Back to the trip recap...
Today we were ready to make the 5-hour trip back to Addis Ababa. But to make the trip a little easier, along the way we made a few stops that were extremely interesting and helped to keep my mind a little more at ease about the images out the window of the car on the ride back.
Our first stop was to a traditional family coffee farm. This is a small farm where the entire family works to raise and grow coffee beans. This is Mark and I in the midst of the crop:
And this is the coffee crop close-up. It is green in this shot, but as you will see later it will get brown when it is ready to be harvested and sold.
And this is the family that grows and maintains the land. And yes, they ALL live in that man-made traditional Ethiopian farm home that you see in the background. They let us tour the inside too, it's amazing to see how people can really live with so very little, yet can be so very happy and loving at the same time.
It was funny because the children in this picture just kept following and staring at Mark while we were there. Our travel guide said that they always stare at white people anyway, but because Mark has such blue eyes and blond hair, they were especially intrigued by his appearance. I got a kick out of it because they just couldn't stop looking at him!
From there we stopped at one of our agency's other affiliated orphanages. Because of respect for the families I was helping, I will not share the photos of this visit because they are all in the midst of their adoption processes and I am not sure if their children are allowed to be on the Internet yet. However, it was truly amazing to see the work being done at the Evado orphanage. If you have a child there, rest assured, they are being well cared for.
After that stop we went to a local market where MANY goods are sold and let me tell you it is BUSY. I had a hard time even snapping this picture because so many people were around me.
From there we stopped at one of our agency's other affiliated orphanages. Because of respect for the families I was helping, I will not share the photos of this visit because they are all in the midst of their adoption processes and I am not sure if their children are allowed to be on the Internet yet. However, it was truly amazing to see the work being done at the Evado orphanage. If you have a child there, rest assured, they are being well cared for.
After that stop we went to a local market where MANY goods are sold and let me tell you it is BUSY. I had a hard time even snapping this picture because so many people were around me.
At the market we got to see the finished coffee product. Here is what is sold off to the public that is grown from those little family farms like the one we had visited earlier that day.
From there we loaded up and headed back to Addis. I wish I could tell you looking out the window was a lot easier on the way back, but it wasn't. The images of the poverty are etched in my mind forever.
Day 5 tomorrow...
Day 5 tomorrow...
