Rennie Scharlau’s Reflections on our trip

Our mission to inspect completed wells and to visit proposed well projects turned into an awesome confrontation with God’s creation and man’s living within it.  Primitively.

Counterpoints:

• Mountains tall, jagged, squeezed, as if marching to a summit meeting --- mountains eroded, as if  relaxing at the end of the day.
• Clear, bright, brisk sunny mornings --- dusty, stale, smoke-filled, cool evenings.
• Happy, playful children, willing to learn, willing to interact, willing to make contact --- despite a language barrier.
• Children wearing uniforms going to school --- children sharing family duties.
• Caring women, concerned for their children’s health and future, wanting fairness for access to water.
• Pole and straw, dung-covered round huts or pole, dung-covered, corrugated tin roof huts in the villages --- modern Italianate homes and 2-4 story apartment buildings popping up in the city.
• One lane roads made of jagged rocks, boulders and stone; rutted dirt lanes bringing villages closer --- massive modern road project bringing towns closer together.
• Beautiful, lush crops waiting to be harvested by hand --- dry fields filled with rocks softball and basketball sizes waiting to be moved by hand.
• Candles or just fire  for lighting in the remote villages --- power line towers being installed miles and miles away; no grid; unscheduled, rationed power in Addis Ababa; proposed wind turbines for remote area without a reliable road to take them there.
• Gratefulness for the clean water at the wells that have been built --- desperate pleas to be next for clean, reliable water wells.

            All the reasons for the water well projects came together for me at one site.  As we were approaching a lush looking stream, I saw a young boy swimming casually in the quick flowing water.  A moment later a young man appeared up stream and began washing his clothes on the rocks.  Then a young girl claimed a spot between the two and started filling her jerry can with water for drinking.  Now while commiserating why these activities weren’t better placed in the stream, a loud bellowing occurred and dozens of cows, goats, sheep came thundering down the hill into the river above all the people! 

            In anticipation of this trip I was prepared to cope with a third world life style and “put up” with it; however, that did not matter.  I found delight in the welcoming children and the warm and hospitable people, as well as an appreciation for the simple life despite its being extraordinarily difficult.    

Rennie Scharlau