• Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • How We Work
    • Meet Our Team
    • FAQ
  • About Ethiopia
    • About Ethiopia
    • Ethiopian Sights
  • Wells of Life
    • Wells of Life
    • Water Well Types
    • Featured Well
  • Posts
    • Facebook
    • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Personalized Fundraising
    • Legacies and Endowments
    • Support with Amazon Smile
Water Is Life | EthiopiaWater Is Life | Ethiopia
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • How We Work
    • Meet Our Team
    • FAQ
  • About Ethiopia
    • About Ethiopia
    • Ethiopian Sights
  • Wells of Life
    • Wells of Life
    • Water Well Types
    • Featured Well
  • Posts
    • Facebook
    • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Personalized Fundraising
    • Legacies and Endowments
    • Support with Amazon Smile

Reflections – Karen Schimpf

June 13, 2020 Posted by Karen Schimpf Reflections

In November, 2017, Peter and I traveled to Ethiopia.  It was our first trip there and even though we had heard the stories from others who had traveled there previously, we still were not exactly sure what to expect.  We knew we would be visiting wells dug by our late friend, Steve Silver and other wells dedicated to members of our church who had traveled to Ethiopia in times past and supported the work of Water is Life Ethiopia.

We were met in Addis Ababa at the airport by Merrie and David.  How nice to be met by familiar faces in a foreign country.  They planned an itinerary that allowed us to see as much of the country as possible in the limited time we would be there.

In my mind, I had pictured Ethiopia, and all of Africa, to be one flat, hot desert continent, but I was pleasantly surprised to see both flat desert-looking grounds to beautiful lush mountains.  The geography varied as we traveled to different regions.

When we arrived in villages and were able to walk around and visit with the people, I thought I knew what poverty looked like, but this was beyond my imagination.  There were so many children, who were so happy to see us, the farangi or foreigners as we were called.  We were able to spend time with the children and they were captivated seeing the pictures we took of them with our phones.  They quickly liked the idea of “selfies”.

Their homes, shared with livestock, were not anything we can imagine living in.  The villages were usually remote and access to markets was a long walk.  In the villages without a well, we saw how the women and children worked to get water, using dirty, yellow plastic jherry containers.  Distances to water we would not even want to put a dirty foot in, much less use to wash clothes or use for cooking, made it a time consuming and back-breaking process.  Comparing the villages with a well to those that did not have wells, it was evident what a transformation the wells made in their lives.

The first morning after visiting the first village, while eating breakfast and preparing for the day ahead, David asked my impression of the previous day.  My immediate response was that I wanted to gather all the children and give them a bath and clean clothes, but as I thought about it more, I realized it would be pointless to do something like that because they would be dirty again and may experience something they may never experience again.  I then focused on the faces of the children and remembered the smiles on each child I saw.  The children didn’t know they were poor and they didn’t have a way to compare their lives to anyone else.  They were happy and content.  Three years later, it’s the smiling faces of the children that I first think of when I think of Ethiopia.  As each new well is brought into operation, it is changing the lives of the women and children in that village in a way that one bath and one change of clothes would not be able accomplish.

Share
0

About Karen Schimpf

This author hasn't written their bio yet.
Karen Schimpf has contributed 1 entries to our website, so far.View entries by Karen Schimpf

You also might be interested in

Rural Ethiopian Original Water Source 2016-02-01 Photo-3

W.A.T.E.R.

Jul 7, 2019

If we allow it, the depth of meaning for water[...]

Empower SLT 2018-10-28 Photo-16

John’s Water

Jan 24, 2019

Water Is Life Ethiopia is more than a clever name[...]

Water is Life Agriculture 2018-05-30 Photo-42

Water. What does it Really Mean?

Jul 7, 2019

In developed countries, water flows like magic, on demand, clean[...]

Recent Posts

  • Reflections – Karen Schimpf
  • Newsletter – May 2018
  • Newsletter – January 2018
  • Newsletter – December 2018
  • Water is Life Ethiopia’s Response

Our Facebook

Our Facebook

About Us


Meet Our Team


FAQ


About Ethiopia


Ethiopian Sights


Wells of Life


Well Types


$
Would you like to help cover the processing fees?
Dedicate this Donation

Honoree Details

Notification Details

350 Characters left
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Credit Card Info
This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

Donation Total: $10.00 Weekly

{amount} donation plus {fee_amount} to help cover fees.

Featured Well


Donate Now


Personalized Fundraising


Legacies & Endowments


Amazon Smile


References


© [2020] · Water is Life Ethiopia

Prev