as much fun as the kids, if not more.
The weekly visits to the village marketplace are a flurry of chaos, bartering, dodging livestock, and curious people who are shocked by our white skin. By the end of a market trip we often have gathered a small crowd of locals following us from stand to stand.
We have quickly learned how to cook from scratch taking advantage of having our own kitchen, as 6 months of eating rice is losing its thrill. I have found it is incredible how much quicker I am learning to cook when I can’t rely on Google for all the answers.
On Sundays we go to a local church that never fails to amaze me. It is so evident how much more radical and intense faith is when it is truly all that you have. It’s not often for the service to last over 3 hours and the blood really gets pumping as a result of all the dancing, clapping, worshipping, singing and occasional screaming that is going on.
At no point of any day will you catch someone checking their email, or scrolling through Instagram and that is my favorite blessing of the African Bush. We listen share and laugh without distractions and learn how to be content living on less than $1 a day.
We learn that in many ways this month is a rare and special gift from above offering more peace and contentment than we knew was available.
Of course there is the obvious hardships. We see and know many families living in unimaginable poverty, we hear heartbreaking stories of loss and injustice, and we experience animosity from the local Muslim community that is not pleased about the presence of a Christian organization.
But we are leaning that if you want to even to make change you have to start somewhere. This world needs more people to understand that it’s more than okay to start small. To realize that impacting just one life is better than impacting no one.
Where would we be if everyone said, “Well if I can’t save a whole country, or city, or even a whole community from poverty I might as well help no one at all.”
HopeEthiopia is teaching me how we are all more than equipped to give hope, and deeply impact lives no matter how big or small… ESPECIALLY when you let the Lord handle what seems too big to tackle.
Haribu Chulele is teaching me how it feels to be content. How the things that our Western world tells us we need only distract and subtract from the contentment we were created to feel.
And Africa is teaching me how big, beautiful and glorious our God truly is.
