Hello All,
This will be our last and final email from Ethiopia. We leave this country with a deeper understanding and appreciation of our son’s birthplace. We can’t imagine having missed the opportunity to come here and pick him up as it gave us a great deal more insight into his cultural heritage and ancestry. We have a new son, and that fact alone has changed the course of our family’s history.

We’re a bit behind, but we’ll start with yesterday (Friday) morning. We awoke and enjoyed an olde-fashioned pancake breakfast with our dear friends at the guest house. Then, it was off to the Dutch embassy for the second time to collect our 75.00 USD transit visa so we can transit through the fine contry of Holland for seven hours. Note to potential travelers: Don’t go through contries that require a transit visa. We went with Heather in the taxi who needed to drop by the British embassy and pick up her transit visa. We left at 9:15 A.M. and we thought we were off for a breezy morning drive to quickly pick up our transit visas and then back to the guest house to laze away the day enjoying delicious Ethiopian cuisine and sprightly conversation. At least, it started that way. The trip to the Dutch embassy was accomplished with dispatch, and the Dutch were ready and attentive when we arrived and handed us our visa with nary a word. We were quickly off, back into the bustling streets of Addis headed to the British embassy. Now, we had had a moderately trouble-free experience with Dutch embassy, but Heather was having a nightmare of a time with the British. This was her second or third time at the British embassy and she had also had to make a second trip to the US embassy because of other troubles with her paper work. Anyway, she had called the Brits yesterday morning and someone there gave her information that she could pick up her child’s transit visa that morning (previously, they had told her not until after 2 P.M. Friday). As our stop by the Dutch embassy was quickly accomplished, we were headed off to the British embassy by a little after 10:00 A.M. The British embassy was quite far and there were a lot of poor roads due to construction. After driving for about 40 minutes we finally pulled up to our destination. It was now about 10:40 A.M and heather hurried inside to get her visa. She returned shortly and we were elated that the morning had gone so smoothly. She reported however, that she had been given erroneous info and that she could not actually pick up her visa until after noon. Our dilemma was that it was a long drive back to the guest house and it wasn’t really realistic to go back when we would immediately have to just turn around and come back. A phone call to Mossi resulted in the taxi driver being instructed to take us to a nearby café for a beverage to kill the time. After finding a suitable establishment, we enjoyed a soft drink and casual conversation. During our respite, a very strange thing occurred: An older woman, perhaps mid sixties, walked up to us and in almost perfect, accent-free English, gave an oration about her husband, marital relations, her marriage and marriage license being “on the moon” and some other information which seemed very out of context for the time and place we found ourselves. She then left as quickly as she came. We were stunned and didn’t know what to think. Then, almost on queue, all the Ethiopians who were sitting nearby all broke out into laughter. We realized this had been just as surprising for them, and somewhat humorous. It was a very strange occurrence, but was kind of an icebreaker for us ferenji sitting at a Café among Ethiopians. We all exchanged smiles with the Ethiopians giving gestures which seemed to convey, “don’t worry about her”. This lightened our mood and helped the time pass until 11:45 when we paid the café bill and headed back to the British embassy. Heather was dropped off in front and disappeared into the cavernous edifice and we prayed it wouldn’t take several hours to accomplish her task. It was a hot day in Addis and Girum was getting restless. We parked the taxi in a sort of taxi repair area across the street amongst several other inoperative taxis. In one near us, several young men were sitting, apparently idled waiting for some spare parts or something so they could continue their repairs. They were smiling and waving. One of them motioned to our taxi driver and he approached their vehicle. They handed him a branch with several green leaves on it and motioned him to give it to us. Once in hand, our driver told us it was “chat” and said we should not chew it but give it back. (Chat is a plant that contains a cocaine-like substance and will get the one who chews it “high”, or so we were told). We took a photo and gave it back to the nice gentlemen who had given it to us.


Just when we were thinking that Heather was in the embassy for the long haul, she reappeared with her daughter. She had acquired her baby’s transit visa which was attested to by her broad smile and bounding gait. It was true! She had her visa. We bid farewell to our chat-chewing friends who gave us a weak wave and we were off again, bound for the guest house.


Upon arrival, we were greeted with the delicious smells of Ethiopian cooking. We weren’t disappointed. Lunch was great. It was a great to come home to our friends and a fine lunch. Some of the greatest concerns of our entire trip—the procurement of transit visas—had been accomplished in time for our return trips home.

After lunch we finished packing and cleaning our room so that it was ready for the new occupants.

We next went with Mossi to see the results of another project we wanted to finish while here in Addis. Jill’s sister, Brooke, had given us money in donation which was intended to help rehabilitate a swing set at the CHSFS school in Addis. Mossi had purchased chains of appropriate length at the Merkato and had already mounted the seats we’d brought from the US when we arrived. We took photographs and Mossi said that the children had really enjoyed them. As the chains hadn’t cost too much, there was enough money left over that the school will be able to purchase a whole other swing set frame and two more sets of chains. Shawn and I told Mossi we’d purchase two more swings and send them with a family traveling to Addis in the future.

We then went back and said our final goodbyes to guest house staff, exchanged addresses and readied for departure. Several families were to fly home Friday evening. Jill, Heather and I were headed to the Hilton. But first, we needed to make one last stop at the CHSFS offices.

We packed the people and cars and headed for our exit meeting with the founder and visionary of the CHSFS Ethiopia operation, Mr. Asnake. When we arrived, we were escorted to his office where he thanked us for our participation in the program. He then presented each family with a personalized “life book” for our children. This consisted of both an impressive bound book and a multimedia DVD. The book contained pertinent information on our child’s background and progress while at the care center in Addis. It contained photos and interviews with the people who were instrumental in getting our son into the hands of CHSFS-Ethiopia staff. The DVD contained actual video footage and narration of the same items as the bound volume. If there is one thing—above and beyond everything else-- that has really set our agency apart, it has been the preparation of this lifebook. This is obviously something that takes a lot of effort and time to prepare. The CHSFS-Ethiopia staff understands that although Adam is just a baby now, the time will come when he will have many questions about his origins and beginnings. This lifebook will be essential when the time comes to answer these questions. Moreover, CHSFS-Ethiopia understands that picking the child up is merely the beginning of a very long journey and any tools—such as this lifebook—will be of immeasurable help down the road.

To conclude, Mr. Asnake, discussed his vision for the future of CHSFS-Ethiopia. It included expanding his operation so that more children can be placed with families and that more jobs and economic opportunities can be provided for citizens of his country. It is wonderful that many children who may otherwise face a bleak future can be given loving, stable homes in the US. Beyond that, however, Asnake realizes that this should also be an opportunity to hire, train and improve the labor force in his own country and thus provide a much-needed economic boost for his people and an investment in Ethiopia’s human capital. This is evidenced by the fact that in just a few years, Asnake has expanded his operation from just a few staff to nearly 175 persons. Where just a short time ago all operations were conducted out of one facility, there is now several facilities in multiple locations and two separate large guest houses for visiting families. Nurses and nannies are receiving ongoing intensive training given by well-educated staff doctors in child care and medical treatment. The training curriculum rivals anything in the developed world. In this way, the placement of orphaned children through CHSFS-Ethiopia is very much a win-win situation for all parties involved.

After receiving our exit materials, we were dropped off at the Hilton. It was very busy, with people from all over the world checking in and conducting business. It is a stark contrast, the bustling, developing streets of Addis Ababa with its sights and sounds and unfortunately, extreme poverty, and the polished, modern and beautifully landscaped Hilton Hotel which was like a tropical island paradise. It makes one feel almost guilty being there. It could have been fine hotel in any European capital. One of the last sights we witnessed before entering the well-gaurded gates of the Hilton’s sheltered enclave was that of a young mother with her young child and infant huddled under a tarp trying to keep each other warm, this small piece of sidewalk their bed for the evening. The security was so tight to get in. All of the families had traveled in one car to drop everyone off at the Hilton or the Airport. They allowed us in because we were in a nice Mercedes van. However, the taxi van that had been hired to take all of our luggage was not allowed into the Hilton compound. No taxi’s apparently are. So Shawn and the two divers had to go get all of our luggage out on the street and haul them into the compound. At first I did not understand this. However after staying at the Hilton for a day I can see that it is so nice that if the security was not so efficient you would have so many people in the city trying to come in to get away from the real Ethiopia outside the gates of the Hilton. It is hard to look at the lush plants growing in the beautiful climate here and wonder why all of Ethiopia can not look like it does inside the compound.

From the balcony of our comfortable room, it seemed almost surreal as our view was of one of Addis’s squalid neighborhoods, seemingly made exclusively out of rusting corrugated steel sheeting. And to our left a few clicks away, the even more lavish Sheraton Hotel, reputed to be Africa’s finest. We went and ate lunch out on the pool deck under beautiful grass huts with the landscape that looked like we were in the tropics.

It was difficult for me to sit and enjoy my lunch in such a beautiful surrounding knowing what lies on the other side of the compound walls.

We requested a crib for Adam Girum, had something to eat, and went to sleep, knowing this would be our final night in this amazing country. We are going to sign off with this last email. Thank you to all of our friends and family for your love and support in our families journey. It has been so nice knowing that our children back home have such a great supportive group of people to look after them.


Mom and Dad or Shawn and Jill