The Cunningham Foundation

Sitting on the plane all the way across the world is when it began to all sink in. I was on my way to Ethiopia, Africa. I have always had a passion for helping people and I have always had the desire to go on a trip like this. It was about a year ago when I was sitting in the Jared Polis auditorium at Johnson and Whales University listening to Noel Cunningham speak to Leader’s Challenge. This man had so much passion and desire for helping the children and people of Ethiopia. I sat through the video of the trip a couple years before with my heart sinking to the bottom of my stomach and my mind was blown away at how devastating the circumstances were. That was what I pictured Ethiopia to be like; sick people dying everywhere, flat, dry, sick, sad, empty of love, and unfortunate people. I truly had no idea what to expect after I got off that plane.

The first day I woke up in Addis Ababa and looked out my hotel window to see crowds, chaos, and poverty all along the streets. When I drove in Addis for the first time it hit me that I was in a whole new place now, half way across the world. The streets are packed with people, small shops line every street with everyone just trying to make a couple Birr a day. There were donkeys, goats, and cows everywhere throughout the city. That was their way of life, that is what they do everyday, it was not just a bad day and I just so happened to be there. I could not have imagined myself living in those conditions. The air was heavy and hot and was like breathing in pure dirt mixed with diesel. At every stop we would make in traffic there would be young children coming up to the van begging for Birr or food, or selling Kleenex for money. You look into their eyes and wish that you could give each of them a million Birr and it is hard to believe that these young children don’t even have a quarter of what we have. Traveling through Addis Ababa was a major eye opener.

Arriving to the Mother Teresa orphanage I really did not know how to feel. I held their small hands and as they looked up at me with their smile stretching ear to ear my heart would break because we know they are all HIV positive and that this disease is eating away at their bodies. At the same time I wanted to be happy for them because they have a place to sleep, eat, play with friends, and try and live a good life.

Ethiopia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I was deceived by the city and believed that the whole country was like this and where I was headed was probably only going to be worse. We turned the corner from the main road (which lead us two hours from the city to Yetebon) onto a dirt road where there were not a lot of people and there were small tookles surrounded by huge plants, beautiful landscapes, empty beautiful fields, and a big long range of mountains. When we got to Project Mercy I was in awe at how beautiful and serene it all was. The compound had nice school buildings, dorms, a kitchen and dining area, a garden, a basketball court, huge fields for playing and much more. This was more of a paradise than anything. The first thing we did when we got there was go inside to eat dinner. I expected injera (the pancake spongy bread), lentils, and maybe a little meat with cabbage at every meal. That was not the case at all. Although, the injera and lentils were at every meal we also got salads, chicken, beef, potatoes, bread, and much more variety. Every meal was a feast. I almost felt guilty for how generous we were treated and how great we were treated in the middle of all the poverty. Their culture is all about generosity and it was so special to experience that kind of heart. We don’t take enough time to do things for each other, leading to selfishness and a lack of appreciation for one another.

The first day we were there we went on the hike to Fana falls. This hike took a total of about 4 ½ hours and was not just a walk in the park. There are thousands of people living in these mountains and transporting down to school or town for resources everyday. Along the way I got to see the way people really lived here. Each family had a tookle where they lived and surrounding them they all seemed to have the same type of plant (banana plant, which they grind down to make bread out of), and a couple goats, donkeys, or cows. By the end of our journey to the top a couple kids who were curious about us had even hoped on along the way. Sitting up by the waterfall and seeing the guides (who were some of the older students from Project Mercy) and kids just play around in the water and seem so content and happy I began to reflect. The people there are not sad or are no the unfortunate ones. This is their way of life and just because they do not have hundreds and hundreds of dollars, the latest car, an ipod or blackberry, or houses like us does not mean that anything is wrong with them and we need to be sad. No, we need to learn from the people of Ethiopia that this is what life is about. It is not about taking everything seriously, stressing ourselves out or feeling bad about what we don’t have. It is about looking at what we do have and making the best of it. These people don’t know anything other than what their lifestyle is like now, they don’t think that having a two-story home with heat and running water is normal. They think that pulling the cows into their tookle at night with their family of six and having a couple pieces of bread for dinner is normal. We do not need to feel bad for them. They have more than what anyone could ask for here, that is love, hope, and respect. Coming down from the mountain I found myself complaining in my head, I wonder how much further we have to go. Here was another key part to this culture I found myself learning about. Patience, it is the key to minimizing stress and enjoying life. We need to live every single moment and feel everything about it because tomorrow you may not have that exact same opportunity and situation and if we rush things we are only going to be left saying, “could of, would of, and should of”. I took a deep breath and let myself smile or talk to every single person on the way down, let my self-look at everything around me and take in the beauty of this wonderful place, and let myself understand what that feeling of patience and joy was like.

I found myself creating a very close bond with a couple of the students at Project Mercy who taught me a lot about their culture. A couple of the things I will never forget were understanding the beauty of everyone in this world, hope and faith to follow your dreams, and the true understanding of love. We were all sitting out at the basketball courts on our last night at Project Mercy playing cards, listening to the ipod (they love the backstreet boys =]) and learning some Amaharic from some of our new friends. Bedru, a senior at the high school who has been attending Project Mercy for about 11 years, was talking to us and then said something in the conversation about everyone being equal. He said, “ even though someone may not be attractive in your eyes on the outside, they are still a beautiful person on the inside and we are all from God and since he created us no one should ever be anything less than beautiful”. This is so true; I was there half way across the world not having to talk about what we should all look like. Too often we criticize each other about appearance when that is not what is important. I now challenge myself and people around me to just accept everyone for who they are and never look past someone.

All of the students at the school were all so eager to learn. Every ounce of knowledge there was to be learnt they were there to learn it. Why is it here we take advantage of our educational opportunities? 2,000 students attended the school each day, grades k-12. Most kids (except for the Project Mercy orphans who lived there) walked up to two or more hours to get to school everyday and on the way home would even stop to carry huge buckets of water and other things that mom and dad need. In class they would sit three to a desk and use one small notebook with maybe a half of a pencil. It was a 5th grade math class on the second morning I was there when I noticed the passion all these kids have for learning. The teacher asked if anyone wanted to do the problem on the board and every single kid raised their hand and wanted to. Here in a class you would be lucky to find a volunteer even if you bribed them. The students would go to the library everyday after school for a couple hours and stay up late to study with no complaints. When you asked them what they wanted to do after school they all held their heads up high and said occupations like doctors, lawyers and engineers. Bedru was telling me the story about his national exam in may which will determine whether or not he can go to the U.S. to study medicine. He is so dedicated to his studies. He studies for the test everyday all the time keeping faith and confidence that he will be able to do it. Most of the students I talked to who wanted to make it the U.S. for schooling all ultimately want to go back to Ethiopia to help their people and communities. They are the future and it was clear to see that Ethiopia is in a great place and is on the road to see some great advances.

Finally, I learned a lot about loving. It is hard to explain what I truly feel in my heart after this trip. I could go on and on about all the experiences and conversations I had, but I find it hard to truly say how I feel inside. As I said I went into this not knowing what to expect at all. I thought I was going to go there and make the impact on them, but I realized they are the ones that really impacted me. Being in Ethiopia I got to be human and feel the pure joy of being alive and being thankful for everything I have. The connections I had with each and every person there were more real and human than any I had before I went on my trip.  I thought I was the less fortunate and found out that in fact they had more than anyone could even wish for. I received a great gift in going on this trip. I looked into each of the kid’s eyes letting them touch a part of my heart and teach me how to love. The lessons I learned are those that cannot be taught in a book, they are those that you have to experience. By the end of my trip I had a whole new perspective. I did not feel bad for all of these people and I did not wish that they too could live in America and have money and everything we have. I was happy, happy to see a place where there was hope, kindness, love, and humanitarianism at its best. Going to Ethiopia I knew I would find a way to help others and make a difference. There is so much that needs to be done in expanding what Project Mercy has started from education and sanitation to job training and health. There is one thing you have to choose and run with to make the difference. I saw, touched, and smelt the sad suffering, the loving, and the spirits of each person I came in contact with. There is a lot to be learned from the people of Ethiopia who shared so much generosity, wisdom, and heart with me. It is my job to tell the stories and hopefully help others perceive Ethiopia in a different way with the motivation that they too can be the ripple in the pond.