Everyone is asking....

What did I do in Ethiopia? Here is the background:

In the late 50's a small group of European missionaries and medical workers purchased a small plot of land by the Ethiopian government in order to start a farm and rehabilitation center for leprosy victims. The community started with just a few families but quickly grew to several thousand individuals that traveled from all over the country. The villagers named the community Addis Hiwot "New Life". There was tef, corn, wheat and beans grown on 300 hectares and employment opportunities offered to the villagers despite their handicaps caused by the leprosy.
In 1974 a Marxist regime forcefully seized power and the foreign workers were expelled, the water, electricity and any funding was cut off. The villagers were left with arid land and very little means of survival.
The story is pretty bleak but there is some hope. With the introduction of Multi Drug Treatment, leprosy is a curable disease and there are organizations and individuals (American Leprosy Mission, Compassion, etc.) supporting the community. Even with this support many people live in dire poverty and can often not afford even the simplest treatment.
I traveled to Addis Hiwot with Aboye Wanore who himself was inflicted with leprosy at an early age. He told me the story how as a small child, he was carried for a long distance until they reached a road leding to Addis Ababa where here received treatment at ALERT leprosy hospital. After treatment he was moved to Addis Hiwot where he lived for over twenty years.

Click the image above for a quick slide show.