Where Is Gandalf When You Need Him? (Part Three)

This is the third and final installment by guest contributor J, who wrote this e-mail message describing a business trip with Walter the consultant to the FH/E project sites in South Gondar in mid-June 1995.

The new tire arrived and by 8:30 that evening we were in Nefas Mewcha, enjoying our special ferenj dinner of spaghetti and deep fried potatoes. We slept well that night and were awakened by a bright crisp morning. A breakfast of scrambled eggs and homemade local bread was waiting for us. That day we were to travel to Arb Gebeya, 26 kilometers across the mountains. The Land Cruiser’s tires were patched – with holes still clearly visible – and off we went. The hour-long drive gave me new ideas for roller coaster rides at Disneyland. The landscape was simply incredible. I could describe it as beautiful – because it is – but the extenuating circumstances diminish its apparent beauty. The major crop grown by the farmers in Tach Gayint and Lay Gayint (two weredas, like counties or administrative zones in South Gondar) is rocks! It is unbelievable that anyone would try to plow, plant, and grow crops on such terrain! Centuries of farming on the steep hillsides has caused massive erosion and consequently uncovered a great many of the rocks. The people are hard working, plowing their fields by hand or with oxen. They travel one or two hours by foot from their villages to their fields and work there all day. Young boys of six and seven are grazing the scrawny cattle and sheep from dawn to dusk. It would all make for a great documentary, but the story seems different when you have seen it firsthand.

The project staff at both base camps were unbelievably generous and hospitable. During my two days at Arb Gebeya (the capital of Lay Gayint wereda), I even enjoyed a shower from a tank filled with water fetched by the women working at the camp. In the evenings the staff gave us Amharic lessons to make up for the language school I was missing in Addis. The experience of seeing the project sites and some of the development work happening outside of the metropolitan area was worth the inconvenience of the travel. This is especially true in retrospect.

The adventure of getting from one place to another did not end with our arrival. One more flat tire and several hours of waiting at the Bahir Dar airport came before my safe return to Addis. All in all, that’s just Africa. I wonder, though, since I was on my way to Gondar shouldn’t I have expected some help from the wizard Gandalf?

The purpose of my visit to Gondar was to set a baseline survey in motion. The survey is conducted with many villagers in the rural areas. In all, 380 households are asked a series of questions to help FH establish a set of general characteristics for a certain area. It is a surprisingly scientific undertaking and Walter was instrumental in randomly selecting weredas, villages, and households for surveying. We expect the data to provide useful information about the needs of the people and where our resources are best allocated. Furthermore, many of the funding agencies (e.g. US Agency for International Development aka USAID) are requiring a rigorous analysis of the impact of our projects. This initial survey will give us data to compare against subsequent surveys. The survey will address issue of food and food security via crop production, household income and expenditures, family health, sanitation and access to water, etc. Each interview is expected to take one-and-a-half hours. Enumerators, or survey takers, are hired from each community and trained during a three-day session. I was there to observe and to help with the training. After the surveys are completed the data will be entered into the computer for compilation and statistical analysis. I hope to be involved with that process as well.

The next few weeks will consist mainly of language school for Sara and me. Although I missed most of the first week, Sara is doing a good job in helping me catch up. I hope to be able to converse enough to be able to understand the next guard who is sent to protect me.