During my travels to Ethiopia in October, 2008, I was moved to write the following. This is still a relatively new destination for travelers, but for anyone interested in art, history, culture or wildlife, Ethiopia has so much to offer the more adventurous, pioneering traveler. For anyone who is interested in learning more about traveling to this incredible country, please do reach out to me as I work with amazing partners in-country, who are focused on sustainable travel designed to "give-back" to the communities.
On a busy street corner
A mother sleeps covered in a tattered blanket
A young child sits smiling by her head
Playing with the dirt all around
A huge crevasse in the road
Bubbles with stagnant poisonous water
An orange floats in the slimy green liquid
A butcher shop stands opposite
Sides of meat hang
Covered in flies
Minivans all painted blue and white
Filled to overflowing with people
Cars and trucks all converge into narrow openings
Women, children and men
So many supported only by a wooden crutch
As their wasted limbs are useless
Or they have nothing but stumps
Why, why can this happen
We turn up a cobbled stone street
Rusted and torn corrugated iron sheets stand side by side
Behind them shelters made of mud and sticks
Women arranging grasses and peppers on sacks to dry
We weave our way through the narrow street
Narrowly missing women and their young children
Then we stop
Hope lay behind the large iron gates
A local organization doing so much
But in a country where it is still so little
We hear about their excellent work
Their commitment, the volunteers
They reach the ‘lucky’ ones
Beyond that large green door
What about them
They don’t exist without an ID card
So they can’t get help
These are the invisible
The poorest of poor
We drive away encouraged by the good work
But then look around and know
In our hearts it is nothing
The homeless still lay on the sides of the street
Among goats and dirt and squaller
Many sick and dying
With no-one to care
Young mothers with children
Beg at the door
We know we must help
But how much do we care
What sacrifices do we make
We give but at what cost to ourselves
We lay in our warm comfortable beds at night
Our hunger satisfied
Knowing we are loved
But our brothers and sisters
Lay hungry and cold
Not even knowing love
And the comfort of a bed when they are sick
Just the cold concrete floor
What do we do?