Axum Africa

By Patrick Spiteri - February 15-20, 2010

What an amazing experience…

There was a lot of preparation to do before heading off to Ethiopia. Karen and Harego arranged what had to be done, who had to be visited and what was required to be packed for the trip. Retha and Dean McFarlane had organized a charity dinner at their villa where they raised some excellent funds for Karen to include in her budget. That was a job well done and many thanks came from Axum to Retha and Dean and everyone who helped make the evening such a success!

All the clothes and shoes were packed into 14 suitcases and carefully weighed. Due to airline weight restrictions, we had very little for clothes for ourselves, but did manage some tin cans and favourite dry foods just in case the Axum food didn’t cut it!

The preparation and flight to Addis and Axum was great. Along for the experience we had Dr. George Lafontaine, (a dentist who came all the way from Canada to help out), Suzanne Ness, Nancy Clarke, Cliff Chetcuti and, of course, Karen and myself. Harego and Lars and two of their friends, Cissi and Jenny met us in Axum.

Our first day started with a visit through the streets of Axum. This was an experience in itself. There was so much of so little! I, for one, was amazed at how people lived there and at how there was constant movement in the busy streets. I was awed by the smiles on the kid’s faces as they watched us go by. Sometimes we even heard cheers of “Karen” and “Harego” as some kids recognized them in the van. We had Semere with us for the entire time there. He is one of the locals who works for Karen and Harego and is their link to people when they are not in Axum. He is a very nice and trustworthy guy.

We visited the school that Karen and Harego have been caring for and met with some of the teachers. Later during our visit we had the honour of going into the classrooms. This was very special. All the kids got up and sang for us. They have a lovely song to welcome guests to their school and they sang it loudly and with great passion for all of us! This was an amazing experience and I started to understand how great this Axum–Africa project was. Entering one of the classes I saw a little red wheelchair parked outside in the shade. I walked in the class half expecting the frog in my throat to make my eyes water…. But instead I saw this young beautiful girl, Sabrina, with a great smile, singing away. I thought of all the people at McFarlane’s raising money for her in loving memory of Jordan and thought how lucky I was to be there and see this for myself.

We visited the school on many occasions, sometimes taking this and other times arranging that. Karen and Harego had some work to do for DESS at the school and then managed to take some nice photos of the toilet/shower block and water station that was built there through the funds raised by DESS. The students put on a thank you ceremony for us, with much singing, dancing and music.

Then it was time to visit the orphanage. I spent most of my time there. The guys painted the rooms, fixed sagging beds and even played a bit of football with the young Peles and Beckhams. There was a lot to do. We spent one evening giving clothes and shoes to all the kids at the orphanage. We set up the tables and spread out all the contents from our 14 suitcases. The kids were so excited that they forgot the meaning of a straight line. However, it was well managed and we enjoyed giving out shirts, pants, dresses, shoes and pencils and pens…. and all the wonderful items we got from you all. There were even a few radios and flashlights to give out that caused their own issues!

This was a very fun evening. The amount of smiles, bows and hugs superseded anything I have ever witnessed. This was topped by a show the kids put on for us with their local dancing and singing. Lars and I sat in with the crowd of boys and laughed with them. They managed to get us up dancing later which I think was a thrill for them…. as we couldn’t compete with their moves and rhythm. We also arranged a special dinner of pasta with tomato sauce  for the orphanage kids and from what I hear they went to bed with a very full belly that night (they normally only have the local bread, injera, to eat).

We also saw the progress being made on the new kitchen, which is being funded by Axum-Africa.

We were invited to the Education Department during the week. The mayor of Axum and the Head of the Education Board had prepared a presentation for Karen, Harego, Semere and DESS. This is where I realized the magnitude of what the girls had achieved in Axum. The speech was about the difference they had made to the school and orphanage and community as a whole. It was about the smile and hope they had put on the children’s faces. It was about the impact and difference they had made to a small group of people in a corner in this world. All were presented with certificates, which I am sure hold a value way beyond anything imaginable. The frog was back!

Fortunately for us we had some time to go for a relaxing hike in the hills while in Axum. We experienced the quiet outdoors and fresh air or Axum. The weather was beautiful and allowed us to enjoy the morning immensely.

Our time came to an end rather quickly. All that had to be done was done and plans for more was put in place for the next visit. We had a wonderful last dinner as guests to Semere’s home. He introduced us to his wonderful wife and beautiful little boy. He had a few friends there as well that we chatted with for most of the night. It was such an honour for all of us to be his guests.

Karen and Harego have created this project and have pushed hard to get it on it’s feet and keep it there. There has been support from all corners of Dubai and Sweden. From schools to private firms, to wealthy families, to friends and family. All working together to make what I saw come true. I am truly amazed and impressed with the strength and ambition they had and still have to keep Axum–Africa alive. Honestly, there is only one way to express what I have seen there….

What an amazing experience…

Interested in sponsoring a student? For only 100 Dhs a month, you can make a huge difference in their lives. We have seven children awaiting help. Click here to see more details...

A note from Karen: Many thanks to all who make this project possible with your commitment, hard work, sponsorships and donations of money and goods. We could not do this work without you!

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