Ethiopia

I went to Ethiopia for a few weeks consulting on a project for Averting Maternal Death & Disability (in the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University). My work took me out of Addis Abba (the capital and largest city) to visit some of the universities in other towns that are training emergency maternal health care providers. This young guy was selling watermelons by the road side. Note the t-shirt (that’s the local language, Amharic, below the English; most people in Ethiopia are at least somewhat bilingual, and everyone knows who Obama is!
Along the shores of beautiful Lake Hawassa (or, Awassa). Hawassa is a booming city with a big university campus.
 
Swimmers, fishermen and cattle all enjoying the lake.

 

Visiting the national museum where Lucy resides along with other hominid remains that date back 4 million years! I was pretty excited to meet Lucy after all those years of National Geographic!
A verdant Ethiopian countryside. The rainy season was just ending, and the crops were thriving. This is a field of teff, a local grain from which Ethiopians make their ubiquitous delicious soft flat bread.
Selling fruit by the roadside.




Children playing by the side of the road.




Baboons were also seen along the roads. There was a large troop out this evening, but unfortunately I was a little slow with the camera. The surgeon I was travelling with, Dr. Daniel, detailed some of the appalling wounds he has seen that were inflicted by baboons… he wouldn’t let me role the window down!

An example of the Christian churches you see in Ethiopia. It is an ancient sect, they consider themselves descendants of Solomon. Of note, Ethiopia is a diverse society, inhabited by both Christians and Muslims. Overt displays of religious animosity are not tolerated here! 
Public health is an on-going effort.





Typical homes in the countryside.
Ethiopia is a beautiful country and the people make every effort to treat visitors with courtesy and care. If you ever get a chance, it’s a place worth visiting!
Chris