April 2015

Newsletter 2015

We Angie and Mike King have been travelling to Ethiopia for the past 12 years. This is our 11^th newsletter detailing our trip of 2015.

As with most years’ we are full of excitement tinged with a degree of apprehension as we arrive at the airport in Bahir Dar.  This year we had more to be concerned with as throughout the year we had received several emails from Sister Terfatu who explained that whilst she was in France for 6 months having an eye operation the Day Care Centre had been visited by the local authorities on several occasions and they were not happy with the set up of the centre with threats of possible closure (read more see Day Care Centre).  

This year we arrived in Bahir Dar on February 23^rd at 9.30am on the feast day of St Mary, to say we hit the ground running is an understatement.  We dumped our bags in the Sister’s house and went to the main school to prepare food for 400 of the poor.  This was however a fantastic way of meeting everyone who we have built up a lasting friendship over the last 12 years.  The festival is a time of celebration when food and much local alcohol (Tella) is prepared and consumed by the many poor in Bahir Dar, at the end of the day everyone goes home with a full belly and many adults with a sore head.

Over the last 12 years we have seen a phenomenal change to many people’s lives in Bahir Dar.  We have seen families prosper, children grow up now with families of their own and people become self sufficient.  All this is possible due to the support of friends and family. When we set up Ethiopiahope we never envisaged that it would change so many people’s lives. We hold true that Ethiopiahope continues to operate with no administration costs and no overheads with every penny collected changing lives for the people of Bahir Dar.  

Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. ~Norman Vincent Peale