Bale Brits

Yay for another full circle. This time I had nothing to do with actually helping it come about but feel happy that I was able to observe. First, a little background refresher. Since I have been in Goba I have been trying to work with the Bale Beauty Nature Club which consists of 2.4 hectare of pristine land and a library/study room in town. Ayoub, the original leader and inspiration for the club “disappeared” in America last year and has yet to return. I have spent the past year, unsuccessfully, trying to find a way to keep the club going in a sustainable way that doesn’t just depend on dwindling local NGO donations. The main thing that is lacking is a person who will take leadership for the club and reinvigorate the community members. Or so I think.

But today I learned that the Ethiopian way of last minute planning can work out. A week ago Ayoub randomly called me saying that another group of students from England would be arriving soon to do a “volunteer vacation” to work with the club. (The same company that organizes this trip came last year and the work largely fell onto my sitemates and I, (see old blog post)). As much as I want to see this club survive I decided to not change my plans but to simply observe and help out a few days into the trip.

So I stuck with my plans and had a fabulous weekend climbing a mountain outside of Goba that I have been looking at since living here. I went with my friends Marit and Jan from Holland who work in Robe and who, like me, love outdoor adventures. The mountain had stunning views and it was so nice to camp, relax and hang out viewing Goba from a new perspective.

Anyway, back to today when I finally met the group from England and helped them plant some trees at the club property. The rest of the day I mostly just chatted with the leaders and helped them buy food, preparing for a trek into the Senetti and Bale Park. For me it was so refreshing to hear their positive views on Ethiopians and in particular the club members who stepped up and made their visit such a success. Out of thin air emerged three smart, motivated, English speaking Ethiopians who were very kind and were great guides in organizing good activities. I say emerged because like I said I have been trying to find guys like this for the past year to work with.

But long story short it was great to see how successful they pulled off this trip for the “Brits” and now I have some hope that the future of the club will continue due to this short one week event that will hopefully bring in enough foreign money to keep the club running. The “Brits” had a great visit and will encourage their company to continue bringing school groups to Goba and working with the nature club. For me it was also nice to see Ethiopia through their eyes for a day. They were so positive about the kindness of Ethiopians and how well they were treated by strangers. It’s sad that sometimes I forget to see this quality on a daily basis.

So again I am happy and humbled to see that things do work out without me. Life prevails and continues in ever unfolding and mysterious ways. Maybe not as planned or intended but nonetheless it moves forward.