Sunday = Fun Day

Animators being animated.

Every Sunday afternoon, around 100 children come to the Salesian compound for Sunday school, or as they say in the Salesian family, Oratorio.   They spend about 3 hours singing, playing and learning other lessons such as English.  The children are led by the Sisters and several young “animators”, high school girls who also grew up through Oratorio.   

This is a special time for the children as it gives them the opportunity to have fun, be creative, and learn other valuable life lessons in a caring, supportive and educational setting. Most of the children who attend are young girls from the ages of 5-12 that come from the town while on the other side of the compound, the Fathers hold Oratorio for the boys. 

Seeing their bright faces and smiles on Sunday afternoons 

is the highlight of my week.

A mural at Don Bosco High School.

The Salesian tradition of holding Oratorio started with Don Giovani Bosco In Turin. He gathered the boys who were being exploited during the Industrial revolution and taught them work-life skills.  Around the same time, Mary Mazzarello was doing the same for young girls in the Italian town of Mornese.  

This spirit of educating poor, young children has endured since then and spread across the world; the Salesians are active in around 130 countries.  I am happy that I have chosen my mission to help the children/students of Dilla, even if it’s only by teaching English.  As Don Bosco once said, “educating the poor is the highest form of charity.”

Up in the mountains

Last Saturday (March 5) I got the opportunity to visit the villages that are located in the mountains outside of Dilla. There villages contain small pockets of Catholic worshippers so since they do not have any priests, the Fathers from the Salesian compound visit them twice a month to celebrate mass.  There are about 17 of these villages, or “outstations”, so the Fathers take turns visiting one every morning.

Tadibe chapel

The first village was Tadibe which is nestled on the crest of a hill with magnificent views of the surrounding areas. Even though it is a small village, this congregation has a nice church building made of cement blocks and wooden windows with stained glass as well as a small hall, a field and volleyball court.  The congregation has a dedicated choir and this weekend it was the women’s turn to sing as they alternate with the men.  Villagers streamed in as the singing started in order to celebrate their second mass of the month.

Tadibe chapel with field in front

V-ball court behind Tadibe chapel

Badesa chapel

Afterwards, we left for the village of Badesa, which was about 15 minutes away. This village was located further away from the main mountain road, but in an area where many avocado and banana trees grew.  This congregation was smaller and the church building was more modest than the one in Tadibe. Its walls were made of mud brick and the earthen ground made up the floor of the church but I really admired their strong faith to gather and worship under the poorest of circumstances. 

Playing with children of Badesa

Holding shy little girl

I could see that life in the mountain was not easy for these villagers.  We were able to access these remote villages from a dirt road that connected to the main highway that runs through Dilla.  This road is crucial for the villagers as this is the only way for them to bring their goods to the market in Dilla to sell.  What amazed me the most though was seeing the villagers walking along the dirt road carrying heavy stacks of produce, wood, or other items on their backs!  Talk about perseverance and survival, especially walking up and down on such hilly roads!  

Chiocho chapel

Inside Chiocho chapel

This Saturday (March 12), we made another trip to visit the villages of Bunawatepe and Chiocho, which were located even further in the mountainsides.  Tall, wavy pine trees lined the entrance to the village of Chiocho as if one were in the Austrian countryside. The only difference being that there are many mosquitos in the mountains at this time of the morning!  The chapel at Bunawatepe (means “light of coffee”) has an even more magnificent view of the hillside.  The church itself is also more rustic,  with mud brick walls and a red dirt floor, but it is my favorite chapel as it has a beautiful painting of the Last Supper.

The path to the chapel.

Bunawatepe chapel

A Day in the Life of...

Entrance to the Fathers compound
"Don Bosco Villa".

Yesterday was a national holiday in Ethiopia.  Adway Day commemorates the Ethiopian victory over the Italians in 1896 in the city of Adwa. It also marked my first month in Ethiopia.  I’m slowly settling into a normal routine as I am adapting to life in Dilla. My alarm clock, which is the church bell tower next door, rings every morning at 6AM to announce the start of the Ethiopian day.  Their day is divided between 6AM/6PM so when its Noon our time, it is actually 6AM their time. So needless to say, it’s already happened to me that I made an appointment at 10AM in the morning but my student showed up 10AM Ethiopian time (4PM our time).  The Ethiopian calendar is also behind – today is actually February 24 of the year 2008 - since it follows the Julian calendar.  

Courtyard and church bell tower in the background.

So as noted earlier, my day starts at 6AM and I join the Sisters every morning for mass at 6.45 AM.  Mass is celebrated in Amharic so I don’t understand much but I am trying to learn the prayer responses in Amharic. So far I know how to say “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” and now I am working on “Our Father”.  My favorite parts about Mass are the songs that are sung beautifully by the young people. Birds also play their role in the Eucharistic celebration as they swoop in and up over our heads during Mass. 

A shallow pool due to the dry season.

By 8AM, we are in the student hall where the principal or a teacher will give students the “Good Morning” pep talk to start their day.  We have three class periods before a 30 minute break for tea / snacks. We then have two more periods before our 1.5 hour lunch break. Classes resume at 2PM and we have three more periods until the day ends at 4.30.  The afternoon sessions are probably the most difficult due to the heat, especially in the computer labs. We rely on natural breeze, no AC, to cool us throughout the day.  Of all the first world luxuries that I miss the most, it is probably AC.  Luckily, the cool refreshing breeze in the evenings and mornings offer a nice respite from the heat.  Free time after school and before supper is spent resting or playing basketball/football with the local students. Age has definitely crept up on me as I have a hard time keeping up with these youngsters.

St. Gabriel Orthodox Church

Life with the Sisters is enjoyable and spiritual.  The Sisters come from all parts of the world: Korea, Poland, India, Ethiopia and Sudan which makes conversations at the dining table entertaining as the English dialogue is interspersed with a bit of Amharic, Italian, Polish, Arabic and Korean.  We share all our mealtimes together (breakfast at 7.20AM, lunch at 12.45PM and supper at around 7PM).  A different Sister is assigned kitchen duty every week, which makes for a nice mix of local and international cuisine. Needless to say, I am well fed over here, so much so that I have put myself on a diet which is no easy task since we always seem to be celebrating a feast or special event that requires a delicious dessert J 

Well that’s all from me for now. Thank you for your comments and emails. Please keep them coming as it helps me stay connected with your lives. Responses may be delayed though due to intermittent access to the Internet!