A New Future (8/8)

As I have said many times, whilst in Abba Gebremichael we get to see the children in the most safe, secure, happy, loving environment most of them will ever experience. It troubles me as I know that this is so far from the whole story and I am cheating myself a little.

For this reason, Sr Fisseha is organising some home visits to see the children in their home environment with whatever family they have. It is often difficult to pin-down relatives – sometimes a single mother, perhaps a grandparents – for these meetings as the poor here do not sit at home all day living on government handouts. They are out doing whatever they can to collect a few cents. It is still unclear as to when these visits will happen, but hopefully within the next week. It is something that I am both looking forward to and equally approaching with caution. I am glad we are now into our third week out here, as I am very sure had I not experienced what I have dome over the last two weeks or so I would be totally unprepared for what I will see, hear, smell and experience.

Over dinner, Sr Fisseha and myself spoke at length about these visits and what they mean for the families. The teaching is such a small part of life in the project and I am now realising the education I can give to the children is a bonus. For some, they will embrace the additional English lessons and it will help them prepare well (especially for 9th grade). For others, a shower, their clothes washed and a bit of food is more than enough. As Gebreyesus told me the other day, the sisters do much work reuniting families and giving counselling. This is where the home visits play a major part. As with nay kind of work with children, it is important you know the full story and the complete picture. If you do, it makes understanding the complex needs of each individual child far easier.

However, Sr Fisseha told us of the difficulties she faced for a long time. Firstly, she had to disguise herself. The sisters are seen as being “loaded” by the local community as it is, having great difficulty in doing fundraising within Mekele and not needing any help as they always have ‘faranji’ staying with them – they sometimes even try to charge them faranji prices in the shops! As a consequence if they openly went to visit families, people got the wrong idea and thought the sisters were giving them a load of money! This then lead to the very small local government handouts (a kilo of sugar here, a half-kilo of tef there) being stopped. As soon as the sisters realised the extent of the problem they arranged a meeting with the police and local government to explain that they work they were doing was purely educational and they were not giving out handouts of money or food to these people. This rectified the problem of the handouts, but not the public perception. I can imagine if you are living in the slum area, in very poor housing and see you neighbour getting visits from a well dressed sister and two faranji (who everyone knows are very rich) you will probably come to the conclusion they are getting something you are not. The capacity of the sisters has its limits and there are only so many children that can be helped by the project. For the time being…

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This afternoon we went to see the building site that is soon to become the new Abba Gebremichael project. I find it increasingly hard to call it a school, as the diversity and range of activities and services offered is way and beyond any school. This will become far more effective and efficient in just a few months when the new site is handed over to Sr Fisseha and the project staff.

It is in Adi-Haki, one of the poorest Kebelle (areas) in Mekele and very close to where the Sr. Meaza’s general clinic is found. It will be closer for some children, a little further for others, but once you see the place the distance fails to be significant.

It was begun in January 2007 and the building work is already completely paid for. The main building houses a large hall; ideal of getting all the children together – particularly useful at this time of year! It will also serve as a performance venue for the very talented project music and drama groups; thus generating revenue for the project. The hall will also have modern toilet facilities attached, one of several blocks in the new project. Tommy and I were speechless. It is quite simple a thousand times better than the current rented site; it is difficult to comprehend how it is even the same project.

In the second block, which is also nearly completed, there will be five classrooms, a craft room, modern kitchen, eating area and toilets and showers. There is then a further block which is still at a slightly less advanced stage which will house offices for all the project staff including rooms where counselling can take place. Perhaps the most important feature is the bedrooms. Five rooms which will be able to house around thirty-five street children who have no other place to call home.

It is truly amazing and it is no wonder Sr Fisseha, Tedros Adhanum and all the other staff are so excited. They will all be able to do their job so much better. Already the new project is a bright and vibrant place (to match the students!) and the children will be able to eat, relax, wash, clean, study, live in far superior surroundings. As an added bonus, where the project currently caters for around 150 street children, this number will be doubled.

Seeing this, I hope and pray even further one day I will return to see the children in their new environment. The next challenge is to fill the school, not with eager, happy children – but with equipment. Apparently is commonplace to find such buildings, funded in basic structure, but not in all the other necessary equipment. It would be an absolute tragedy if into these brand new, bright, clean classrooms were simply brought the rickety benches and falling apart blackboards. I’d have difficulty in sleeping if I didn’t even try to do something to help.