This is Nigiste and her new mom Amy and her sister Jennifer. We had the opportunity to get to know them during our time in Ethiopia. They are a great couple of ladies. Nigiste was at the House of Hope with Meron. It will be great to keep contact over the years, so Meron can know another child she was in Ethiopia with.
This is Mekedes and her parents, Marianne and Steve. They arrived at the House of Hope the day before we left, so unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to visit with them. We are thankful to have photos of a couple of the children she was at the House of Hope with to share with Meron as she gets older.
Our last day in Ethiopia. We're eager to get home, but at the same time it's hard to leave Ethiopia. We met so many wonderful people and had such great experiences it's hard to leave it all. We were very fortunate to have the time we had there. Despite it's struggles with disease and poverty, it is a great country. The countryside is beautiful and the culture there is very kind and friendly. We will tell Meron about her heritage, but hopefully someday we can take her back to visit so she can experience it herself. She is such a blessing.Day 6
Friday, Dec.19
This was our last day in Ethiopia. Meron's travel documents were completed early so we either had the opportunity to go home today or wait until the next Tues. which would have gotten us home late Christmas Eve. There weren't any flights in between and we were missing our kids back home so much so we took the earlier flight. In retrospect, we kind of wish we would have stayed the extra couple of days we had intended because there is so much more of the country and the culture we would have liked to take in, but at the time we just wanted to be home with our kiddos. We also were going to have to go to another guest house so other families could come to the House of Hope, and before we left for Ethiopia we were told that we were not able to take Meron with us out in public because people have raised questions and concerns over the number of Ethiopian children being adopted by foreigners. While we stayed at the House of Hope, we would leave Meron with her nannies when we had to go somewhere and they had a driver that helped get us around. At the guest house we would have to leave her with nannies she didn't know, and we didn't want to do that to her after having just gone through getting to know us. We also didn't think we would have any transportation. So with that knowledge we thought our last few days would be spent sitting in the guest house, and we thought we might as well come home early if we weren't going to have the opportunity to see more of Ethiopia. Since we have been home we have found out that we could have taken Meron with us places and the guest home had a driver we could have hired. Oh well, the experiences we had were priceless and maybe someday we will be able to take Meron to see the wonderful country she came from.
Before we headed back home, we had a full day ahead of us. In the morning, Tsegay's wife took us shopping for souvenirs. We were able to by some wonderful souvenirs to give to Meron through the years as well as some beautiful items to give to her siblings to help remind them of her culture. I wish I would have thought to take some pictures while we were out and about that morning, but I think I was still a little out of it from the day before.
Later that afternoon we had the opportunity to go see Meron's orphanage where she spent the first five months of her life before she went to the transition home. It was an absolutely priceless opportunity. It's hard to describe the emotions. The pictures tell a lot.
This is a courtyard area when you first come into the orphanage.
This wooden pen area had rabbits in it, we thought they might be pets, but when we saw a rabbit skin hanging from a tree we realized that they were for food.
This sweet girl is standing in front of one of the rooms. Most of the other older children were at school while we were there. It would have been hard to see all of the older children there because unlike the House of Hope, the children here are not matched up and waiting for their families. Unfortunately, only a small number of the older children will probably be adopted.
This is the nurse. She is standing in one of the baby rooms. They have small cribs wall to wall with two babies in every crib. It is overwhelming to see the need there. The orphanage workers are wonderful people who love these children and give it their all to care for them, but the need and the number of children leave little time except for basic care such as feeding and changing.
These women are washing laundry and diapers at the orphanage. The conditions are rough and the work endless, yet they were smiling all the while.
These young women got a kick out of getting their picture taken and seeing themselves on the digital screen.
Friday, Dec.19
This was our last day in Ethiopia. Meron's travel documents were completed early so we either had the opportunity to go home today or wait until the next Tues. which would have gotten us home late Christmas Eve. There weren't any flights in between and we were missing our kids back home so much so we took the earlier flight. In retrospect, we kind of wish we would have stayed the extra couple of days we had intended because there is so much more of the country and the culture we would have liked to take in, but at the time we just wanted to be home with our kiddos. We also were going to have to go to another guest house so other families could come to the House of Hope, and before we left for Ethiopia we were told that we were not able to take Meron with us out in public because people have raised questions and concerns over the number of Ethiopian children being adopted by foreigners. While we stayed at the House of Hope, we would leave Meron with her nannies when we had to go somewhere and they had a driver that helped get us around. At the guest house we would have to leave her with nannies she didn't know, and we didn't want to do that to her after having just gone through getting to know us. We also didn't think we would have any transportation. So with that knowledge we thought our last few days would be spent sitting in the guest house, and we thought we might as well come home early if we weren't going to have the opportunity to see more of Ethiopia. Since we have been home we have found out that we could have taken Meron with us places and the guest home had a driver we could have hired. Oh well, the experiences we had were priceless and maybe someday we will be able to take Meron to see the wonderful country she came from.
Before we headed back home, we had a full day ahead of us. In the morning, Tsegay's wife took us shopping for souvenirs. We were able to by some wonderful souvenirs to give to Meron through the years as well as some beautiful items to give to her siblings to help remind them of her culture. I wish I would have thought to take some pictures while we were out and about that morning, but I think I was still a little out of it from the day before.
Later that afternoon we had the opportunity to go see Meron's orphanage where she spent the first five months of her life before she went to the transition home. It was an absolutely priceless opportunity. It's hard to describe the emotions. The pictures tell a lot.
This is a courtyard area when you first come into the orphanage.
This wooden pen area had rabbits in it, we thought they might be pets, but when we saw a rabbit skin hanging from a tree we realized that they were for food.
This sweet girl is standing in front of one of the rooms. Most of the other older children were at school while we were there. It would have been hard to see all of the older children there because unlike the House of Hope, the children here are not matched up and waiting for their families. Unfortunately, only a small number of the older children will probably be adopted.
This is the nurse. She is standing in one of the baby rooms. They have small cribs wall to wall with two babies in every crib. It is overwhelming to see the need there. The orphanage workers are wonderful people who love these children and give it their all to care for them, but the need and the number of children leave little time except for basic care such as feeding and changing.
These women are washing laundry and diapers at the orphanage. The conditions are rough and the work endless, yet they were smiling all the while.
These young women got a kick out of getting their picture taken and seeing themselves on the digital screen.After dinner that night it was time to say goodbye to all of the amazing people we had met throughout the week, and who played such a huge part in caring for Meron and helping us make her a part of our family.
We then headed to the airport to start the long trip home.
