My Home in Asko, Ethiopia

So I thought I would take this blog to describe the place that is my
home for the next 3 months. The Mercy Ministry Happy Children’s Home
is in Asko, Ethiopia. This is just a small suburb on the outskirts of
Addis. The neighbourhood where I live has compounds all around, like
apartment buildings and is mostly residential. There is a school next
door that looks like two big apartment buildings and has TONS of kids
running in and out all day.
When you walk through the gates of the MMHCH, there is a small yard.
Sometimes my supervisor, Eyob, parks his car there, but in the absence
of his car it is the space for “play time” for the kids. The size… hmm
well I don’t think our Suburban could fit, or if it could, just
barely. There are clotheslines and a small metal shed to the side,
where the children use the restroom. Straight ahead is the children’s
classroom and sleeping areas. The classroom is small with a few tables
and desks. It has dry erase boards that we desperately try to keep the
kids from writing on with Sharpies. Attached there are two sleeping
rooms, one for boys and one for girls. They are filled with bunk beds
and tiny shelves for their clothes.
If you walk up a few steps, you are in the main hallway. In this part
of the house is where the director and his wife live (although they
are off doing missionary work right now, so Eyob is staying there).
There is a small living-room type area, and a room with their beds,
etc. The kitchen is also on this floor and is very quaint. There is a
refrigerator and a small stove. No oven, but somehow they make
delicious and interesting meals everyday (for over 20 people!)
Lastly (ok, I’m starting to bore myself) is the upstairs, where the
volunteers stay. On this floor there is a small day room that has a
table, a few benches and plenty of books. This is where the majority
of my free time is spent and all of our meals are eaten in this room
(just the three volunteers eat together). Also on this floor are the
two rooms for the volunteers (boys and girls) and two bathrooms.
Lastly, there is a small office where the employees of MMHCH do
administrative work.
Alright, that was pretty descriptive and I hope it gives you a good
sense of my home. There is running water, but there is not enough
pressure inside of the house for it to come out of any sinks or for
the toilets to flush (I have no idea how that works). So we use a pipe
outside to collect water and we manually flush the toilets, by pouring
water into the bowl to push everything down. Also, the toilets can’t
hand toilet paper, so we throw it all in the garbage. Makes the
bathrooms a bit smelly, but it is really nice to have a toilet! Also,
with no pressure there is no shower, so we engage in “bucket showers,”
which are exactly as they sound. They’re a bit cold, but nothing too
bad. Actually, I think one of my fellow volunteers hasn’t showered
yet, and we’ve been here for 2 weeks…
There is electricity, although sometimes it goes out. Apparently this
is a problem for all of Addis. I asked Eyob about new public
transportation, and he said that they were thinking of having a subway
system, but with the power outages, there was no way. I can’t even
imagine if a city in the US suddenly couldn’t have public
transportation because of a lack of electricity… (and Addis is just as
bustling with people).
Alright, this is it. I’m sorry for the length of this blog entry, I
always get bored reading other people’s long entries but since I’m not
near a computer a lot, I thought I would take advantage. Anyway, have
a great week everyone!

Ammeseganalo (Thanks!)