Ethiopia Team: Sunday - Monday

TEAM TRIP ETHIOPIA 2013 - POST 1

[Internet access is a bit of a challenge, so bear with us, daily updates probably not realistic!]

Saturday - 19/10/2013

So here we are the end of Day 2 actually in Addis Ababa - such is the intoxicating nature of this place that it seems we've been here ages.  It seems so long ago that we waved goodbye to everyone at Oakmead on Saturday.  We trundled very speedily up the motorway to Heathrow and when we got there we quickly hooked up with Alex C and with Kirsty - then it was the trial and tedium of check-in and security to get us airside ready for our flight at 9pm.  So a hour or so after we had got airside we reassembled ready to make our way to Gate 28 and our waiting plane - flight ET701 was set and ready.  So it was not long after 9 o'clock BST our plane started down the runway - all the planning behind us it was up, up and away - next stop Ethiopia…

Sunday - 20/10/2013

Well there were some very bleary eyes when the lights inside the plane flickered back into life and out of the plane window the red rim of sunrise came into view.  How much sleep had been caught by the team is uncertain but soon the light was up and Africa was in view below us - it looked like it was going to be a glorious day when we landed.  The flight tracker on the plane was counting down, soon the seatbelt sign was on as we began our descent into Addis Ababa airport.  With a bump at 6:47 local time we were down and on African soil - let the excitement begin.  Well that is probably a bit of a fib!  What followed was a couple of hours of immigration (very slow), baggage collection (very slow), customs (very slow) and mini-bus packing (very, very slow).  But after all the waiting we were off into the city on our journey of discovery.  

The Lido Hotel welcomed us warmly, as normal, and we spent sometime sorting out rooms and unpacking all our personal bit and bobs - for some beds beckoned to catch up on a little sleep.  After a quick refresh it was time for some lunch and a chance to have a quick snack to set us up for the afternoon ahead.  As the sun beat down upon the hotel courtyard the team split into its working teams and spread out all the resources for the week ahead - our friends and families at home had been so generous - all manner of gear to support the carefully planned programmes was sorted and bagged up ready for the action in Kindergarten and the after school club.  

With that job done it was now time to head out into the city to try and catch a glimpse of what this wonderful place is all about - time to take in some of the sights and sounds and smells of somewhere so different to what we are used to.  After a bumpy ride through the city we headed up out of the city onto one of the hill tops that surround it.  We grabbed a great view down upon the city spread out before us - a stunning view very rarely afforded of a capital city.  It was up here on the top of the world, it seemed, that we had our first real encounter with our new Ethiopian friends - an impromptu game of street football halfway up the hill as we waited for a min-bus to catch-up, then at the top some dancing and singing with some local children who just seemed to appear from nowhere when we stopped.  One of those wonderful unexpected occurrences that happen in this place.

Then back into the city to an American diner for our evening meal - with everyone suitably satisfied by the meal it was back to the Lido for a good night's rest and sleep so we were ready for the challenge of zzzzzzzzz.

Monday - 21/10/2013

A great night's sleep behind us it was up at 7:30 (Simon being generous gave us half an hour lie in) before breakfast and a day in and around AHISDO to find out what this place is all about.  The trusty mini-buses arrived and we took on the early morning Addis traffic.  Travel in Addis is always interesting but whilst they're trying to build a railway in city it is doubly interesting.  A major roundabout straddles the route of the railway line but this doesn't deter our standard Addis car/ van/ lorry/ bus driver, they just carry on using the roundabout as if it was still there!  In the UK it would be carnage but here in Addis, mysteriously it works.  Despite the traffic we were soon at the AHISDO head quarters.  

The morning was taken up being conducted around by our hosts.  They showed us the building projects - ones that have been growing before our eyes over the last 5 years.  They showed us the old people's centre.  They showed us the youth centre where we will work in the late afternoons.  Finally they showed us the Kindergarten and gave the team the chance to meet the children and staff we are going to work with so closely over the coming days - a wonderful taster for what lies ahead.  Then it was back to the Urban Workers Institute for a lovely lunch and chance to take the weight off our very hot feet.

The afternoon was somewhat impromptu but proved to be a marvellous opportunity to interact with the elderly people who congregate at the old people's centre.  Games of cards, a board game with stones a bit like Mancala, just chatting to some lovely old folks and lots of work helping the centre workers to prepare vegetables and wash up after providing lunch for the local school children.  It was a magnificent afternoon - such loving people showing such affection and respect  for our young people.  This is real community in action.  It was then time for goodbye and time to return to the Lido for preparation time for the work ahead, spurred on by all we'd seen during the day.

The Lido then provided us with a tasty evening meal - plenty of pasta or roast chicken and potato wedges.  That was followed by a chance for everyone to share their first impressions of what had been going on in the first two days - everyone sharing in a big circle what had touched them so far.  Now we're ready bring on the action!

Tuesday's action will follow later in the week.