Next!...Degan Health Centre
Feels like another day
On what feels like the fourth day we have lived through today, but is really just a very busy Wednesday in northern Ethiopia, we move on from our lunch date - feeling totally spoiled - to further discussions at the Health Centre. This is the top priority for the visit – a fact that can easily be forgotten with the time devoted to schools and individuals all seeming to be of equal and critical importance.
The slightly frantic recently widowed man sheltering his tiny baby from the impartial glare of the sun under a black umbrella both haunts and reminds of this purpose – i.e. to negotiate an MoU with all interested parties to ensure that the ambulance our fund raising efforts will provide will be used solely for transporting emergency cases to the health centre or to hospital. We also want agreement that this vehicle will be maintained, a driver hired, running costs borne by the Woreda Health Authority and funds put aside for replacement after the 7 year expected working life of the suitably converted long wheel base Toyota Land Cruiser. (Toyota is clearly the supplier of choice in this country).
A lot can happen in that timeframe. Hopefully the entire area will be better resourced and serviced seven years down the track. If the rate of development in the capital is anything to go by this should be a realistic hope.
The health centre is looking great. Knowing from earlier DESTA video edits that there was nothing of the kind here two years ago makes it look even better and the future brighter.
Bigger aid organizations than ours have been at work here as the USAID logo bears witness. If I recall correctly, the Swedish Government was involved as well. But not knowing the terms of their donation, its hard to anticipate whether or not its safe to expect to come back in another year and find the furniture and equipment in place to make the tidy new buildings fully functional. There are beds (old and new) with no mattresses, rooms with no furniture, not a lot of equipment and no running water supply.
The young environmental health graduate ‘exiled’ here from Addis for a two year internship reckons the next project should be to install a water tank to provide a constant supply to the centre. Not a lot to ask really, and the visible evidence of not having this amenity is appalling to unfamiliar eyes. The sight of a woman sitting under a tree doing the centre’s washing ‘traditional style’ in a large bowl of water looks like a beautiful painting but confirms its a good idea for more than one reason.
The pity is, this bright and well educated young man who knows what better standards look like is only here for the two years ‘posting’ required of Health Sector graduates, then he’ll be off to where those standards already exist - in Ethiopia or elsewhere - rather than sticking around to lobby for them to come to Degan.
He is not from here originally and has no long-term commitment to the community. Local kids who do have ties here have to travel (literally and metaphorically) a hard and expensive road to get to university for the education that could drive this kind of development. Can you see the problem? It will be revisited with more detail when we finally get to the high school for the so far daily rescheduled visit. A few children from the original Degan Mission School founded by Ron and Maria have already travelled this road and come back as the officials we are dealing with now.
Some have travelled and not come back but still maintain ties with their home area one way or another. One we are in contact with heads administration in the highly prized and contested Nile Basin area - water is more valuable than oil in some situations. Another has made a successful career and lives in the western USA. Loyalty reigns though, and he maintains contact from a distance - even taking the trouble to call Sam to express support and wish him well with the latest stage of the project in Degan. Communication may not be as technologically advanced here as it is in some places but it's every bit as effective if not more so. Clearly the news of our presence in Degan has reached him on another continent within days of our unannounced arrival. Not everyone has, or can seize this kind of opportunity though, and it may be a long time coming to some.
For the moment though, we consider immediate problems and what it is possible to do with our small team and limited resources. Like the poem about a man walking along a beach littered with grounded starfish and putting the ones he passes back in the water – saying 'I made a difference to that one', we are able to help some, if not every one, and do believe that matters.
The discussion is around the MoU and how negotiations will proceed from here. Its already Wednesday so things need to start coming together. The upshot of this discussion is that Shemeles, the elected community leader (seated below) and Eshetu, the health centre director will travel back with us to the Concern office in Kombolche to discuss any revisions to the draft of the MoU that Ato Andalamo’s assistant recommends. They will then return to Degan for sundown (they have been fasting all day remember) and come back again in the morning to the Woreda Health Authority offices to meet with the other signatories, Sheik Alam and the authority’s representative for final sign off.
The discussion is productive and some changes are approved. Turns out to be a good thing the donated laptop is still with us at this stage as the changes can be made on the spot and the final version of the document printed off. It all takes longer than expected though, sundown arrives and the guys are starving. The driver drops them at the terrace café where we stopped for morning tea on the first day before driving the rest of us back to Tekle’s. He will return to pick them up and drive them back to Degan. Sense his annoyance at the need to work late and after dark. As it turns out, the café has no food so all they get is cakes. I can only hope there was some dinner left for them when they got home to Degan!
Back at the hotel a visitor is waiting. A lady that has known Ron and Maria since she was 16 and lives locally in a leper’s community. We tried to visit her earlier in the day but she and her fellow residents were at a religious festival that is happening a bus ride away. They are beggars and donations are good around such events because looking after the poor is part of the belief system. There are emotional scenes as she knew Maria was taken ill last year and that it could have been fatal. She has an adopted daughter – her own two children died in tragic circumstances. The girl is beautiful and the soft toy brought as a gift for her instantly becomes an extra appendage and spreads a stunning smile across her face.
Eventually we gather for dinner. The limited options on the menu that might be criticized in other circumstances are perused without complaint. The salads are excellent and more than enough to add to the rich traditional dishes served from the village kitchens. The restaurant is busy again with a new batch of tourists passing through.
The sight of them reminds me of a moment of stark contrast that came into the frame today. A convoy of four dust coloured Land Cruisers drove at fair speed through Degan while we stood with a group of people - as is typical where there is little traffic - gathered in the street. The blaring horns sounded aggressive and large modern vehicles full of European tourists looked like a gash in the landscape.
I can’t stay awake for the final activity – which would be Wednesday / day 7 by the previous counting standard – and leave the Cunningham clan discussing the small donations that will be left for individuals and families. This is always done discretely after they leave to avoid making a public show of who is in difficult circumstances, though the community generally seem to know this anyway as they help as far as they can. There is a long list, including widows, elderly, sick and destitute people. Its is gratifying to think that such small and available gifts can make a positive difference to their lives. A couple of examples - the temporarily destitute family with two young children who had to leave their land so the mother can undergo a six month course of treatment for TB at the Degan Health Centre. NZ$60 paid their rent for the remaining four months, left a reasonable contribution for food and some second hand clothes for the kids. A similar amount covered minor eye surgery for an elderly man to remain independent for a few more years.
On what feels like the fourth day we have lived through today, but is really just a very busy Wednesday in northern Ethiopia, we move on from our lunch date - feeling totally spoiled - to further discussions at the Health Centre. This is the top priority for the visit – a fact that can easily be forgotten with the time devoted to schools and individuals all seeming to be of equal and critical importance.
The slightly frantic recently widowed man sheltering his tiny baby from the impartial glare of the sun under a black umbrella both haunts and reminds of this purpose – i.e. to negotiate an MoU with all interested parties to ensure that the ambulance our fund raising efforts will provide will be used solely for transporting emergency cases to the health centre or to hospital. We also want agreement that this vehicle will be maintained, a driver hired, running costs borne by the Woreda Health Authority and funds put aside for replacement after the 7 year expected working life of the suitably converted long wheel base Toyota Land Cruiser. (Toyota is clearly the supplier of choice in this country).
A lot can happen in that timeframe. Hopefully the entire area will be better resourced and serviced seven years down the track. If the rate of development in the capital is anything to go by this should be a realistic hope.
The health centre is looking great. Knowing from earlier DESTA video edits that there was nothing of the kind here two years ago makes it look even better and the future brighter.
Bigger aid organizations than ours have been at work here as the USAID logo bears witness. If I recall correctly, the Swedish Government was involved as well. But not knowing the terms of their donation, its hard to anticipate whether or not its safe to expect to come back in another year and find the furniture and equipment in place to make the tidy new buildings fully functional. There are beds (old and new) with no mattresses, rooms with no furniture, not a lot of equipment and no running water supply.
The young environmental health graduate ‘exiled’ here from Addis for a two year internship reckons the next project should be to install a water tank to provide a constant supply to the centre. Not a lot to ask really, and the visible evidence of not having this amenity is appalling to unfamiliar eyes. The sight of a woman sitting under a tree doing the centre’s washing ‘traditional style’ in a large bowl of water looks like a beautiful painting but confirms its a good idea for more than one reason.
The pity is, this bright and well educated young man who knows what better standards look like is only here for the two years ‘posting’ required of Health Sector graduates, then he’ll be off to where those standards already exist - in Ethiopia or elsewhere - rather than sticking around to lobby for them to come to Degan.
He is not from here originally and has no long-term commitment to the community. Local kids who do have ties here have to travel (literally and metaphorically) a hard and expensive road to get to university for the education that could drive this kind of development. Can you see the problem? It will be revisited with more detail when we finally get to the high school for the so far daily rescheduled visit. A few children from the original Degan Mission School founded by Ron and Maria have already travelled this road and come back as the officials we are dealing with now.
Some have travelled and not come back but still maintain ties with their home area one way or another. One we are in contact with heads administration in the highly prized and contested Nile Basin area - water is more valuable than oil in some situations. Another has made a successful career and lives in the western USA. Loyalty reigns though, and he maintains contact from a distance - even taking the trouble to call Sam to express support and wish him well with the latest stage of the project in Degan. Communication may not be as technologically advanced here as it is in some places but it's every bit as effective if not more so. Clearly the news of our presence in Degan has reached him on another continent within days of our unannounced arrival. Not everyone has, or can seize this kind of opportunity though, and it may be a long time coming to some.
For the moment though, we consider immediate problems and what it is possible to do with our small team and limited resources. Like the poem about a man walking along a beach littered with grounded starfish and putting the ones he passes back in the water – saying 'I made a difference to that one', we are able to help some, if not every one, and do believe that matters.
The discussion is around the MoU and how negotiations will proceed from here. Its already Wednesday so things need to start coming together. The upshot of this discussion is that Shemeles, the elected community leader (seated below) and Eshetu, the health centre director will travel back with us to the Concern office in Kombolche to discuss any revisions to the draft of the MoU that Ato Andalamo’s assistant recommends. They will then return to Degan for sundown (they have been fasting all day remember) and come back again in the morning to the Woreda Health Authority offices to meet with the other signatories, Sheik Alam and the authority’s representative for final sign off.
The discussion is productive and some changes are approved. Turns out to be a good thing the donated laptop is still with us at this stage as the changes can be made on the spot and the final version of the document printed off. It all takes longer than expected though, sundown arrives and the guys are starving. The driver drops them at the terrace café where we stopped for morning tea on the first day before driving the rest of us back to Tekle’s. He will return to pick them up and drive them back to Degan. Sense his annoyance at the need to work late and after dark. As it turns out, the café has no food so all they get is cakes. I can only hope there was some dinner left for them when they got home to Degan!
Back at the hotel a visitor is waiting. A lady that has known Ron and Maria since she was 16 and lives locally in a leper’s community. We tried to visit her earlier in the day but she and her fellow residents were at a religious festival that is happening a bus ride away. They are beggars and donations are good around such events because looking after the poor is part of the belief system. There are emotional scenes as she knew Maria was taken ill last year and that it could have been fatal. She has an adopted daughter – her own two children died in tragic circumstances. The girl is beautiful and the soft toy brought as a gift for her instantly becomes an extra appendage and spreads a stunning smile across her face.
Eventually we gather for dinner. The limited options on the menu that might be criticized in other circumstances are perused without complaint. The salads are excellent and more than enough to add to the rich traditional dishes served from the village kitchens. The restaurant is busy again with a new batch of tourists passing through.
The sight of them reminds me of a moment of stark contrast that came into the frame today. A convoy of four dust coloured Land Cruisers drove at fair speed through Degan while we stood with a group of people - as is typical where there is little traffic - gathered in the street. The blaring horns sounded aggressive and large modern vehicles full of European tourists looked like a gash in the landscape.
I can’t stay awake for the final activity – which would be Wednesday / day 7 by the previous counting standard – and leave the Cunningham clan discussing the small donations that will be left for individuals and families. This is always done discretely after they leave to avoid making a public show of who is in difficult circumstances, though the community generally seem to know this anyway as they help as far as they can. There is a long list, including widows, elderly, sick and destitute people. Its is gratifying to think that such small and available gifts can make a positive difference to their lives. A couple of examples - the temporarily destitute family with two young children who had to leave their land so the mother can undergo a six month course of treatment for TB at the Degan Health Centre. NZ$60 paid their rent for the remaining four months, left a reasonable contribution for food and some second hand clothes for the kids. A similar amount covered minor eye surgery for an elderly man to remain independent for a few more years.
posted by Cathy Gunn at
November 03, 2007
1 Comments:
Good words.
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