Bananas in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the birthplace of my youngest child. It is where I
“labored” two years ago as we met her and prepared to bring her home.
Its funny how little I remember about that trip in general but I
remember every detail about her. Its the same as my hospital stays
with my other children! I remember their eyes and the sounds of their
cries and their APGAR scores and their first baths and yet I could not
tell you a thing about the room we were in. I have pictures, tons of
pictures of our first trip to Ethiopia but so much of it is such a
blur to me.

Then we were home and I was a mom of four kids and two years went by
and I found myself missing this place, Ethiopia, the way I miss my
birthplace of Colorado. I met the ladies of EOR and fell in love
again. This way to give back, to remain connected, to attempt to make
even a little difference, was more than I could have hoped for. For
all of these reasons, and for the millions of orphans needing hope in
Ethiopia; when Kim, Lauren, and Paige said they were going back to
Ethiopia this fall, I was overjoyed and booked my ticket.

Kim requested a guest blog for our site and I happily agreed, wanting
to share the Ethiopia that I saw this time, with fresh eyes, with all
of the love I have developed for this country. I could write a million
pages about our trip. But I decided this morning that I was going to
write about bananas!

Shanto is a village in Southern Ethiopia and the home of EOR’s partner
FOVC. After an emotional welcome, we set to work, building, painting,
playing, assessing, and absolutely adoring these children and the
amazing staff. It was a busy and intense time while we were there. The
children were so adoring and so happy to have us there! Thursday
afternoon in Shanto is Market and we decided as a group that we wanted
to give a little treat to the children. So into Market we went to find
nearly 200 bananas! We purchased the bananas from a local woman.
We took the bananas back to the school compound and shared them with
the children. These children, who have so many needs in life, lined up
graciously and waited for their banana. I watched them as they enjoyed
this treat the way our children relish a birthday cake. This was an
extraordinary treat. This fruit that grows plentifully in Ethiopia,
that often go bad sitting on my countertops, that my children have
enjoyed nearly daily; this fruit is a surprise and a joy for these
children.

More than anything, what I learned in Ethiopia, is gratitude.
Ethiopians do not wallow in their hardships, they live life and they
are grateful for its blessings. They do the work that needs to be done
and are grateful every step of the way. I am so grateful to Ethiopia,
for my daughter, for the life lessons I have learned there, for the
friends now in my life because of Ethiopia, and for the knowledge that
I CAN make a difference.

I think it was John Kennedy who said, “to whom much is given, much is
to be expected.” EOR is for me, that way to give back to a place and a
people that has given me so much. And to think, it could all have
started with a banana!!!

Annie ~ EOR Volunteer & Lights of Hope Auction Committee

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