Fund Raising for Projects

Sarah and Rachel went off for their first day of school. They were both quite apprehensive as it is quite an adjustment coming out of a home school environment in Ethiopia and jumping into the public school system here in Canada. We felt a little bit like we were throwing them to the wolves, but we do know that God is with them.
They both survived their first week and seem to have gotten over their anxiety fears- thankfully for Mom and Dad!
We are adjusting to living back in Canada after 4 years out of the loop. I have attached an update of the various projects with Devxchange so that you have an idea of the various ministries. Currently I am working part time with Devxchange and Sue is looking to work part time in developing her business as a registered massage therapist.
One of the reasons we returned from Ethiopia at this time was to help Devxchange develop a stronger funding base for the overseas projects. There is so much that can be done in the north of Ethiopia through the partners we've established there, but the resources are lacking. I am working at trying to find some organizational funding for projects like People Living with AIDS, vocational training and agro-forestry, but it is going to take some time to make in roads into institutional funding.
We currently have an emergency situation with our Gumuz project. I am super enthusiastic about this project and the incredible change for the better that is coming to this primitive tribal group but we need some interim funding to keep it afloat until I can get some institutional funding to shore up the funding base. The project was initially started with the promise from a major donor to cover 80% of the project. That funding all fell through leaving us with a huge funding short fall. Anything at all that you can do to keep this project going will be very rewarding. The project manager we have through the KHC church is the best I have seen anywhere. He has risked his life on this primitive unreached tribe and he and his family are living in some of the harshest conditions to be found in Ethiopia. It is nothing short of a miracle to see the changes happening among the Gumuz as a result of his efforts with God's help. I promise I won't be sending out appeals on all the great projects in Ethiopia but I want to make you aware of this one because of its importance and current critical state.

Gumuz Success

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Everything seemed to be going against us when we started the Gumuz agro-forestry project. The Gumuz have lived for centuries as a war like tribe where killing is one of their highest virtues. They have always been hunters and gatherers eking out an existence by foraging for food and hunting anything that moved. Last year when we visited it was only one month after what was supposed to be a harvest and they were already out of food. This type of existence causes the adults to daily hunt and forage for food leaving the children in the village on their own with only the elderly and the sick to care for them. The mortality rate is extremely high for children under 5 and they suffer from all kinds of health issues including a high rate of malnutrition. An environmental disaster was also in the making as they were cutting down all the trees to sell for charcoal. No one gave our intervention efforts much hope as harmful traditions and cultural practices are ingrained and not changed readily.
I visited our Gumuz agro-forestry project through KHC church just before leaving and the changes in the lives of the people is more than dramatic - it's unbelievable. We visited all of our target project villages and the change was uniform. Fences had been constructed around all the huts and yards of the Gumuz- they were planting crops around their houses and planting medicinal plants, fruit trees, trees for timber, shade, water conservation and others by the thousands. They were staying at home and working hard instead of hunting and foraging. There are also many new believers being discipled through the KHC church and evangelists.
This last year in Bahir Dar we were able to help more than 40 young women at risk and commercial sex workers get vocational training in hair dressing. The graduation included members dressed up in bridal fashion- demonstrating hair styles for weddings. One of the bridal party members was one of the street girls (a little sister) from our big-brother /sister program with the university students.
I returned to Canada June 26 just in time for my nieces wedding (Elise). We will now be stationed in Barrie Ontario for the foreseeable future- working with Devxchange part time and continuing to promote and assist the projects that were started in Bahir Dar.
My work with Devxchange will include Office management, Data management, volunteer coordination, project and project lead member support, financial management support, public relations and promotion. As a project lead member for the many projects that were started in Bahir Dar, I will also be raising funds to continue to see these develop and make an annual trip to monitor the developments.

Trouble in Gumuz Land

Ever since Tadesse (KHC church leader) was in Bible School he had a vision and burden to reach out to the fierce war-like tribe of the Gumuz. After hearing many missionary stories of martyrdom in Bible School, he said we will go and die among the Gumuz. His words nearly came true as recently our project team leader and the agriculturalist were running for their lives with a Gumuz man and his gun coming after them bent on killing them.
To make a long story short this may have been a key event in opening up in roads into the Gumuz. It forced community leaders, KHC leaders and local government officials to get involved to prevent the killings. Reconciliation and a peace pact was formed by all concerned and the project members now have unprecedented cooperation, peace and security in their work amongst the Gumuz.
There are now quite a number of new believers among the Gumuz and two churches have been started among the target villages. The Gumuz are also enthusiastically welcoming the inputs of the team in the area of agro-forestry as it will make a huge difference to their health, income security and the environment.
Several of the Devxchange volunteers have been working with former commercial sex workers in helping them to get some vocational training in hair dressing and get out of the commercial sex business. They were involved with the Mulu Wengel church in setting up a shelter for the girls and see them go through training. The girls have all come to faith in Christ and are now active in the church. The church is helping them to start businesses on their own.
The KHC church also put 20 girls through vocational training for hair dressing and is helping them get jobs and businesses set up including Mekedes- the first girl we helped last year and started the ball rolling. She now has her own business and is doing well, thanks to some Australian donors who provided the loan for starting the business.
For the past two years Sue has been running a Bible study with our guards, house help and a shoe shine boy. All of them come from a strong Orthodox background except one, Demelesh. This year all of them have come to faith and are now starting their own ministries in their local communities. Sue and Alex, a volunteer from Australia, bought or donated many books to them and they set up libraries in their communities. They are calling them "Spiritual Libraries". They have become real lights in their communities. They also started helping some of the poorest in the area. They told the people if at some point they were able to pay back the loan it could help others like them. To their surprise all the loans were paid back. They then started helping others and it has now grown into a substantial micro-loan assistance program. They say people are jumping up and down in the community with joy.
As you know by now, this is our last term in Ethiopia as a family. Sue and the girls have already returned to Canada to close a house deal in the Barrie area. I will be continuing part time with Devxchange to help with administration as well as provide support for the projects we have started in Ethiopia.

Project Updates

Every year the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrates what is called ‘True Cross’. This is the symbolic receiving of the Cross Jesus endured. Coincidently the Gumuz also have a cultural ceremony on this day however, it is not in the light of redemption and love. This particular holiday is focused on the local village hero (the most skilled warrior/hunter) who will honor his village by taking the life of another. This hero is placed in isolation to concentrate on the charge he has been selected for and when the time comes he will kill either another Gumuz or Ethiopian man.
The Gumuz have a deep history of animism amongst their tribes and villages. This belief subjects the Gumuz to a constant fear of the dark world, evil spirits and appeasing the organizer and inflictor of it all – the Devil. Sacrifices and offerings are commonly seen around the villages in order to deter evil spirits from bringing harm to their life. Sicknesses are often thought of as punishment from the dark world for not pleasing their requests. Animism holds the Gumuz in a constant fear of the unknown.
On the way into the Gumuz in January we stopped to collect bamboo seeds as the bamboo plant only seeds every 15 years or so. As we stopped to collect seeds we discovered a body. There was a group of visiting Canadians that were traveling with me- they were a little bit nervous as we continued our trip into Gumuz land.
We have helped the KHC church start an outreach program to the Gumuz through agro-forestry. This project is going well and my sister Beth, who visited in February was able to introduce valuable concepts for the Health component. The church has also had an impact spiritually with the Gumuz with about 80 believers now in the 4 targeted villages. They were meeting under the trees but have recently built two multi-purpose church buildings for meeting and training. I am making an urgent appeal for funding for this project as it is critically in need of funds to continue. To read more about this project and help support it click here .
February saw the official opening of the multi-purpose centre with more than 350 people in attendance. This project started with memorial gifts given at my Dad's funeral almost two years ago. A simple block maker was purchased and work began not knowing where the rest of the funding would come from. God provided and the work has taken off in all directions with computer lab, library, People Living With AIDS and micro-finance project, Vocational Training programs, the re-opening of the Bible School, Compassion Project for 250 of the poorest kids in the area and 5 fold increase in the number of members in the church.
After 4 years in Ethiopia we have come to the decision this will be our last term. From the beginning we wanted to make sure that whatever we did we would work with local partners so that when we left the day to day operations would continue on and not depend on us. This enabled us to be involved in starting numerous projects from everything to working with commercial sex workers to a Big Brother/Sister program with the University Students and the many projects with the KHC Church. We are no longer needed in the day to day operations of these projects and will be able to continue to be involved from Canada raising awareness and funding for numerous ongoing issues. Devxchange is also rapidly expanding into new countries with numerous partners that require administrative support in Canada. I hope to continue to make annual trips to Ethiopia to encourage and support the work as well as channel volunteers to assist in various needs. We plan to end our term in Ethiopia the end of June but will continue part -time with Devxchange in the home office so hope many will want to continue to support us in this new phase of ministry. We will keep you informed as things develop.

Christmas in Ethiopia 2007

Christmas in Ethiopia was celebrated January 7. We met with some of the Big Brothers and Sisters from the University and the street kids. We helped start this program a couple of years ago with the Christian university fellowship. The university students become big brothers and sisters to the many street kids in Bahir Dar. This program has really taken off and has now spread to a second university campus. Every time we meet with them there are new members and new street kids that now have a big brother or sister to look out for them.
Earlier in the year our niece, Gypsi Fellows (with a degree in psychology) assisted in conducting several workshops for the university students on being a "street educator". It is very encouraging to see the development in relationships between the university students and their little brothers and sisters. They have really helped change the lives of the street kids. They used to see themselves as creatures destined for the street. They didn't see themselves as children or adults but creatures with only blackness as the future. Many are now attending school regularly and can be seen studying under the street lights at night.
One of the little sisters is now old enough to work full time and we were able to enroll her in our vocational training program for hair dressing. The university students are able to share their lives and Christian faith in a way that is transforming lives.
Sue and Sarah took on a big challenge to share the Christmas story in Amharic using flannel graph material donated by Allon Mack of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Barrie. Sue did an admirable job telling the story in Amharic and Sarah followed right along putting up the appropriate pictures on cue. The story was well received and they asked many questions upon hearing the story. The street kids all come from an Orthodox background and the story of why Jesus came is something that is often misunderstood.
We have exciting news from our last update where we talked about the crisis of people living with AIDS around the church. Women were showing up at the church in tears saying they were on their way to dying with no one to help. So far we have been able to help over 50 individuals, with more than 120 dependents, start small businesses. They are involved in just about every business including small shops, selling oil, making injerra (the staple), painting, horse and gary, carpentry, cutting hair- the list goes on and on. For many it has been a life saver. We organized them into accountability groups of 5 or 6 and they will pay back into the revolving fund every month enabling us to help others. They are asking church members to come and pray for them when one becomes sick.