TRASH COLLECTION PROJECT FUNDED

March 7, 2010 – Success!

Hello again, my dears! I realize it’s been another long hiatus but with good reason this time – I really have been busy! I’ll get to that later. First, birthdays!

Jeff/Minister/The Master!! (February 9th)
Little (probably not so) Pat!! (March 5th)

I love you guys, hope you had wonderful birthdays! Also, Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone and a pre-emptive Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

Ok, so now that that’s done with, I can continue with my tales of being busy. Despite the many quality hours spent with jigsaw puzzles, books, and Sudoku, I have been quite busy lately. I wrote a grant proposal for my trash collection project and it has just been approved! I will also post my grant proposal for those that have any interest in the nitty gritty details but for those that don’t love me as much I will provide a brief summary. I have been approved for $4,677.18 (62,300.00 Ethiopian Birr) to provide a comprehensive solid waste collection and disposal service for the town of Dilla that will also generate income for a group of twenty orphans. These funds will be used to purchase 10 donkeys, 10 wooden carts, painting supplies to decorate the carts, and three months’ salaries for the project workers. The workers will be teenage orphans (most are 15 or 16) who will work part-time around their school schedules collecting trash from homes and hotels in the town. The homes and hotels will have to pay a small fee each month that will be used to pay our workers, take care of the donkeys, etc. We will also be holding three community sanitation campaigns in key areas of town to get people out cleaning up their own neighborhoods and to provide education about the importance of good sanitation and hygiene. We will also give some HIV education. We hope this will get people motivated and concerned with the sanitation of their communities so that they take part in the project.

We will also be involving all the Anti-AIDS clubs at the local schools to paint the donkey carts with messages and pictures about HIV and general health. I am really excited for this part because, as you all know, I love arts and crafts but I also think it will also be a great way to promote the project and provide a constant positive message throughout the town. As for the orphans, many have lost both parents and are supporting younger brothers and sisters, so this will be a great opportunity for them to earn some consistent income. We have also formed a Steering Committee of local government officials from various offices that will oversee the project and provide any technical support needed. I am hoping that with this Committee, my role in the project will phase out after the first few months. I really want this to continue long after I have left.

So that pretty much sums it up. I am so excited and proud that it is really happening. This is something that I have thought about doing since I first got here and now it’s becoming a reality. Of course, nothing has actually started yet but I have high (but hopefully realistic) hopes. If you can all send me positive thoughts and vibes, that would be great! 

My last bit of great news is that I will be going to Brussels in just three weeks!! This was a last minute trip to visit my best friend, Chelsea, because it’s oddly the only place we can both afford to travel to. I am so excited to see and even more to have a little break from Ethiopia. I think I need it so I can return rested and ready to dive into my project.

I’ll keep this one short to reward you all for trucking through the novel that was my last entry. I just wanted to share my good news. Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement – it means the world to me. Lots of love from Ethiopia and I wish you a very happy and SAFE St. Patrick’s Day. To my uncles, I hope you can find a replacement getaway driver this year ;) Can’t wait to be celebrating the holiday with you NEXT YEAR!!! I love you!