Olivet Presbyterian Church and East Gambella Bethel Synod Projects

I am happy, amazed and thankful to report that Olivet has successfully initiated three income generating projects with the East Gambella Bethel Synod (EGBS) that have reasonably good chances of being sustainable for the Anuak in the years to come.  This entry will be about those projects and the thought and people behind them. Just check out the pictures if you don’t feel like reading about them; they tell their own story.

Each of these projects can be considered “pilot” i.e. a small start to test capability/capacity and to learn about how to proceed with other projects. Funding has been provided by Olivet (Presbyterian Church USA), EGBS and some very generous individuals.  Of course there is ambition for much more, but we'll first see how these projects fare.

Solar Projects

Gambella definitely has a powerful sun!  John Koontz and Dan Chayes have hitched two different solar arrays to it to power a solar pump (tests indicated 5+ gallons per minute!) to water an organic garden (bananas, papaya, mango, potatoes, peppers, okra, tomatoes, beans, watermelon, pumpkin etc). This garden is a precursor to a larger farming project in the future.  Understanding what sells and for how much is the first step, and this irrigation system gives this community the ability to cultivate up to 8 acres of crops.  Without the water they would be dependent on the yearly rains and that means only doing one growing season; and that would be only corn.  It would also mean having to sell the corn when everyone else is: when the prices are the lowest.

 They system they installed included a state of the art controller to manage the trade offs between the pump’s power consumption, the solar array’s powered production, and the volume of the 3000 litter cistern (also installed).  Let’s just say McGuiver never faced the challenges that these two men did – with limited tools and supplies they did it!  In 4 and one half days they put in more than 50 hours of non-stop work and hustle (105 degrees too). Even more amazing was the salvaging of 5 panels (circa 1992) from a store room and turning them into an additional solar system to power the EGBS office and the several million cell phones that instantly appear whenever someone sees a power strip with a light on.

With all his spare time, John scooted up to Pokewo to install some high intensity lights in the examination room, pharmacy and the delivery room in a remote clinic.  Now the babies have a safely lit place to arrive and be cared for.  Something I did not anticipate was how many people came out to watch John and Dan work.  If you saw John and Dan working you saw at least a half dozen men crouched near them to understand/learn about solar. With every step or decision they made they explained what they were doing and way and it was translated for the audience.  Two men, Okello and Obong, were trained for in “Solar for Africa” 101 and provided with the proper tools to maintain the system. 

Thanks and gratitude are in order for the partners at HelioSage for lending us John and CnH Construction for sparing Dan for the work.  The opportunity cost for such competence, ingenuity, and capability must be large.

 Block Making Machine

You might have seen earlier that Olivet bought a block machine for EGBS but there is more to it than that.  The machine itself was built in Addis Ababa by Selam Village, a vocational school run by orphans for orphans.  They provided the training on how to use the machine then we shipped it to Gambella.  On a good day it can make 200 block which can be sold for 2-3000 Ethiopian Birr, after you deduct the cost of the sand, cement, labor and the maintenance fund, you clear about 15% or 500 Birr or approximately $30.  Meaningful money here.

Walk Behind Tractor

Food Security is a big issue here and the land farmed by Anuak is done with a cow and a sharpened wooden pole.  This limits how much land can be cultivated before the rains come.  EGBS will first cultivate the garden previously mentioned, and then rent the tractor to farmers in their presbyteries.  The rental income will cover the costs of fuel and maintenance.  Further Farmers will commit to sharing some of the proceeds of the excess capacity when the harvest comes (this still needs to be negotiated).  If EGBS is successful in generating income with the tractor and improving the food security for its people, we will try to raise more money for another tractor.  There are 66,000 Anuak in the area all doing subsistence farming!

the first two graduates of Solar for Africa 101

When there is no hammer or electrical tape...

John the Baptist

cell phones will now be charged by the sun.

Block machine pics:

Tractor ceremony

Accounting for Your Self on Palm Sunday (and pics)

Four Gringos at the tractor ceremony

We were thankful for Kevin O’Shea and Chris Grover’s visit; though, we thought it brazenly immodest that in their short time here they learned more Amharic, Annua (k), and Swahili than any of us.  They are unpleasant in this way.

When you see something beautiful, you want to share it, and they were just the folks to appreciate it.  Even the not so beautiful things are more enjoyable (endurable) experienced together.  That is the way God made us – we were made for friendship and fellowship – how often we forget this.  The friendships here in Gambella are as robust and full as George Baily's and not limited to the confines of any one home.  You haven’t heard people laugh until you pack yourself and 11 other (unwashed and un-deoderized) people into a 7 passenger jeep on a 105 degree day and go barreling down a dirt road and see the Anuak laugh as Chris Grover tries to speak Chinese.

The heat about killed us in Gambella.  It cooled to 95 degrees at 3 in the morning.  Until the rains come, there will not be much hydro power in Ethiopia and Gambella is at the front of the line when it comes to load shedding.  Benjamin completely ruled out the possibility of telekinesis – no boy has stared harder and longer at fan blades willing them to turn.  Without power, the bottled water easily gets to match the ambient temperature (over 100) – so for those of you back there, next time you are really thirsty, go try a glass of it.  We found a hotel with a generator; their water was about 80 degrees – enough for a brain freeze.

The Anuak worship service was inspiring if not engulfing.  So many people living hard lives to their fullest - bringing earnest praise and joy to their worship.  There wasn't a lot of cash collected at the offering, but someone did leave 30 kilos of corn meal from their farm.  Of all the things I have seen here, I bet I remember that the longest.  We left at the 3 hour mark to catch our flight and see if we could find some more water.  We all agreed it would be cool if we too brought referee whistles to blow hard on during the “songs of praise” portion of Olivet’s service – that is exactly what they do here and it has quite an effect when done at the right moments and just behind your head.  The singing, the drumming, the melodious cadence of their language – all a glory to God – we floated to the rafters with them in Spirit - and cried for no reason other than the beauty of it.

We had some strange moments out in the bush villages passing out clothing, shoes (donated by the Ragged Mountain Running Store - God bless the Lorenzonis!), soccer balls, medicine and other items that had been in our hall closet too long.

Today is Palm Sunday and it is instructive to contrast our entry into these villages will Jesus's Triumphal Entry.  While there was some enthusiasm when we rolled in with our Land Cruiser full of us and stuff, we had nothing to offer that could really help these people in any meaningful, sustainable way.  In fact, it was we who were on the hunt for meaning and salvation, and like them, we are also waiting for our Savior to return and make things right once and for all.  In the meantime, not all of the disparity in the world's wealth distribution can be neatly blamed on the geo-political factors that you as an individual can not reasonably be held accountable for.

As soon as you see the people approaching, you realize your miscalculation – 33 pairs of shoes for 300 feet sort of thing - so you turn to the elder and say,

“Can you distribute these after we leave?  We don’t want to be the “great white hope idiots” or anything…”

He says, “No way.  They will become angry with me.  You can leave here. I cannot.  You decide who gets them.”

He has a point, but the indignity of it is nauseating – lacking the  wit or wisdom to figure out who gets what, you speed up and then the hands start grabbing and you feel responsible for triggering their descent into the shoving and grabbing – because, frankly, you are responsible for it. Piñatas for kids are one thing, but seeing grandmothers yank shoes from the hands of children not their own is another.  Would it have been better to not have brought anything?  “Yes,” if it is about your own sense of decorum, “no,” if you ask the person who got the shoes.

At the last village visited, Kevin literally gave the shirt off his back – the rest of us did not, we are not in as good a shape, spiritually or physically.  But that is what these moments call for – I do remember wishing I could tear a hole in space and bring through it all the contents of my garage, closets, drawers and the thousands of items barely enjoyed or appreciated stuck lifeless in my embarrassingly materially abundant life.

What then?  In the midst of (truly) embarrassing riches – when it is finally “out” about how much you have, what do you say?  What would you say?  What would you say if all your belongings - the entire contents of your home were dumped in the corn field by one of these little grass huts?  I picture myself standing there in front of these people, with my pile of stuff behind me...

“Er, I don’t know exactly how the world got to be like this, but I want to apologize for the pieces of it I think I probably screwed up.  I guess I have a bit of a problem with, ah, consuming too much.  As you can see, I had an unusual fear of running out of dress shirts and ties.  What? No, I don't have to wear them to work - they are just a good thing to have."

"Nope, no one in my family actually skate boards, they are just also good to have around in case of an emergency.  And, those tape measures, well they are tough to find when you need them, so I guess I just bought one whenever I needed one - believe it or not it's easier to drive to a store than to remember one is in the kitchen drawer - crazy I know."

"T-shirts?  We actually rarely wear those, we use them merely as gifts when they have something funny or special written on them, but also to commemorate certain days – you know, like signs or something."

"The running shoes? No, we also have cars, but, well, you see, we all eat too much and have to run a lot.  So they are always around.  These other shoes we actually use, not all the time of course but most of them get worn I think…well at least half of them, maybe at least once a year, I am almost certain about that. - but feel free to take all of this stuff - I can replace what I need to - just forgive me for taking so much more than my fair share of things on this little planet of ours - I truly don't know what came over me.” 

Jesus come back soon and sort this out, please. 

passing out some clothes

Eliza spotted someone her size

when you have to walk every where, you really appreicate shoes

Sophie passing out shoes

Kids reflecting on the Baro River

boy and his toy car

Chris did not have a licence to practice veterinary medicine

Government official honoring the receipt of the tractor

Forgetting Neediness

Girma went back to school this past week and he was pulled aside by one of the teachers and told to leave and not come back.  In the past, when students have gotten scholarships, their classmates have poisoned them or beat them causing serious bodily harm.  He was advised to stay home and not go out unless necessary. Evidently what compounds this jealous rage is the fact that Girma is, in the eyes of many here, a “nobody,” a person from the street, without name or family.  The seeming capriciousness of Girma’s good fortune is unsettling to all those Girma will be leaving behind – people who also struggle, who also do their best.  A Christian friend cautioned – “Be careful, this is clearly God’s plan, because it is so unusual to have happened in this way; God must have a very special plan for Girma, therefore Satan will do all he can to make problems for Girma.  You must pray more.” 

It was not as if we were totally going to relax, we did, after all, just add another teenager into the family; but after several days of thanksgiving, our minds have been drifting onwards.  Kevin O’Shea had these words for us from Hosea (13:6) “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”

No Pictures, Just a Post

Hello - these past few days have been so rich that it has been impossible to write - about as practical as whipping out your journal while cresting the first hill of a roller coaster and asking the person behind you if they have a pen.  Girma got his Visa!  I am in Kenya right now, and Julie is back in Addis, and how exactly it happened is really her story to tell.  I am bold to say that that this was all God's doing, and for perhaps the first time in my life, I don't have any doubt about it - this was a miracle.  So many things that people said were impossible (people like me, for example) suddenly became possible.  All the things that have given me my bearings in life seem to be silly, made up things; frankly, I have no idea what the "plan" is, but I am now more certain than ever, that it is good.

Asheabo and Agrobo and Lily - Pics without Pontification

Some folks know that Kevin O'Shea and Chris Grover are over here on "official church business...."

On the flight to Gambella

A few minutes later

Chris terrorizing the children with a harmonica:

Kevin after the distribution of a donation of shoes from the Ragged Mountain Running Shop

Kevin administering Pop Rocks

Lily and Kevin enjoying some local fare...

Lily with her fan club ( a note about that child's hair...because young children die so frequently here, this is the hair cut they get.  It is the believe that if a child dies, this haircut makes it easier for God to pick them up to take them to heaven.

More pics - no time to title them...

A prayer request from Lily

As some of you know may know, we have grown very attached to a boy we met here, Girma. It should come as no surprise that my parents are trying to bring Girma back to the US to go to High School at Covenant on a full scholarship. Perhaps this is because they want to make up for the loss when Sophie and I go off to college. We have only one last step to complete but this is the hardest step: the VISA interview at the US Embassy this Monday morning.  Ultimately, Girma wants to return to Ethiopia to help other street kids like himself - and we have gotten to know him well enough to know that this is not just "chatter."

Please keep Girma in your prayers and pray that the person at the embassy will see this incredible opportunity for Girma and grant the VISA. Both Girma and we will be devastated if this does not work out so also pray for our vulnerable hearts. We are even hopeful that it is God’s plan to bring Girma back with us on April 25, so he can get to complete fluency before he begins school this fall.

Girma with his Ethiopian guradian:

More food

Girma with a young friend he looks after:

Girma waiting to get his passport pictures:

Sophie's Trip to Zambia

[Sophie and I went to Zambia last week - here are her notes, and  then a lot of pictures.  The next three weeks are crazy for us - Hopefully, everything will come together for Olivet's projects in Gambella - more later.]

Zambia - by Sophie

My father and I went to go visit The Nelson’s in Zambia last week. It was a short and fun three days. I have known the Nelson family since I was eight years old. I am drawn towards their children. They have three kids who have Down syndrome. When I go to college I want to learn special education because the nelsons have done so much with helping people with special needs. I have learned so much from them that I want special education to be my major in college. Zambia was very different from Addis. Zambia was very green and not polluted. Many people In Zambia are very dark skinned. I had a very good time with my dad and the nelson family. I had the best sleep of my whole time being in Africa. I really like that Ms. Nelson can cook. My mom can cook but not like Ms. Nelson. It’s funny that both families are living in Africa.

Zambian women using discarded plastic bags to make baskets, wine holders, hats, shoes and bags.

Zambian children doing flips during recess

Lily and Sophie feeding some monkeys....

Julie and her flock