MY PROJECT AND MY HOST FAMILY!!!!!

I am so happy to tell you that yesterday (October 12, 2009) I received information about my project and my host family. First I will fill you in on the project and then tell you a bit about my host family and accommodations.

1. My project is at Kidane Mihret Catholic School and Children's Home. Kidane Mihret is home to 165 orphans ranging in age from 0 - 16. I will be there 8 hours a day Monday through Friday.
Kidane Mihret is a care home and school that is attached to Kidane Mihret church, and is run by nuns. The school is open to the poorest children from the surrounding area and the care home is home to about 165 orphans. Many of the children are adopted at an early age since the church has good links with both the Ethiopian and Foreign Catholic church. Despite this, many of the children are not able to be housed - sometimes due to the high prevalence of HIV in Ethiopia, around 30% of the older children are HIV+. This home also cares for some disabled children and has a small kindergarten that the younger children attend during the day. They also prepare and serve food to the poor children who come from outside everyday for a good meal.

2. My host family is made up of a father, mother and three children. There is an 11 year old boy, a 9 year old girl and a 4 year old girl.

The house is made up of two separate buildings: one is the main building and the other contains the service rooms. The service rooms are often used more than the rooms in the main building which are very neat and often do not even look lived in. All food is prepared in the service quarters. All the buildings are usually set back from the road and enclosed by a metal gate. The house is near shops, Internet cafes, laundry's and cafeterias.

I am told this is a busy family with a lot of relative that will keep me entertained. Many in the household speak good English and are very interested in having a foreigner come and live with them so I must be prepared to tell my life story several times. My room will have a single bed and a wardrobe. I will have a lockable door for safety and will share the cold shower and toilet with the family as well as the living room, dining room and all other communal areas of the house. I will be given typical Ethiopian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast usually consists of bread with marmalade, scrambled injera and of course lots of top notch Ethiopia coffee. Lunch and dinner usually consist of the main staple injera and a selection of different meat stews and curries, vegetables, cheese and spices.

I will arrive on November 3 at just after two in the morning Ethiopian time. My first day I will be left to rest. On the second day one of the local Projects Abroad staff will take me out to show me the local area and introduce me to my supervisor and work colleagues. I will start work on my third day. My work day begins at 8:30 am I will probably spend the morning with the very young babies, feeding, changing, cuddling and playing with them. Alternatively I could be working in the kindergarten with the toddlers where I can sing songs, read stories and help with basic classes. Lunch is served at noon after which there is a short break when I can play with the kids until they go back to the kindergarten for the afternoon. All the children come back from school or kindergarten at around 4pm, when they are free until dinner. The home has recently had a library with computer facilities donated so they may need some help in there, reading to the children and helping them to use the computers.

I am so excited and will use my last two and a half weeks wisely as I prepare for this life changing mission to Ethiopia. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers.