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Project Mercy’s Community Development Model is Improving Lives in Rural Ethiopia

“In order to fight against poverty, you have to attack it from many different directions and then pluck it out, ” said Marta, co-founder of Project Mercy, as she described their Community Development Model. “We cannot educate children if the only outcome is to make them discontented with the limited job opportunities currently available.”

Project Mercy Yetebon Ethiopia

A beautiful flower within the gardens at Project Mercy

Back in June, when I was in Ethiopia as a fellow with the International Reporting Project I spent my last full day there visiting Project Mercy. Project Mercy is a special not-for-profit organization as it was created in 1993 by two Ethiopian exiles, husband and wife team Demeke (Deme) Tekle-Wold and Marta Gabre-Tsadick. Deme and Marta left Ethiopia and repatriated to the United States during the heart of Ethiopia’s repressive government. Wanting to help their fellow countrymen at home, they established Project Mercy as a way to help Ethiopians rebuild and lift themselves out of poverty.

Today, Project Mercy is run by Desalegne “Lali” Demeke , Marta and Deme’s son who manages the 52- acre compound that houses a school, a home for orphans, volunteer housing, a hospital, a new Health Science College and agricultural, cattle breeding and handicraft training services, to help empower the local community and improve their lives. Project Mercy is an incredible organization and I was excited to visit it in person.

Getting to Project Mercy was half the fun and required a land cruiser, a driver and a full day of adventure. We left Addis Ababa early in the morning heading for about three hours south into the heart of the Yetebon to arrive at the bumpy, gravel road that brought us to Project Mercy.

Africa Ethiopia Global Health Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises Poverty SOCIAL GOOD TRAVEL TRAVEL BY REGION Women and Girls
Freedom Tower NYC
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Descending into the depths of humanity: A visit to the 9/11 Memorial

“May the lives remembered, the deeds recognized, and the spirit reawakened be eternal beacons, which reaffirm respect for life, strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and inspire an end to hatred, ignorance, and intolerance”.       – 9/11 Memorial

Descending down into the depths of humanity lies the unexplainable. Within the two footprints of the North and South Towers, cries almost three thousand tears of the innocent lives lost from a horrendous act against our freedom.

9/11 Memorial

The water rushing down into the foundation of the North Tower felt like the tears of those who died.

9/11 Memorial

Three thousand tears descend into the foundation of one of the Twin Towers.

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Sedona, Arizona
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A Sunrise Hike in Sedona

Sedona is a truly magical place. Blessed with a rugged, red-hued landscape of mountains, rock formations and canyons, the awe-inspiring beauty of Sedona is best seen on foot. A morning hike in Sedona is a spectacular way to start off the day as you can watch the sun slowly light up the brilliant red mountains and the shadows dance away. Furthermore, it may be one of the few times that you are hiking alone meaning you will receive the benefit and joy of finding peace and solitude while enjoying an incredible view.

One of the best sunrise hikes in all of Sedona is the Airport Mesa Trail Loop that literally circles around Sedona’s small mountaintop airport affording dramatic 360-degree views of the city and her magnificent, unusually shaped rock formations.

Sedona, Arizona

Sunrise in Sedona

The hike starts off of Airport Road and meanders a gentle 3.5 miles from start to finish. Depending upon how fit you are and how many stops you make to take photos of the breathtaking views, the hike takes a little over an hour to an hour and a half.

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Sedona, Arizona
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The Changing Light in Sedona

Although my parents have lived in Tucson for over 20 years and I’ve been a frequent visiter to Arizona, I had never made it to Sedona except for when I was a child. Last week, during a family vacation to see my parents, my husband and I decided to include a short road trip with our two kids, spending three glorious days in Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Traveling through northern Arizona made us realize what we have been missing. Stunning, achingly beautiful landscape that offers endless opportunities to hike and enjoy the wonders of the great outdoors.

We set off from Tucson in the morning with the kids happily watching a movie during our four-hour road trip. I laughed at the memory of the days when I was a child and we packed our family of five in our wood-paneled diesel station wagon during the days before electronic entertainment. All we did was fight the entire way! Despite the drawbacks, the invention of DVDs and iTouch games has had some advantages especially during travel!

Arizona

First rest stop along the way to Sedona, Max smiles for the camera.

Located in the northern Verde Valley of Arizona, approximately 232 miles (373 kilometers) northwest of Tucson, Sedona is one of the most geologically diverse areas in Arizona along with the Grand Canyon. Sedona is world-renown for her awe-inspiring beauty of red and orange-hued rock formations, canyons and mesas that formed millions of years ago when iron-rich rivers dried up and left deposits of crimson-colored iron behind in the sandstone. The sensational striated canyons and unique rock formations can be easily spotted from the highway as you drive into the Sedona.

We arrived in Sedona around early afternoon and immediately our jaws dropped in surprise and delight at her surreal beauty. Sedona is like nothing we have ever seen. She is simply stunning!

Sedona Arizona

First glimpse of a gorgeous red-hued rock formation in Sedona.

Adventure Travel Arizona TRAVEL Trekking/Hiking United States
Mosebo Village, Ethiopia
— 40 Comments

I dream of a future when all girls can go to school

In honor of the amazing news today and International Day of the Girl tomorrow, I am dedicating this post to one amazing young woman who risked her life for her belief that all girls should have the right to go to school. Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban two years ago for her desire to learn was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this morning along with Kailash Satyarthi of India, a campaigner for the end of child labor and freeing children from trafficking.

At 17, Malala is the youngest ever winner of a Nobel Prize. Since the shocking news hit the world that young Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman, Malala has fought tirelessly for the rights of girls worldwide to go to school. After her remarkable recovery in a British hospital, Malala has become a global icon for girl’s rights. To further her work, she co-founded the Malala Fund with her father Ziauddin Yousafzai (an educator and social activist) and Shiza Shahid (a Pakistani social entrepreneur and activist) to amplify, advocate and invest in girl’s education. To read more about the amazing work Malala does around the world for girls, click here.

Congratulations Malala on following your dreams! You are amazing and truly changing the world.

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These girls need you and others to stand up for their right to education.

Child Labor, Marriage, Education and Survival Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY Weekly Photo Challenges Women and Girls
Ellis Island Immigration Musuem
— 17 Comments

Ellis Island: The Gateway to America

No visit to New York City is complete without seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I had decided to do both in one day along with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, for a jam-packed Saturday filled with history, culture and emotions. I began my morning with a tour of our Lady Liberty followed by a visit to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. If I had known how much fascinating information was available in all these three attractions, I would have spread out my visits over the course of two full days. I was stunned to discover how much I was moved and interested in discovering my own heritage after touring the fabulous Ellis Island Immigration Museum. I could have spent at least four hours there but alas I only had two.

Ellis Island New York

View of Ellis Island from the Statue of Liberty.

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the Statue of Liberty.
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Liberty: An Unrelenting Symbol of Freedom

I have always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty.  Although I’ve seen many monuments from around the world – such as Paris’ beloved Eiffel Tour, India’s Taj Mahal and Beijing’s Forbidden City – I had never quite made it to the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of freedom and the representation of American ideals.

I have been to New York City many times before, however, every time I was there the timing was never quite right and I had never had the chance to see Liberty. It felt just plain odd and somewhat embarrassing that as a 42-year-old world traveler, I had never seen America’s most iconic symbol.

the Statue of Liberty.

When I knew I was heading back to New York again for a conference, I made special plans to fly in a day early and put my regrets about not seeing the Statue of Liberty behind me. Little did I know that seeing Liberty, Ellis Island and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum all in one day under the continual threat of growing terrorism, would be an emotionally-charged experience that I would never forget.

Hundreds of years after Liberty arrived, her symbol of freedom remains, perhaps even stronger and more insistent than before. 

The Statue of Liberty

There she stands….rising tall and fighting for our freedom while the reminder of 9/11 looms in the distance.

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The Statue of Liberty
— 25 Comments

Why I love New York

I just returned from an exhilarating long weekend in New York City and as usual I was not disappointed. In my opinion, New York City is one of the most amazing, electrifying cities in the world and every time I leave I long to go back.

My whirlwind weekend in New York began on a Friday night with a full, nine-hour day of sightseeing on Saturday, followed by two jam-packed days as a participant in the fifth annual Social Good Summit at 92nd Street Y in the Upper East Side.  I crammed in as much as humanly possible and arrived home Monday night completely exhausted, so worn out that I left my laptop and camera in the back seat of the taxi cab and didn’t realize until the following morning (I got it back, thank goodness!).

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Paris, France
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Nighttime in France

Nighttime is the day’s way of saying goodbye. Reminding us that yet another day of our lives has passed and it is time to rest before a new day begins. I love watching the color of the clouds and sky as night begins to fall over the mountains. It is my favorite time of day and brings me so much peace and reflection.

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky”. –Rabindranath Tagore

Vanoise National Park, FRANCE

Nightfall in Vanoise National Park, Savoie France.

Vanoise National Park, FRANCE

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.” ― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY Weekly Photo Challenges
Yetebon community Ethiopia
— 35 Comments

The Long Walk to Deliver

On one of my last days in Ethiopia as a fellow with the International Reporting Project we visited Project Mercy, a not-for-profit relief and development agency that provides services to help alleviate human suffering and overcome systemic poverty in Southern Ethiopia. The visit ended up being one of the most enlightening moments of our entire trip.

In order to combat Ethiopia’s high maternal and newborn mortality rates, Project Mercy opened a “Lie and Wait” home for rural woman to come to stay before delivering their child at a nearby hospital. In a country in which an estimated 90% of women deliver at home with little or no trained birth assistance, a Lie and Wait house ensures women from the far away, remote villages will come to wait to stay and deliver at a hospital with a trained midwife or doctor. Lie and Wait houses have saved many lives of both mother and child.

Many of these expectant mothers walk miles on foot on various terrains and topographies to reach a Lie and Wait house. At Project Mercy in the Yetebon community of Southern Ethiopia, pregnant women can walk hours through rugged, mountainous terrain to reach the Lie and Wait home. It is a true test of endurance to walk on foot carrying almost a full term baby.

Yetebon community Ethiopia

Reaching the Yetebon community on rough gravel roads that end when they hit the mountains where most of the population live.

Africa Child Labor, Marriage, Education and Survival Ethiopia Global Health Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises Poverty SOCIAL GOOD TRAVEL TRAVEL BY REGION Women and Girls
Mosebo Village, Ethiopia
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The Meaning of Humanity

Today I have the honor of hosting the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge. When asked to come up with a theme, without skipping a beat I decided upon Humanity. Here is my own answer to the question and challenge below. To see the official WordPress Photo Challenge: Humanity and to respond, please click here. 

There is so much conflict and heartbreak in the today’s world: Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine and the raw memories of 9/11 to name a few. Sometimes it makes me wonder what on earth has happened to humanity and compassion for others. Has it all disappeared?

The more I see the world, the more I realize that although people are all different, we are also very much the same. We may speak different languages, have different cultures, religions, values and physical traits, yet we all share common hopes and dreams of love, family and survival.

When I travel, I am inspired to take photographs that show the common humanity of us all. I aim to capture images of everyday people around the world hoping to provoke compassion for others and an understanding of their differences. My favorite photos are the rare ones that capture the raw emotions of others and spark a curiosity about their lives. For me, these images reflect the common humanity the human race shares and creates a connection between us.

Some of my favorite photos of humanity are the ones where I feel as if my photograph is touching their souls like these ones below. 

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I met these two girls inside an unauthorized slum in the heart of New Delhi. Although their clothing was tattered and torn, their eyes were full of joy, innocence and curiosity about the  outside world and a tall, blond-haired blue-eyed woman asking to take their photo. They reminded me of my own children.

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I met this woman in southern Ethiopia at Project Mercy, a not-for-profit relief and development agency working to alleviate human suffering and poverty in Ethiopia. Although she could not read or write or speak the same language, her pride at her handiwork was evident. 

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Levi Resort, Lake Hawassa Ethiopi
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Pesky Monkeys and Lake Awasa

We arrived in Hawassa (also known as Awasa), a city located 270 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, around late afternoon to beautiful weather. Our hotel was located right on Lake Awasa, a beautiful, pristine lake set against the mountainous backdrop of the Great Rift Valley. Our group of journalists were staying two nights in Hawassa where we would visit the Regional Hospital, a Health Center and a Health Sciences College to learn about their maternal and newborn care in the region. It was our first visit to Southern Ethiopia and I was excited for the meetings and interviews ahead.

I had been warned about the monkeys from our Program Director who told me stories about their bravery at jumping from the trees and snatching your breakfast right out of your hands. Although they were rather pesky I still enjoyed watching them play with their humanlike fingers and features. They were a fun photo subject while I passed away a free Sunday afternoon.

Hawassa, Ethiopia

The monkeys greeted us as we arrived at our hotel. This one enjoyed watching us from atop a parked car.

I was thankful to have a room with a beautiful view of Lake Awasa where I could get some writing done and relax a bit after a rather exhausting trip. It was my first two-week journalism trip away from home and although it was incredibly exciting and fascinating sleep was something that was lagging. I had to admit I was exhausted.

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