By Noelle Tang, World Vision Singapore Child Sponsor
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The streets of Yaya Gulale. |
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Addis Ababa seems much further away than the 10-hour flight we took to get there. I spent the first day upon arrival enveloped in a sense of surrealistic unreal-ness. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought I would walk down the dusty streets of the capital of Ethiopia, nor have the opportunity to put my arms around two boys living more than 7,000 kilometres away, whom I have only known through periodic letters over the last few years.
We were on an organised week-long trip in April 2009 to visit Yaya Gulale, an Area Development Programme (ADP) supported by World Vision Singapore. The visit was specially conducted for child sponsors to visit our sponsored children and to see the progress achieved by the community through our contributions.
Personally, I came to Ethiopia to be exposed to the reality of life in another part of the world other than my own milieu. I came to see the work that God is doing in this nation. I came expecting my heart to be touched and changed by what I see. And did we see indeed!
We saw the needs. Some 44 per cent of the population live below the poverty line. Some 90 per cent live in rural communities with only one occupation – farming. Not that we needed statistics to tell us. As we drove through the bumpy ride on dusty paths which Singaporeans would hardly call roads, we passed through pastures, fields, mud shacks and straw-roofed huts.
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Meeting my sponsored children on my birthday. |
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Every 10 minutes, either a lone villager or a group of farmers with ridiculously bulky loads on their backs and heads would pass us by, on foot, under the blazing sun. I often wondered where they were headed. There was no town within sight. The only possibility, or impossibility, was that they were headed to the nearest town to sell their produce. It took us two and a half hours to reach the village of Yaya Gulale from Addis. How long would it take for them? I thought of my sponsored children. Would they ever get to see a city? Would they ever get to see the world outside of Yaya Gulale?
I had been excited about spending my birthday in Ethiopia this year. Instead of presents or treats from friends, I had the privilege of meeting Ararisa and Dejene, my sponsored children, on my birthday.
Though they were mostly shy, quiet and we spoke through an interpreter, just seeing that they are well and healthy, and that they enjoyed the little presents from Singapore, was priceless. I am thankful for the privilege to share in the lives of these two young ones through a simple act of giving.
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My sponsored child, Ararisa and his father. This picture exemplifies “Like father, like son”! |
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Spending time with Ararisa and Dejene was wonderful, but more precious to me were the smiles and infectious joy that emanate so evidently from all of them, in spite of the hard life they led. Everywhere we went, we were greeted by mobs of excited, running children and eager adults. Some wanted to take photos with us; some wanted to see us from a distance; some were exhilarated just to touch our hands. We were so blessed by Ethiopian gentleness, hospitality and warmth from all quarters.
As we travelled around the village, we saw various community improvement projects ranging from a school to agricultural training, to a new water collection point for a village with no previous access to water.
We heard many testimonies from beneficiaries on how World Vision’s work had improved their lives. I was heartened by the progress of the community development in Yaya Gulale – all done within just one and a half years since the commencement of the ADP.
I was especially moved by the dedication of the World Vision staff in Ethiopia in tirelessly serving the community with the love of Jesus. As I looked at the faces of children in Yaya Gulale, I am more assured of a hope and future for them, because of the good, and I believe, enduring work that World Vision is doing.
Forty-five dollars a month may only get us a pair of Charles & Keith shoes or a buffet dinner at Carousel, but it means access to education, basic health needs, food, water and essential life skills and services for children and their families in this part of the world.
Someone, a fellow human, may have a chance to live a life of dignity, because we gave.
Click here to watch a video of Yaya Gulale.
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Join us on a supporters’ trip to these World Vision-assisted communities and be inspired by their faith and strength to survive! Click here to see the list of trips planned for 2009.
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