Eva Visits Her Sponsored Daughter

Four days ago I arrived back from Ethiopia and still I have emotions for all to see.  I don’t know if I can express all that I felt visiting the Mediterranea projects.  The first day of my visit to Akaki Kaliti was very hard.  I have never seen such poverty and this was not my first visit to Ethiopia.  In Akaki, there are living the poorest of the poor and amongst all this poverty I meet Y, my sponsored daughter.  Our greeting and meeting was very emotional.  Some days later I took Y to Addis to stay with me, it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.  We enjoyed each other’s company so much.  I would recommend this to all sponsors.  I needed to be alone with her, and although we don’t speak the same language we understood each other perfectly through gestures and above all hugs and kisses.  (Also, I must say, that she got angry with me because I didn’t straighten her hair).

What can I say about Abugida?  It is a paradise amongst so much misery.  What caught my attention most was the food: breakfast, lunch, tea and its variety.  One of the days I tried a stew of macaronis, lentils, carrots, tomatoes and onion…it was so good I had to like my fingers!   I am ashamed to say that I also had the tea: a mixture of milk, biscuit and banana – fantastic!!  The sweet food is gorgeous!!  The children are happy (their mothers also).  I received more demonstrations of affection in 4 days at Abugida than in all of my 44 years.  This is what I miss the most, the kisses and hugs of the children.

Not everything was so lovely.  Together with Zerihun (Mediterranea’s representative in Ethiopia) we visited a number of colleges in Akaki and one in particular affected me strongly, Amanuel college: 130 children with sad looks and a crust of bread their only food to share between three classrooms whose roofs were on the point of collapsing.  How can Abugida not look like a paradise after this sight?  We have to continue working and fighting so that there can be more Abugidas in Akaki.  Thank you Mediterranea for all of your great work.

Eva Eiroa