Surprise Email from Ethiopia

I was happy this afternoon to see this email from Dr. Lackey!

Friends and Family of MOM Ethiopia,

We arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on time this morning--around 7:45 Ethiopia time. The flight was long , but uneventful. All checked bags arrived in a timely manner, we obtained visas without a hitch, and changed our U.S. dollars into Birr. The group is exhausted but excited.

We enjoyed lunch at a downtown Addis pizza joint and toured the Hamlin Fistula Hospital. If you're unfamiliar with the work of Dr. Katherine Hamilin and her late husband, I encourage you to google the fistula hospital in Addis. The tour was eye-opening. For dinner, our host Dave Harding treated us to a traditional Ethiopian meal and cultural expression and dance for entertainment. Both the meal and the song/dance were memorable.

Breakfast is at 7:10 in the morning. After eating and packing our gear, we will spend the day traveling to Lake Langano where we'll stay at the SIM sports camp. We'll begin digging the well in a neighboring community the following day. We're all hoping to hit water!

While in Langano, we will not have internet access. So, no news is good news. Once we arrive in Awassa about 9 days later, we will send out another update.

Our thanks go to Ben and Kelly Taylor for the work they've done organizing our adventure and for letting me use their computer and internet.

Love from Ethiopia,

Laura Lackey and MOM Group Members


Hamlin Fistula Website