Entoto Beth Artisans

I under packed in terms of clothes for our Ethiopian adventure.  As a result I can be seen on most working days, wearing the same black top and cardigan with the occasional variation in trousers.

I’ve taken to adding some accessories, and covering up my frayed wardrobe with a lab coat.

Luckily, I have discovered the Entoto Beth Artisans.  A very interesting  social cooperative.   They work in partnership with a local NGO and have trained marginalized HIV positive woman to become skilled jewelry makers.  They also provide basic health care and a daycare program (very proactive—for women to be able to work and have their children cared for close by).

     A quote from their pamphlet “An Ethiopian business dedicated to restoring the  HIV/AIDS affected community on Mt. Entoto by providing fair-wage employment.”

A sample of their wares

Discarded bullet casings and scrap metal from past armed conflicts in Ethiopia are used to make the beads.  Local farmers craft most of the beads.

It is surprising to me that discarded ammunition can be turned into such beautiful things.

It is now no problem to wear the same black shirt everyday—just put on a lab coat and wear something from Entoto Beth Artisans.

You can visit them on facebook:  Entoto Beth Artisans.

Work?

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So, I was reading through some blog posts the other day.  By the look of my blog you would think we weren’t doing any work here.  I thought I should make an attempt to set the record straight re this.  Here is a mini post about our work.

Teaching Session at Arada HC

Our program started in February with 5 residents.  We are now up to 8 residents, with our 8^th resident joining today.  We’re hoping this means that residents are hearing good things about our program.   Initially our resident demographics were a bit gender skewed, with 4 men and 1 woman.  We are now on even footing in terms of gender with 4 men and 4 women.   This is good because gender equity gets a lot of press at VSO (and obviously good for a whole host of other reasons).

Coffee with the Health Officers at Arada HC

Our little health centre, the Arada HC, seems to be blossoming.

With more residents to organize and teach, work is getting busier.  This is all, of course happening, two months before we leave (sigh).

Here are a few photos of some actual work.

A few of our residents

ALSO (Obstetrics) teaching with Ann from WI

Living the High Life

A very short post.  It seems the closer we are to leaving Addis, the busier we are becoming, hence the short post.

Mancala game/candle holder

Here’s a little story.  We had a few days where we were either without power or without water in the house.  Our mancala game turned into a very useful candle holder.

Happily, yesterday our household had both electricity and a functioning shower.  Sunil came down to breakfast and said “whoa, we are living the high life....we have power AND water today”.

Homework by candle light

So, a little lesson on how quickly opinions can change on what living the high life means.