Japanese Staff, first time in Ethiopia!
In mid-March, I, Taiga, was sent to Sawla (in Oyda District, south Ethiopia) where HOPE is currently implementing a project. This was my first time to set foot not only in Ethiopia but on the African continent as well.
When I arrived at the airport, the first words I muttered were, "I'm in trouble."
Ethiopia's official language is Amharic, not English. This being my first visit to a country where English is not the official language, my time in Ethiopia started with a lot of confusion.
Where is Taiga?
Life in Ethiopia started off with a premonition of hardships, but what shocked me the most was the fact that people live together with their animals.
In Africa, cows, sheep, goats, and chickens are considered as assets, and here in Ethiopia, animals not only serve as assets and food, but also serve some function, such as carrying luggage and are a part of everyday life.
Having studied about poverty and developing countries in the UK, I had also researched how people in Africa live with animals. However, just as with the expression ‘seeing is believing’, the roads are full of animals, and on my way home, I was shocked to see many animals living together with people.
In Ethiopia, which feels like a different world, I am working on a project to support women's independence through a community-participatory water supply project. To get to the project site, we drive along unpaved, cliff-like mountain roads. It's not paved, so the ride is very uncomfortable. As if in a rodeo, it feels like you are clinging to a rampaging horse in the car, and before you know it, your body and mind are completely exhausted. It is like when the steering wheel is turned too many times in the coffee cup ride.
Driving on such roads can cause the car to get stuck in the mud. Each time, we pile up nearby stones to pave the roads, and even if the river overflows and blocks our way, we somehow manage to pave the road with stones. Due to repeated rains, the roads become submerged, and there have been many times when we gave up and turned back. After a few hours of hard work to get the car moving, we finally make it to the project site.
What I saw at our project sites was the overflowing laughter of the local people. The project in the Oyda district has entered its third and final year, and in the communities of our project sites, people who have been lifted out of poverty have started their own businesses and have become more self-reliant. I could see the reason why I came to Ethiopia.
It's not easy to implement a project in Africa, but HOPE's work is the foundation of many people's lives today.
