Good morning!
Leftovers for breakfast was on the menu so we could clean out the fridge before we head our separate ways. Kari and Matt won’t be coming to Malawi with us, they are off on a treetop safari in Tanzania, so we have some food to eat. Fried Mac and cheese for me!
I am super looking forward to a shower with real water. This little trickle that makes me wonder if I am actually getting wet is starting to make me crazy. My hair is sticky from shampoo that hasn’t come out, mixed with pollution, dust and sweat, I am definitely Uber attractive. I will say however, that it hasn’t slowed down my eyebrow action as I drive through town. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but the main way to communicate here is via eyebrows and the sucking in of air. Pre-groomed eyebrows are recommended so as to avoid any miscommunications. The men do it more than the women, and they are often caught off guard when a white woman does it to them to say Hi. I quite like it actually, and rise to the challenge of multiple eyebrow raises when they don’t respond initially.
We were sitting in traffic today on our way to the ambulance tour we had arranged, and a woman with her child came begging at the window. As I have mentioned, giving anything to beggars or vendors can result in the driver getting a ticket. I had made eye contact with the woman, and didn’t want to be rude by ignoring her, so I quickly commented on what a cute baby she had. In all likelihood, she had no idea what I was saying, but it made me feel better to talk to her like one mom to another rather than just have her as invisible and ignore her.
On the drive we saw a beautiful playground that was a bit out of place considering the slums we were in, and then we were able to figure it out. I was protected by armed guards with AK-47’s to only allow certain kids to use it. Likely diplomat’s children as that is where several embassies were. I am told that 35%of people live in the shanty houses or are homeless and 65% live in the apartments. Most seem to have satellite TV, even though we are told it is very expensive.
Pulling into the alley by the Tebita Ambulance there were what appeared to be human femurs laying in the gutters, no one knows why.
We meet Kibret Abebe, the CEO of Tebita Ambulance. He was formerly a nurse anesthesiologist who was asked to go on a transfer between hospitals with a patient all the way to London. When he saw the power of having an ambulance to do that job, he came home and resigned from his position at the Black Lion Hospital, sold his house to raise the money he needed, went to Dubai to buy the equipment and started the Tebita Ambulance. He chose that name because Tebita means “Where is my drop of contribution?”He chose the mustang as his symbol because he wants his delivery of health care to be swift and strong. There are currently zero paramedics in the whole country of Ethiopia. His force has now grown to have 11 BLS ambulances and two motorcycle response units. They do 25-30 calls per day. Five are in Addis and 6 are remotely stationed, sometimes at large businesses that hire him, much like oilfield medics on site would be. His vision is to have a social enterprise with cross subsidization of his venture.
There was a big accident is Addis that killed 26 people that he and his crews attended to for no charge that involved some delegates from the Canadian Embassy. They were so grateful to his organization, that they gifted him $30,000 to assist in his starting of his school to train paramedics. He is now in need of instructors and books to start training his first 15 students. He has been working with the government and they would like to have 17,000 people go through a training program to make them paramedics.
This man was very inspiring. He has been travelling the world attending conferences to explain his vision for his country, and with as much passion as he has, and the commitment behind it, I believe he will make history.
We then went to Makus art gallery for lunch before headed out to Kirkos again for more medical assessments.
Off to bed early tonight, as tomorrow we leave for Malawi.getting wet is starting to make me crazy. My hair is sticky from shampoo that hasn’t come out, mixed with pollution, dust and sweat, I am definitely Uber attractive. I will say however, that it hasn’t slowed down my eyebrow action as I drive through town. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but the main way to communicate here is via eyebrows and the sucking in of air. Pre-groomed eyebrows are recommended so as to avoid any miscommunications. The men do it more than the women, and they are often caught off guard when a white woman does it to them to say Hi. I quite like it actually, and rise to the challenge of multiple eyebrow raises when they don’t respond initially.
We were sitting in traffic today on our way to the ambulance tour we had arranged, and a woman with her child came begging at the window. As I have mentioned, giving anything to beggars or vendors can result in the driver getting a ticket. I had made eye contact with the woman, and didn’t want to be rude by ignoring her, so I quickly commented on what a cute baby she had. In all likelihood, she had no idea what I was saying, but it made me feel better to talk to her like one mom to another rather than just have her as invisible and ignore her.
On the drive we saw a beautiful playground that was a bit out of place considering the slums we were in, and then we were able to figure it out. I was protected by armed guards with AK-47’s to only allow certain kids to use it. Likely diplomat’s children as that is where several embassies were. I am told that 35%of people live in the shanty houses or are homeless and 65% live in the apartments. Most seem to have satellite TV, even though we are told it is very expensive.
Pulling into the alley by the Tebita Ambulance there were what appeared to be human femurs laying in the gutters, no one knows why.
We meet Kibret Abebe, the CEO of Tebita Ambulance. He was formerly a nurse anesthesiologist who was asked to go on a transfer between hospitals with a patient all the way to London. When he saw the power of having an ambulance to do that job, he came home and resigned from his position at the Black Lion Hospital, sold his house to raise the money he needed, went to Dubai to buy the equipment and started the Tebita Ambulance. He chose that name because Tebita means “Where is my drop of contribution?”He chose the mustang as his symbol because he wants his delivery of health care to be swift and strong. There are currently zero paramedics in the whole country of Ethiopia. His force has now grown to have 11 BLS ambulances and two motorcycle response units. They do 25-30 calls per day. Five are in Addis and 6 are remotely stationed, sometimes at large businesses that hire him, much like oilfield medics on site would be. His vision is to have a social enterprise with cross subsidization of his venture.
There was a big accident is Addis that killed 26 people that he and his crews attended to for no charge that involved some delegates from the Canadian Embassy. They were so grateful to his organization, that they gifted him $30,000 to assist in his starting of his school to train paramedics. He is now in need of instructors and books to start training his first 15 students. He has been working with the government and they would like to have 17,000 people go through a training program to make them paramedics.
This man was very inspiring. He has been travelling the world attending conferences to explain his vision for his country, and with as much passion as he has, and the commitment behind it, I believe he will make history.
We then went to Makus art gallery for lunch before headed out to Kirkos again for more medical assessments.
Off to bed early tonight, as tomorrow we leave for Malawi.