"Will you marry my daughter?"
Friday 10th Jan.
I had been waiting a week now, in Awassa, for the world Vision staff to return to work after the Christmas holiday so that morning I went straight there to see if they were back and they were. I met Abebe Assefa, Berhanu Gezu and Lemma Tamiru (pictured) and
together we went to visit the Humbo Area Development Program some 120 km northwest of Awassa.
This program was started in response to the 1984/85 drought as relief assistance for drought affected population of the area and moved to rehabilitation and development in the following years. The total population is estimated to be 135,000 inhabitants.
Humbo ADP has made remarkable effort in the following interventions.
- Irrigation development.
- Support live stock production.
- Increase household off-farm income.
- Improve household health status.
- Improve household access to basic education.

One of the big problems was the Tse-Tse fly which was destroying the live stock. Through the integration of efforts among the stockholders, significant number of cattle population has benefited from Tse-Tse flies control campaign.
The highlight of my visit was definitely the Likimse Abela water supply and sanitation project. It was started in December 1999 and completed in September 2001. It was entirely financed by AUSAID and World Vision, costing 800,000 thousand US$. Two reservoirs of 300,000 litres each were build as well as 28 water points.
The direct impact was,
- Easy access to potable water.
- Plenty water for cattle.
- Communities' health and sanitation improved.
- Time and distance traveled in search of water reduced tremendously.
- Because of abundance of water farmers began cultivating vegetable and fruit trees even in dry times.
- Households are able to efficiently use their time and labour they used to spend in search of water for other more productive activities.
- Women workload minimized.
- School children have more time for their studies.
- Many who had fled their home villages in the lowland for various reasons have now begun returning to their original villages.

As well as the Likimse water supply we visited new built schools, dispensaries and waterholes. As usual, the locals were most friendly and could not thank enough the Australian people for the difference they have made to their life.
We returned to Awassa the next day. I have to say a big thank you to the staff of World Vision Humbo who went to the trouble of cooking special food for my very delicate stomach and for making my visit so enjoyable

Sunday 12 Jan. 2003
I left Awassa at 9am, the road is in very good condition, but it got very windy, the lavish green scenery became a very dry and hostile desert, very sandy. I could see a lot of farmers taking their herds to some water points, mostly small lakes.
I reached Addis Ababa early in the afternoon, only 265km from Awassa, and went straight to my friends Yolande Armstrong and Cecilia Arrigoni (pictured). I had met them earlier on in Arba Minch and they had kindly invited me to stay with them while in Addis. They both work for a British organization called VSO (voluntary services oversea) in the Ministry of Education.
Addis Ababa, the capital, has a population of 3 million inhabitants; it is noisy, dusty, sprawling and shambolic. In Amharic it means "New Flower" I can assure you that it
certainly is not.
The next day I went to the Sudan embassy to organize my visa for Sudan and was told to come back in a couple of days to fetch it. I was a little worried about that particular visa as they don't always grant you one but I seemed to be lucky this time.
I also payed a visit to the National World Vision office and was welcomed by Tilahun Maresha. He organized for me to visit another WV project for the next day.
We drove there the next morning. This project is in the Adama region and is located at 118km southeast of Addis Ababa. It was started in 1990 and should be completed in 2005.

Major accomplishments so far are,
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
- Developed 200 ha small scale irrigation schemes on two sites belonging to 365 households.
- One veterinary clinic constructed.
- 4 veterinary posts constructed.
- 12,053 farmers and government staff provided with training and workshop.

ENVIRONMENTAL REHABILITATION

- 9, 3 million seedlings planted.
- 14,900 km of soil and water conservation structures constructed.
- 759 km feeder road constructed.
- 3,257 farmers trained in environmental protection.


HEALTH
- 2 clinics constructed.
- 6 health posts constructed.
- Training and material support provided.
- 56,490 people got medical attention.
- 80,741 people attended health education.
- 13,454 mothers and children immunized.
- 15 bore-holes drilled.
- 30 km pipe extended from spring.
.
EDUCATION
- 6 elementary, junior secondary and high schools constructed and upgraded.
- Training and education material support provided.


As you can see all your money is well spent and does make a big difference. I was able to see most of those projects and I am happy to report that in the near future all the people from Adama will be able to sustain themselves on their own.
Thank you to Yeshinegus Adamseged, the manager of the project, for taking the time to show me around.

While in Addis I was also lucky to witness the Timkat festival (Epiphany, celebrating Christ's baptism), held every year on the 19th of January. It is one of the most colourful festivals of the year. The church tabots (replicas of the Ark of the Covenant) are taken to a nearby body of water on the afternoon of the eve of Timkat. During the night, the priests and faithful participate in a kind of vigil around the tabots. The following morning, the crowds gather around the water, which is blessed, them splashed onto them; religious vows are renewed. The tabot is then paraded back to the church accompanied by much singing and dancing.
Even though Addis is not supposed to be the best place to see this event, I thought it was pretty spectacular all the same.
Tuesday 21 Jan.
After a week in Addis Ababa it was time for me to hit the road again but before I leave I just want to say thank you so much to Yolande and Cecilia for their kindness and generosity, thanks to you guys I had a most enjoyable time in this city.
I left the house at 8.30 in the morning, had a little trouble finding my way out especially at that time, everyone is going to work, the traffic was very heavy. I travelled for one hour until I realized that I was on the wrong road, I had to ride all the way back to Addis.
The road was perfect for the first 100 km, nice tarmac, and then I reached the most dramatic stretchers of road in Ethiopia if not in Africa. Dropping over 1000m the road gradually winds down the escarpment to the bottom of the Blue Nile George and then up again. The road is very rough, not sealed. Trucks and buses travel very slowly (no more than 20km/h) due to the bad condition of the road and also worrying about brake failure. I was able to ride faster but had the problem to overtake them which was not easy as I could not see anything with the amount of dust that they were leaving behind them. It took me one and half hour to get to the other side of the canyon but what a scenery!
Along the way I could see a lot of shepherds in their delightful reed (raincoats), Amhara women in their pleated highland skirts, and men carrying their indispensable dula. The dula is the chosen travelling companion of almost every Amhara man. A kind of hardwood staff, measuring about 1m, it serves a variety of purposes. It is used to carry loads to and from market, to brace the shoulders on long treks, to lean on during the never-ending church services, and to defend oneself on times of need.
I reached Debre Markos at 3 pm and decided to call it a day, I had covered 335 km. I stayed in a very basic hotel, without showers.
The next morning, I was on the road at 7am, the road was brand new for 70 km, it is currently been built by the Chinese but I think it will take another 5 years to be completed. It took me 2 hours to cover the next 25 km as there were not really any kind of road, just a mass of trucks, machinery, dust and rocks. I fell twice, just loosing balance, likely there were enough people to help me to pick up the bike.
The next 170 km were on an unsealed road to Bahar Dar, my next stop. I reached it at 2 pm, covered in dust and exhausted but glad to have made it. I get very sore arms when I ride on bad roads so I decided to stay here for a couple of days to recover.
Bahar Dar is probably one of Ethiopia most attractive towns. It has wide avenues of palms and flamboyant trees and is located on the shore of Lake Tana. Unfortunately, the harassment from the locals makes it not so pleasant. The constant "you! You! Give me money, pens or birr" can drive you crazy. Children scream at you "mother and father dead, give me money!"
This is also the place where the Blue Nile begins, running all the way to Khartoum to meet with the White Nile coming from Uganda and together form what we know as the Nile, which keeps going to the Mediterranean Sea.
The following day I took a local bus to the Blue Nile falls, only 32 km from bahar Dar. When in full flood, it is impressive for its incredible width (400m) as for its depth (45m). Right now it's the dry season so there is not that much water, the best time is immediately after the rainy season (from mid-September to mid-October). Nevertheless, the walk around the countryside was worthwhile anyway.
One day, as I was walking around town, a young girl started to talk to me in broken English. After the initial introductions she begged me to come to her family house for a coffee ceremony. The last one still fresh in my memory, I accepted under the condition that it would be only coffee and no food whatsoever. We arranged to meet later on that afternoon and walked to her place. I had bypass lunch just in case food appeared. I was met by the whole family and the ceremony began, of course I had to eat some food but as I was prepared it was not a problem this time. Everything was going fine until I nearly chocked on my injera when suddenly the father said.
-"I would like you to marry my daughter and take her with you to Australia."
I looked at him and I knew right away that he was deadly serious. What was I supposed to say? After all the food and the ceremony, I could not just say no way, I had to be a bit more sensitive, more polite, respectful even. But I could not think of anything to say so I just pretended that it was funny and started to laugh, saying that I had unfortunately no room on the bike and that my girlfriend would not be very pleased if I brought a new wife at home. That did defuse the tension and soon everyone started to laugh as well, more coffee was served and the idea of marriage was never brought up again. During the following few days we become best friends, they took me to church, on a boat trip across the lake to visit a small village and invited me to more coffee ceremony. This is why my couple of days in Bahar Dar turned u
p
to be a full week of very interesting new experiences. In case you are wondering, that young girl was only 22 years old; even though I am only 39 (in Ethiopia) it's still a big gap.

Tuesday 28 Jan.
After a quick goodbye to the future bride (pictured) it was time to get back on the road again. I was only 180 km from Gonder, the last major town in Ethiopia before entering Sudan. The road was very rough but very picturesque nevertheless, as usual plenty of dust, stones and slow trucks along the way. I reached Gonder early in the afternoon, found a cheap hotel and started exploring this town. Gonder has been called African's Camelot, and with its series of castles and churches i
s
one of the major attractions of the historical route. I visited the Royal Enclosure with its most impressive castle (pictured). The castle was built by Emperor Fasilidas around 1640. There are other sites around the Enclosure including another castle, the Bath of Fasilidas and a church. I usually don't have much time for old monuments or historic sites but I really did enjoy this one.
Thursday 30 Jan.
The Sudanese border was 200 km away, I left early as I wanted to rich Gedaref before night time, Gedaref is the first
major town in Sudan. The road was a bit rough but not as bad as before Gonder, so I was able to reach the border at 11 am with plenty of time in hand to cross the border. As it turned up it took quite a bit more than I had expected but you will have to wait until the next update to found out why.
Did I like Ethiopia? Even though it is a very demanding country to visit due to the constant harassment, it's still a very fascinating country, so different from anyway else. I did like it very much and it is my favourite country in Africa so far and I think that it will be hard to beat. So do yourself a favour, as Molly would say, and visit it before everyone else does. More photos.
Vive la mariée!
Vendredi 10 Janvier 2003.
Je dois d'abord remercier Sylvie, ma belle soeur, pour m'avoir envoyer un dictionnaire Français, donc s'il y a des fautes d'hortographe ce n'est pas de ma faute mais celle du dictionnaire.
Comme les vacances de Noel était fini pour les Ethiopiens, les employés de World Vision avaient repris le travail. Je suis allé avec eux visiter le projet de Humbo, à une centaine de km d'Awassa. Nous y avons passés deux jours, en visitant different projets.
Le Likimse water projet a été construit par le gouvernement Australien et aussi par tout les Australiens qui sponsorent les enfants de la région. Le projet a couté 800,000 dollars Americain et apporte de l'eau potable à plus de 135,000 personnes habitant la région. Cela a permis au gens de cultiver régulièrement, aux enfants d'aller plus souvent à l'école car ils n'ont plus besoin de marcher pendant des heures pour aller chercher de l'eau et aussi, bien sur, a amélioré leurs hygiènes.
Il y a beaucoup de mouche Tzé Tzé dansLa région, celles-ci détruissaient les troupeaux. Depuis cinq ans, World Vision a intervenu et a pu métriser ce fléau, donc maintenant les fermiers peuvent utiliser les boeufs pour cultiver la terre et aussi pour produire du lait.
C'est trés intéressant de voir la différence que votre argent fait à la vie quotidienne dans ces pays.

Dimanche 12 Janvier.
J'ai repris la route en direction d'Addis Ababa, 300 km plus loin. Le paysage tropical du sud a fait place au désert, terrain sableux, inhospitalier et sec. Le vent soufflait fort, emportant le sable avec lui, ce qui rendait la conduite difficile.
Je suis arrivé à Addis vers une heure de l'aprés midi et je suis allé directement chez Yolande Armstrong et Cecilia Arrigoni. Je les avais rencontré à Arba Minch quelques jours avant et Ils m'avaient généreusement invités chez eux pour mon séjour à Addis, donc j'en ai profité. Yolande et Cécilia sont en Ethiopie pour 2 ans et travaillent comme semis volontaires pour le ministère de l'éducation.

Addis Ababa est une ville bruyante, poussièreuse et chaotique. En Amharic, Addis Ababa veut dire " nouvelle fleur " je peus vous assurer que c'est loin d'être une fleur.
Pendant mon séjour j'ai organisé mon visa pour le Soudan, visité la ville et j'ai aussi eu la chance d'assister au festival de Timkat. C'est un festival religieux pour les chrétiens hortodoxe, trés colorés qui dure deux jours.

Mardi 21 Janvier.
Aprés une semaine à Addis il était tant pour moi de faire mes adieux à Yolande et Cécilia, merci beaucoup mesdames pour
votre hospitalitée et de votre gentillesse.
J'ai eu quelques difficultées à sortir de la ville car à huit heures du matin c'est l'heure de pointe, en plus il n'y a aucun panneau donc difficile pour trouver la bonne route, j'ai donc tourné en rond pendant un bon moment. Une fois sur la bonne route les choses ceux sont améliorées trés rapidement. La route est toute neuve pendant les premiers 100 km, puis elle s'arrête brusquement à l'entrer des Gorges du Nile Bleu et descend de 1000m sur un chemin caillouteux. Le paysage est superbe mais la route trés dangereuse, comme d'habitude ce sont les camions et les cars qui créent des problèmes car ils sont trés lent et trés difficile à dépasser, laissant des montagnes de poussière derrière eux. Cela m'a pris une heure et demie pour traverser ce passage difficile, une fois en haut j'ai retrouvé une route goudronnée mais pas en bonne condition. Je suis arrivé à Débre Markos vers quatre de l'apré-midi et decidais d'y passer la nuit. Un hotel plutot minable m'assurait un toit pour la nuit.
Je repartais à 7 heures le lendemain matin, tout frais aprés une bonne nuit mais toujours aussi poussiéreux faute d'eau pour me laver. Une heure plutard la route se dégradait de plus belle, faisant place à une masse de machines, camions et de tonnes de poussière. Pendant vingt km je zigzaguais entre tout ça car ils étaient là pour réparer la route, je suis tombé deux fois sans gravité à cause de perte d'équilibre et de vision. Petit à petit la route c'est amélioré et j'arrivais à Bahar Dar vers trois heures et demie, ayant parcouru 300km. Couvert de poussière et fatigué, je décidais de rester içi pour deux jours.
Bahar Dar est une petite ville ville sur le bord du lac Tana. Bien qu'elle soit assez agréable, les habitants la rendent pénible avec leurs harcèlements. Les enfants, qui probablement ne comprennent pas ce qu'ils disent, nous harassent en nous disant " papa et maman sont morts, donnes nous de l'argent ! " C'est trés fatiguant et énervant.
C'est aussi içi que le Nile Bleu prend sa source et continue jusqu'à Khartoum ou il rejoint le Nile blanc venant de l'Uganda, ensemble, ils coulent vers l'Egypte pour se jetter dans la méditerranée.(attention les enfants !, j'espère que vous prenez des notes car je vous poserai des questions lors de ma visite).
J'en ai aussi profité pour aller voir les chutes (cascades) du Nile bleu à une trentaine de km de bahar Dar. Ceux sont les deuxièmes plus importante chutes en Afrique, malheureuresement, comme c'est la saison sèche il n'y avait pas beaucoup d'eau mais la promenade en vallait quand mème la peine.
Un jour, alors que je me promenais gentiment dans le village, une jeune Ethiopienne, jolie et guère plus de vingt ans, m'a abordée et m'a adressée la parole dans un anglais loin d'être parfait mais compréhensible quand-mème. Aprés les questions habituelles, elle me prie de venir chez- elle, dans la soirée, pour célébrer la cérémonie du café avec sa famille. Aprés l'épisode de la dernière fois j'hésitais un peu mais acceptais quand-mème.
Elle m'avait donnée rendez-vous à cinq heures à mon hotel pour m'accompagner jusqu'à chez-elle. Pas de problème, elle était mème en avance. Elle habitait avec ces parents dans une maison en terre qu'on ne peut plus modeste. Bien que j'avais insisté que je venais que pour prendre le café et surtout rien à manger, je me méfiais un peu et ne mangeais rien du tout dans l'aprés-midi, comme ça, en cas de coup dur, je serai prêt. Tout la famille m'attendait et on s'installait tous autour du feu de bois ou la jeune demoiselle préparait la cérémonie. Comme je l'avais prévu et
malgré mes protestes, ils m'apportaient à manger. Mauvais moment à passer je me dis et commence à manger le repas typique Ethiopien. C'est à ce moment là que le père se lève et me dit :
" Allez vous marier ma fille et l'emporter avec vous en Australie ? "
Je me demande si j'ai bien compris et je m'aperçois vite qu'il est sérieux. Que répondre à une question pareille ?, toute la famille a les yeux sur moi, surtout la future mariée. Pas question de blesser cette famille, surtout aprés un accueil pareil, je dois trouver une excuse, montrer du respect et de la sensibilitée J'ai beau cherché, rien, le vide total dans ma tête. Alors je prétend que c'est une plaisanterie, je ris en disant que malheureusement je n'ai pas de place sur la moto et aussi que si je reviens avec une femme en australie que dira ma copine Sussan. Cela semble détendre la tension et bientôt tout le monde rit avec moi, sauf la promise bien sur. On boit un autre café, puis un autre et la question de mariage n'est plus remise sur le tapis. Ouff !!!
Pendant les jours suivant nous sommes devenus de bons amis, ils m'emmenèrent à la messe, en bateau sur le lac et bien entendu à d'autres cérémonies de café.
C'est pour ça que mes deux jours de repos sont devenus une semaine de culture Ethiopienne. Ah ! les femmes ! Je dois dire que quelques part quand-mème, j'etais flatté, à 46 ans, d'avoir une proposition de mariage c'est rare, surtout avec une jeune fille de 22 ans.

Mardi 28 Janvier.
Aprés avoir fait mes adieux à la future mariée, j'ai repris la route, le coeur et l'esprit en pleine forme, vers Gonder,180km plus loin et dernière ville avant la frontière du Soudan. La route était toujours aussi mauvaise mais sans trop de problèmes, j'arrivais à Gonder à une heure de l'aprés-midi.
Je n'ai pas manqué de visiter le Palace de Fasilidas, le plus impressionnant de la région et qui fut constuit en 1640 et aussi quelques autres sites.
Deux jours plus tard je reprenais la route pour la frontière soudannese, seulemenent à 200km de Gonder et toujours sur une route plus ou moins rocailleuse. J'atteingnais la frontière à 11 heures et avais confiance de la traverser en une heure, voir moins. Les événements en decidèrent autrement. Ne manquez pas la suite, bientôt sur votre ordinateur et dans le confort de votre maison.
Brièvement, est-ce-que j'ai aimé l'Ethiopie ? Oui, bien que ce soit un pays fatiguant à visiter, il reste quand mème un pays trés interréssant, fascinant, surprenant, émouvant et attachant. J'en garderai de trés beaux souvenirs, beaucoup d'images fortes et de rencontres inoubliables. J'ai passé cinq semaines dans ce pays et je le quitte avec la george serrée.
Local farmer.
Un berger.
faces at the Timkat festival.
Visages du festival de Timkat.
Girls at the Timkat festival.
Les jolies filles au festival de Timkat.
Next story.
Journal suivant.
Working on my documentary.
Interview pour mon documentaire.
The mother of the bride.
La mère de la mariée.
Admiring the scenery in Ethiopia.
Paysage d'Ethiopie.
Having a break from the hard road.
Un moment de repos.
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JOURNAL 13
second part of Ethiopia.
01/02/03 . Ethiopia . Total mileage so far 17,700km .
(Pour la version française du journal, allez au bas de la page ou cliquez içi.
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