Receipt 2

This is the receipt in a form of a thank you letter from Welfare for Mothers and Children (MCMDO). They were given $350. They have an after school program, a program for sponsorship, hands on trade training and the mothers learn entrepreneurship where they learn how to grow and sell there own produce.

USA ID has been a recent sponsor as well as the First Lady of Ethiopia and private donations from abroad. They are a small, humble but grateful organization who were very pleasant and friendly. The first time we visited was just a site visit, no donations were mentioned. The second time we brought donations of toys and clothing donated by the boys and their friends. On the third visit we gave the the monetary gift.

*Thanks again to all the contributors.

Receipt 1

These are the receipts for the donations collected. A total was $650 contributed by coworkers and friends. Please see a list of contributors to the right of the page. I would like to acknowledge everyone who contributed. I may forget someone so please feel free to contact me if I have left anyone out.

For Ethiopia Reads (EBCBF) $300 was donated. The Founder was featured on the first episode of CNN Heroes. There are two branches in Ethiopia. It was difficult to find on both trials, we almost gave up. The third time we brought a friend who also found the organization difficult to locate. Upon our departure he found it But it was Ethiopian Christmas and so it was a holiday weekend. They finally recieved the money and were overjoyed.

The Story of Our Trip

We had the best time in Ethiopia. I do not know where to start. We started the week by visiting family and eating good food! One week of adjusting and getting over jet lag and enjoying ourselves. The boys loved their grandma's four dogs and allowed one of them, Fluffy, to sleep in the bed with them. Two others were white puppies named orange and lime in the Amharic language and the guard dog who is short but does his job well, loved the boys. We took the boys to the Zoo as their first adventure. The lions were so close and there was a cute little monkey who thought he was in show business because he knew how to entertain the crowd. In the same day we went to Addis Ababa University that was converted from the Emperor Haile Selassie's Palace, at his request. Here, there was a Museum of Ethiopian culture and history of music and religion ranging from the BC era. We then visited Sodere where there are bath houses and showers of hot spring water that continually comes from the earth. It never runs out. It was awesome being one with nature as the showers are outside in nature above the Awash river. The boys went swimming in the pool (which of course was nice and warm from the spring water) for two consecutive days and after my husband gave me a few quick lesson to improve my swimming I dived off of the diving board for the first time; exhilarating! Then we visited a beautiful lake called Langano. I was surprised at how beautiful it was. At sunset the water is purple. They say it is due to high calcium deposits in the water. white horses freely roaming around, an array of bright colored flowers and trees that I had not seen before, camp fires for families to sit around and chat under the moonlight on the beach water and of course the beach with black sand and mountains, literally 40 to 50 feet away. The restaurants were fabulous. Friends took us to Fasika Restaurant with traditional cultural dance and live Ethiopian music and of course good food. American Christmas and Ethiopian Christmas (1/7/10) was good. They were spent with more family who put together a feast! I wish I took a picture of the food spread. We went shopping for sulveniers the next day and that was fun seeing all the art work and beautiful scarves.We eventually, on more than one occasion, visited only two of the Donation Sites as one of them was difficult to find and way out of reach from where we were. So we were able to give the money collected from friends and coworkers to the other two organizations. They were so happy. Happy does not even describe their gratitude. It was like someone rich finding you from the other side of the world and handing you money to continue your good works. They probably thought how did you even know our little organization existed. They were such sweet people and the children so behaved and eager to do homework. I will post the pictures, the receipt and thank you letter within a few days. We all have tans and jet lag. I had culture shock with the cold weather in NY. I was at work today daydreaming about being under a hot spring.

We are off!

Tomorrow is the big day and we have everything we need. We ran out earlier for a present for our niece which is very important and I asked my uncle to hold our car which he was very happy to do. I have to remember to give my mother the telephone number to where we will be staying; don't want to forget that. We have been calling to see if flights were canceled as you know, a storm is coming or has arrived. They say it is too early to tell for tomorrow afternoon. The boys wanted to go out during bedtime to play in the snow. They were too through that I said "tomorrow". Yet they went to bed pretty quickly in anticipation.

Our Department had their Christmas party and my supervisor made good on his promise. There was a collection for our trip to help the three organizations we wanted to contribute to. We got a hefty penny I must say. On top of everything, we ate at Cafe Orlin and the food was great. The ice cream was fabulous. See the website for menu www.cafeorlin.com

I finished my Internship, that was great and all exams are finished for graduation.I will be keeping up with the blog and your comments. There are a few internet cafe's in the City area, where we are staying. we will be flighing on Turkish airlines, stopping in Istanbul for 9 hours where we will site see a little. Then we will head off to Addis. We will be back on the 8th which means in our house on Saturday. Happy New Year everyone. See you 2010!

First Things First

O.k., we have to buy most of the things we need next week on pay day and I will continue packing. I have two papers to hand in for school. Thank God this is my last semester. The boys both received their shots. I have written letters to their school and after school. I'm actually in the middle of decorating the lobby of my co-op building with Christmas decorations. Michael just text me saying, "Let's take the boys to see the tree". My mother has been calling me to make sure she sees us before leaving. It's always great hearing from my dad. I'm setting up things at work while I am away and my sweet Boss is having donations for our cause during the holiday Christmas party. What's more is the email I told you about earlier in this blog, well people have been donating and very excited about giving. Someone suggested we do this every year, which is the direction I wanted to take this venue. But first thing first.

Our List

Well, we have been reviewing our to do list. Finally my oldest son's renewed passport came in. That takes a load off for me. My next concern is what my oldest son will eat. My youngest son loves Ethiopian food. I love it as well. If you have never had it, the closest cultural food would be Indian food. Yet they are pretty different. You have to try it. There are a few in the city. Awash Restaurant has two locations and Ghenet Restaurant is very good but they moved out of Manhattan. There is also Queen of Sheba Restaurant in downtown Manhattan. (Be prepared that when you go, you will use delicious Injera bread to eat your meal).

So my oldest son, let's say can eat Ethiopian food for a day or two but not for three weeks. I will have to have something for him to eat. This is where my list comes in. I have the staple peanut butter and jelly. He hates caned food like Chef Boyardee. So I have pasta and can sauce. Oatmeal and cereal; their absolute favorite. They will eat any type of cereal all day if I gave it to them. I am also bringing crackers, box juices, carnation milk and what my husband and I can't seem to see eye to eye on; packets of noodle soup. (Between you and me I am packing the soup). I can't think right now what other non-perishable items I could pack. I decided to have them get the H1N1 shot. I decide when my co-worker said his niece came back from a trip to Europe last month and came home with the H1N1 virus. My husband and I need to get the vaccination as well. My oldest received the nasal spray as it does not have the Mercury preservative found in vaccinations. My youngest has an appointment with his doctor tomorrow but they only have the vaccination. I'll send more updates later.

Carrie Underwood-Change

I was so impressed with CNN Heroes this year. This is the third season and all nominees had a great cause in their humanitarian efforts in touching the lives of those less fortunate.