By Michael Hill
By all rights, the Missionaries of Charity Home for the Destitute and Dying in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia should be a depressing place. After all, the 1,000 people in here are almost all sick. And they are poor. Their sleeping quarters are crowded, beds nearly wall-to-wall. Some have physical ailments that might make you want to avert your gaze. Others are mentally challenged and behave erratically.

It is certainly not a place that makes you happy. These people have been dealt a tough hand by life. Few have smiles on their faces. On this cool afternoon, they are mostly sitting outside. Not listless, exactly, but hardly active. Some are in wheelchairs. Others remain in their beds in the wards.

The home is really two compounds, one for children, the other for teens to the aged. The occupants go from newborn infants to those near the end of long lives. Some are simply too poor to afford any sort of lodging during medical treatment in Ethiopia’s capital city. But many were abandoned by their families, too poor to care for, say, a handicapped child with mental issues; or for an elderly relative near death; or for an unwanted newborn.
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Lane Bunkers, country representative for CRS Ethiopia, receives a gift of appreciation from Archbishop Berhaneyesus Souraphiel, President of the Ethiopian Catholic Bishops Conference at the inauguration of a drilling rig purchased by CRS for the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat. Photo by Neal Deles / CRS

By Lane Bunkers

This day, like many during my 3 plus years as the County Representative of CRS Ethiopia, was all about water. At a time when we are occupied by the impact the current drought is having on millions of people in East Africa, for a few hours on a Friday morning we were able to pause and celebrate a significant advancement in our fight against the lack of water – the purchase of a new drilling rig. This is the third rig bought by CRS and donated to our national partner, the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat. The funds for this rig have come 100 percent from private donors to CRS’ East Africa Strategic Fundraising Initiative, a Wellspring of Hope.

It is not every day you see an archbishop blessing a large piece of industrial equipment, but we saw that on this day, so important is this drilling rig to the well-being of Ethiopians.
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A woman washes clothing in a spring in the Bishan Behe Kebele of eastern Ethiopia. CRS and the Hararghe Catholic Secretariat helped to rehabilitate the spring’s retaining wall after it was damaged by a flood in 2010. Photo by David Snyder for CRS

Lane Bunkers is CRS’ Country Representative for Ethiopia, one of three East African countries plagued by drought that has affected more than 11 million people.. Here he talks about the current food emergency in Ethiopia and how CRS’ long-term development and drought mitigation programs have helped ease some of the effects of this crisis.

When did the current food emergency in Ethiopia begin?
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Brother Patrick Hyde is a Dominican Brother studying for the priesthood at St. Dominic’s Priory in St. Louis. Br. Patrick is participating on the Global Fellows immersion trip to Ethiopia.

“Live in my love.”

These words of Jesus have resonated in my heart from the moment we arrived in Ethiopia. I brought these words to contemplate upon in an attempt to remind myself of the need to grow, if nothing else, in love for the poor. Since our arrival, we have not had to go far to meet the poor and attempt to bring them true Christian charity.

Thirty years ago, Mother Teresa founded a home in Dire Dawa. Today, we had the privilege of visiting this house. During our visit, we came upon a mother and child sitting on a bench completely covered by flies. Feelings of disbelief, anger, compassion, and love flowed through me. How could I live in love in the presence of such an unspeakably sad scene?
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Deacon Patrick O’Toole is a deacon for the diocese of Springfield, IL. Deacon Patrick is participating on the Global Fellows immersion trip to Ethiopia.

Alex was a bright young boy who was doing well in school, and while his family was poor and living in the slums of Addis Ababa (the capitol of Ethiopia) his parents were able to earn enough to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and allow their children to attend school. Unfortunately, tragedy struck as both his mother and father were diagnosed HIV positive.

At first his father and then his mother began to suffer the ravages of the virus. At the end of his seventh grade year, Alex was forced to drop out of school and do whatever he could to earn some money to help support his family; including begging on the streets. Slowly his parent’s health declined, and at the age of 15, with only a seventh grade education, Alex found himself orphaned and living on the streets.
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Fr. Chris Trenta is a priest in the diocese of Cleveland. Fr. Chris is participating on the Global Fellows trip to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has been an eye opening experience and a pleasant surprise. I have found myself naturally trying to compare this trip to my previous Global Fellows trip to Madagascar in 2006, but the unique realities of life here really don’t lend themselves to an even comparison.

The Ethiopian Catholic Church is in the minority among all the religions here. Smaller even than the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia. Christians here are also in the minority compared to the Muslim population. But, that just serves to highlight the amazing reality of the work of CRS and the Catholic Secretariats, including the one here in Harar. The willingness to work with any community that is open to accepting the support we can offer is a hallmark characteristic of CRS and the Secretariats. And what a statement that is!
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Brother James Dominic Rooney is a Dominican brother studying for the priesthood at St. Dominic’s Priory in St. Louis. Br. James is participating on the Global Fellows immersion trip to Ethiopia.

In the pictures of Ethiopia’s countryside, one sees a picturesque landscape resembling that of Nevada or New Mexico in the United States. There is a green tint to the soil and one sees small desert foliage growing on vast planes of sandy, rocky soil (the name “soil” is applied here rather loosely). The mountains are beautiful, having small acacia trees growing here and there over their surface and down into the valleys. The mountains show signs of erosion from the top down, exposing the beautiful yellow and grey rocks underneath.
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Deacon Bill Heiman is a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis. Deacon Bill is participating in the Global Fellows immersion trip to Ethiopia.

After being awakened from a deep sleep in the middle of night by fireworks celebrating the 20th anniversary of the downfall of the Derge, the CRS Global Fellows Ethiopia immersion trip left the hustle and bustle of Addis Ababa for Lalibela. However, before we could leave behind the two-day immersion experience with the Daughters of Charity and Missionaries of Charity, I recalled how I looked out the past night from the Ethiopian Catholic Association balcony window.

In one direction I saw soldiers lining up for a marching parade under the color of fireworks. Then I looked to the other side and noted those unlucky and unfortunate few who were not being served by the caring missionary sisters and instead were trying to sleep in ditches and storefronts. The message of our immersion experience was never more visibly demonstrated than by that dual view.
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Fr. Cyrus Gallagher is a Capuchin living in Colorado Springs. Fr. Cyrus is participating on the Global Fellows immersion trip to Ethiopia.

The sign over the brown-painted metal gate reads: “Missionaries of Charity. Home for the Destitute and Dying.” Our driver sounds the horn and the gate squeaks open.

We are 13 visitors from the Catholic Relief Services Global Fellows program. Ten of us are Global Fellows along with three CRS staff members. CRS partners with the Missionaries of Charity in their work of caring for those rejected by society: disabled people who have no family or friends to care about them; newborns left at the gate during the night by desperate moms who have heard by widespread word-of-mouth that the Sisters would take care of the baby; by new moms who wait for sunrise at the gate with the baby in their arms, knowing that they will not only be not rejected and turned away, but rather welcomed with love and continuing care; special-needs kids and adults who have lived on the streets of Addis Ababa, starving, covered with lice, waiting for help.
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Augustine Lee is a seminarian studying for the diocese of Cleveland. Augustine is participating on a Global Fellows immersion trip to Ethiopia.

Today we visited some villages where the Daughters of Charity are assisting the poor and vulnerable. The first place we went was a house where six ladies were weaving cotton, which is how they made their living. When I walked into the house, I was shocked because their workplace was inferior; it was very small, not a lot of room for weaving. There was a fair amount of dirt and many flies. It was hard to accept what I was seeing. Leaving the house, I was frustrated because it seems that I could not do anything for them.
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