(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_5246a NULL.jpg)[A government owned forest on the northern outskirts of Addis]You may remember about a year ago I posted the first blog on a community of believers in Uganda. It is not a typical community, not a neighborhood or even a church congregation but an orphan care center called St. Ameria. At the time there were about 120 full time orphans; their parents passing from the war in the North of Uganda, HIV/AIDS, malaria, or any number of other factors. All that is left is the memories and statistics on a page. Somehow or other, the children ended up in the care of Richard and Edith, the directors and full time parents of the children at St. Ameria. Edith founded the organization in 1994 when she accepted her first orphan and hasn’t turned away anyone since. When I was introduced to the home last year there were no beds to speak of, dorms and rooms submitting to the harsh rains and intense heat. Soon after the blog was published help was on its way and money started being sent – first for food and beds, then for new building projects. Then, the Not Alone Benefit Tour kicked off and most of the interest generated was geared toward St. Ameria. Thanks to John Bills and others, churches started picking up on the lead, sending teams to Uganda to document and come to the aid of the children. It is hard to say how much money and effort has been given, but I do know that about a week and a half ago, a bank transfer was sent from Los Angeles to Jinja containing over 7500 dollars. When the Benefit Show was coming together an outlet had to be available for people to send money tax-free. With the help of John Bills and Nigel at the base in LA – the African Orphans’ Fund was set up and continues to accept funds for St. Ameria.
Thank you for catching the vision, feeling God’s heart, and allowing yourself to be moved by love, after all, we know that love is a movement – first by God giving His Son, then His love flowing through us to the world and His special creation.
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_5080a NULL.jpg)[Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church at a women's rights forum at Meskel Square, Addis Ababa]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_5192 NULL.jpg)[She didn't want her picture taken at first... then she did]
And now, Ethiopia. It was amazing to be back. I did my DTS outreach here over a year ago. This is the first time I have been back, but I am praying that it won’t be the last. A young, passionate, gifted speaker came from Kona with Paul Childers (our school leader). His name is Andy and he rocked our faces off (which is an expression that means that he blessed us tremendously). It is easy to get tired with so much traveling, class, culture shock every month, and to add to all of that, living in community 24 hours a day for months on end. Most of us were drained to say the lease, but then there was Andy. God used him to bring us a proverbial cold glass of water to our souls, refreshing us from the inside out, invigoration us for our relationship with God. It was just what we needed and we are now better equipped for the next four months of the traveling taking us into Kona.
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_5163 NULL.jpg)[Construction site watchman]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_5148 NULL.jpg)[Toothbrush (stick) salesman]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/DSC_0138 NULL.jpg)[Garlic Saleswoman at Markato, the largest outdoor market in Africa]
Laura Fisher came to speak to us for the next week about African Worldview. There are an almost incalculable amount of people groups in Africa, so it is impossible to come up with an African Worldview, but there are many major characteristics of most of the people groups. Using those, we constructed the main areas of worldview: Reality, Human Nature, Value, and truth. It was an amazing week not only to observe African Worldview, but to examine my own worldview to see what I think and what I hold to be true. The Bible says that we are to be continually transformed by the renewing out our minds (Ephesians 4:23). I think that this means we should be continually examining ourselves and our thought processes and aligning them to God’s Word. The goal is to be a citizen and child of the Kingdom, having a worldview that sets the Word of God as the grid through which we see all.
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6037 NULL.jpg)[Poor homeless woman approached me asking for a picture after church]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/Merkato_080314_0083a NULL.jpg)[Various grains for sale at Markato]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/Merkato_080314_0090a NULL.jpg)[The woman, and now friend, who was selling the grain. Her name is Mini]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/Merkato_080314_0020a NULL.jpg)[A little guy having fun with his brother in a public mini-bus]
With our newly acquired information about how to see the world around us with our eyes open, David Fisher (Laura’s husband) taught about Documentary Photography and assigned us a project for the following week. A previous Family member had com
e to Ethiopia a couple years before and came again to do some follow-up work. I really wanted to go down to the Hamar Tribe where she had worked, but I really felt like God was asking me to stay in Addis Ababa to get a few stories around there that he had laid on my heart. I had met a woman the first time in coming to Ethiopia who was HIV positive, so that was the first story, and the other was about the population of street children in Addis and what ministries existed that provided hope for them. So I started researching (without the internet… tough), getting stories, and attempting photos. As far as photography goes, I had never been more discouraged. I really felt like none of the pictures were what I had envisioned and ultimately, I was disheartened. I questioned whether or not I had heard right; did God really keep me to be frustrated? Looking back on it, I can tell he really just wanted my obedience and humility to follow him first. I turned in what I had, but was completely awed at what the other students had been doing. We have some amazingly talented people searching for what God wants for the world, as well as His heart for it.
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/Kebenesh_080321_0553a NULL.jpg)[Kebeneshe, the HIV positive woman and good friend, that I did one of the photo stories on]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/Kebenesh_080321_0531 NULL.jpg)[Kebeneshe's Mother]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/Kebeneshe_080318_0339 NULL.jpg)[Kebeneshe at home]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/Kebeneshe_080318_0355a NULL.jpg)[Kebeneshe displaying her AntiRetroVirals (provided for free by the government)]
Officially, Spring Break started and most of the team left for Europe. Four of us stayed for a few extra days (as long as our visas would allow), so I kept working on the Street Children story. Abdissa, the direction of the Mercy Development Center helped me tremendously. He has the most passionate heart for street children that I have ever seen. His ministry was a beneficiary of the money that came in during the Not Alone Benefit Tour last summer, but even then, I didn’t really understand the tip of the iceberg of everything he does in the community. I had thought that his only (but massive) undertaking was the orphanage he runs (and lives). It is a center for children who have been taken right off of the streets. The home is actually a last resort for full orphans who have no family or guardians. When I left last year there were 18 at the home and now there are 25. These children are provided for in every way; food clothing, shelter, school fees, uniforms, and whatever else they may need. Abdissa treats them as he would his own children although he is only 28.to watch the interaction and love between them is amazing to behold.
There is also a huge community based support system as well. There are 16 families all over Addis. The children were full or half orphans who were either on the street or at risk of living on the streets out of poverty. Many have lived parts of their young lives on the streets but have now been reconciled to their guardians.
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6207 NULL.jpg)[Standing with Genet in her one bedroom home (meaning space for one bed with a little extra space) in which she lives taking care of 4 children]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6217 NULL.jpg)[Genet making Ingera, a traditional Ethiopian bread]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6175a NULL.jpg)[Hanna, the youngest and most recent addition to the YMD Center Orphanage]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6239a NULL.jpg)[Daniels parents died of AIDS and so did his youngest brother. Now he takes care of his brother and 2 sisters by himself with the help of Abdissa and the YMD Center]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6166a NULL.jpg)[At 28, Abdissa has a heart for the poorest of children in Addis Ababa, sacrificing his life for theirs]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/DSC_0126b NULL.jpg)[Solomon, a country-side boy who now lives on the streets]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6040a NULL.jpg)[Another Solomon. Crazy how the Solomon of the Bible is said to have had splendor beyond all others. This Solomon doesn't know where his next meal is coming from. I met him last year at Hope Enterprise and randomly met him again this visit. Praise God]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6031a NULL.jpg)[A couple of young homeless men sleep in their shanty tent outside of an Orthodox Church downtown Addis Ababa]
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6055a NULL.jpg)[A Street Child in front of the Cuba
n Friendship Memorial on Churchill Road, Downtown Addis Ababa]
Anyway, there are plenty of other details, but I want to tell you about my last day working on the story. Abdissa and I got a taxi and headed to the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Addis. It is the nicest hotel that I have seen in Africa and probably one of the nicest I have ever seen. Immediately across the street of the Icon of Luxury is the poorest section of the city, Arogokera. We ventured into the thin, windy streets complete with creeks of refuse. We arrived at the home of Amabet, a former street girl who had been raped while she was homeless. Her son Yonathan, now a month and a half old, her, and her other 2 children live in a room that is 5 feet by 4 feet; the only place they can call home. It isn’t much, but it’s all they have. 3 other girls with children live in the same city in similar rooms as well. Their rent is paid for by the YMD Center and they are now living with hope that their children won’t have to live in the same situation they did. There is even an elderly lady in the community called ‘Mama” who looks after them and provides a safe place and gives them her strong Godly advice and direction. It was amazing to behold the dynamics of the group, not to mention I took pictures that I really like the whole day that I want to put into a more formal presentation/publication. I am encouraged continually with how God has used me to bring a change to a handful of children at St. Ameria and I am anxiously hoping that He will use me to bring change to the over 200,000 street children wandering the streets of Addis Ababa losing hope that there is anyone out there to care about them.
(http://i14 NULL.photobucket NULL.com/albums/a311/johnkwali/IMG_6271a NULL.jpg)[Amabet and her son Yonathan in the doorway of their "house" in Arogokera, Addis Ababa]
So. Spring Break is now underway. We will resume back to classes on April 6th in Amsterdam. As for me, I am in Cairo for the break and will then travel to Amsterdam starting on the third. Pray for safe travels for everyone this week and that we find rest and refreshment from the Lord.
Pray for the children in Addis Ababa tonight; that the hope of Christ will infiltrate their minds and hearts.
In Him
John Paul
Tags: advocate, africa, compassion, ethiopia, hope, injustice, love, photography, photojournalism, social justice, Uganda
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John. AMAZING photos. As well as incredible insight, hope you have a really great break! See you soon!
Holler. I’m liking the sizeable entry, very much.
The fruit of your obedience to stay in Addis Ababa will multiply stupendously. Those you were blessed to be with needed your presence as the fragrance of Christ. We can never outgive God. You are Christ’s example of putting others first as we witness in your blogs, over and over again. I remember you once were told that the photography is the doorway to what God has planned for you to do. Be blessed and encouraged as you continue your journey with HIM. He will provide for His loving and obedient servant.
Thanks for the update on St. Ameria’s as well as Abdissa and the street children, how faithful our Father has been. Who knows what He will do when we but answer the call. Your blog is challenging and insightful. Keep up the great work! Get refreshed through your break. We’ll be hearing from you then in Amsterdam.