It's more than just a job, it's a hope for a new future

Image Credit:s Karen Walrond

Last October I had the privilege to travel to Ethiopia with the ONE Campaign. During this stay we visited numerous wonderful businesses that had been set up to allow the Ethiopian people to become sustainable and to be able to help themselves. One of the very first visits we made was to FashionABLE.

All of us women were blown away by our visit to this amazing organisation, you can check out the full story on the FashionABLE site or have a look at my post from last year but in a nut shell FashionABLE offer former sex workers a way to learn a trade and be ABLE (see that word there) to feed their children, build a new life, have dignity, have peace in their life, be a leader and so much more.

This awe-inspiring business grew from one man and his wife living in Ethiopia and observing many women being pushed into poor choices to make enough money to live or feed their children. When they asked these women what they really wanted in life, they were told that they want the chance to earn their own fair wage, they didn't want charity. So that is what Barrett and his wife Rachel set about realising, a way for women to be rehabilitated back into regular life and feeling a sense of pride, community and dignity again. Take a look at this video it sums it up wonderfully in just under 2 minutes and is incredibly touching -



3rd birthday, 30% discount for 3 days!

It's FashionABLE's 3rd birthday this week and I want to be able to see them celebrating their 30th and 300th birthdays so they need to keep selling their wares and the more sales they make the more women that can be employed and become part of this bright future. In the last 3 years the workforce has grown from 3 to 30 making the beautiful hand-woven scarves and just recently a new partnership has been set up making leather goods and that helps another 40 women.

I count myself extremely blessed that Barrett choose to send me a leather clutch bag last week. I look at it and think it is almost too beautiful to use and then I remember that I must use it, as it is the labour from a woman who has worked very hard to make it (both the bag and to this point in her life).

Whilst FashionABLE is primarily about creating new opportunities for women in Ethiopia please don't be fooled into thinking that their products are average, they are not. The business is also focused on only sending out the very best products. They make beautiful scarves, I have about six of them and I will be ordering more and especially as gifts for people for Christmas. At the moment I am eyeing up a Anchinalu scarf in Burgundy and peach for myself. It normally retails at $40, and during the 30% off sale it will be $28 and that means just £17. And yes whilst that might be more than I could pay in Next, I love to know I helped a vulnerable women in the process.

Why don't you take a look online and see what you might like to order? 

If we were all to place just one order think of the knock-on effect that could have in terms of more women being offered the chance of a bright and dignified future.

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This time last year.... #OneMums #OneMoms

Image Credit: Karen Walrond

My life was so different. I never would have imagined that I'd be where I am now, living the life I now have.

This very day last year my life was being changed and moulded for the future. I was being impacted forever and I was having one of the best times of my life.

I can never forget the times I shared in Ethiopia with all the amazing #OneMoms and #OneMums. I owe each one of them such a debt of gratitude that I never can repay it, they have to just know that the words 'thank you' and 'you are awesome' are so heartfelt and meant.

But more than the British and American women I spent such a lot of time with in the 8 short days there are all the amazing Ethiopian women and children that I met and got to know just a little.

Women who inspired me to love more, try harder and have faith. On the surface they appear to have nothing, one meal a day if they are lucky and no spare cash for clothes, medical care or clean water but talk to them and you find they have so much and in the face of adversity. Such a lot of love, faith, friendship, community and belief. Each week they go to Church and they are thankful and loyal, that is an example I really did try to take with me.

I long to go back to Ethiopia to feel her warm heart and see the joyous dancing and smell those coffee beans slow roasting. I want to meet more amazing people like Gebeyehu who is working hard to change the future of children living in the slums and Cherry who helps to take women off the streets and is part of their clean and healthy future. I can't even begin to put in words how I feel about these inspirational people. I want to be like them, I want to be able to help and I want to serve.

I don't know what my future holds but I do know that the ONE Campaign will remain a part of it. Together we are stronger than the single parts and that is what ONE does, bring all our voices together and campaign for a world where there is no more poverty or hunger. It can be done if we all play our parts. My part is not special or inspirational like Gebeyehu or Cherry's but it is still important and so is your part.

Image credit: Karen Walrond

Have you signed up with ONE?

It is dead easy and all you have to do is sign the odd petition or tweet or have a real life conversation with a friend. All quite simple and all only take moments. Of course you can do more, you can talk to your MP, blog for them or any other number of things if you want more, but do not underestimate the power of us all coming together. This makes change happen.

You can be part of the change, you just have to care and do something.

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Look for the light....

Quite a while back I watched this Youtube clip from a TEDx conference held in Houston last year. The talk is given by my lovely friend Karen Walrond who writes the uber blog Chookooloonks and she has to be watched to be believed. I've written about Karen before as she is the author of a fabulous book too - The Beauty of Different and this TEDx talks expands on her theme that we are all beautiful and that it is our difference that gives us that beauty. This time Karen asks us all to 'look for the light' but don't believe me that she is good. Believe the 83,383 views that this clip has had in the last six months. It is about 15 minutes long but worth it I believe.



So I mentioned that Karen asks us all to look for the light within a person, not to just disregard them based on the prejudices that society has taught us. In her talk she shares lots of pictures from our shared trip to Ethiopia and then asks people what they see. Take this picture I took (not half as good as Karen's but you'll get the idea). If you saw this person walking down the street in the UK what would you think?

Tattoos on the face and neck - she must be part of a gang?
Very young - bad mother?
Child with runny nose/ dirty clothes - neglectful mother?
Poorly dressed - benefits scrounger/ on drugs?
Large cross around her neck - with a cult? brain washed?

We are all guilty of making snap judgements at times and that is when we forget to look for what is good in a person, or that special light. Karen urges each one of us to go about our day and to look for familiarity, sameness, resonance in everything we see. I know from being in Ethiopia that the lady pictured above was a very loving mother and was far older than you could imagine. As we interacted with her with all felt that bond of motherhood and there was much the same about us, despite how different it appears on the surface.

Since Karen opened my eyes to this, I have to admit I've been looking for the light in people. Not every day, I'm not perfect, I don't always remember but when I do I am richly rewarded. I see my new neighbour next door who is full of light, so much so that she practically glows but I also see it in my kids as they annoy me and act out. I noticed it Friday night in the lady that came and sat next to me at a service, we had never met before but we got talking and as part of the service we were asked to write down our impressions of each other and to pass those over. These were proper first impressions and the word that encompassed this lady for me was beautiful. Beautiful and in love with Jesus.

I was so blessed when she gave me her impressions on what she saw in me -

Kind, warm, generous, friendly, sincere, non-judgemental.
Pragmatic and practical, more concerned with deeper, more meaningful issues than with the superficial.
A good friend to have in difficult and good times.

How amazing is it to hear those things from a stranger? We had chatted for barely 10 minutes and she saw all this in me. This lady certainly had the gift to look for the light.

I'm not telling you this so you can hear how great I am, I'm mentioning it as it is so important to look for our own light as well as that of others. I have always tried to adopt the life stance that I'll think well of others until proved otherwise and this light searching fits right in with that, but it dares to go one step further.

Before we talked about our impressions of each other we had to write down how we saw ourself. The first word I wrote? Well fat of course, as sadly I allow that label to dominate me and much of the rest was pretty negative too. I knew I had potential but I did not build myself up and compliment me as I might have others, why is it we are so self-critical?

I dearly need to look for my light and recognise it every day. I'm OK. In fact I'm better than OK, I'm great.

Here is a 20 minute short film we watched as part of the service last Friday. It is mind-blowing, I've never heard of it before but I had been missing out. My favourite line from the film is 'the greater the struggle the more glorious the triumph'. When you have some time, I'd urge you to have a watch, it fits right in with the looking for the light philosophy.

I've got myself a new task to add to my list for the rest of my life - I must look for the light. Do you fancy joining me?

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If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

5 great reasons to visit Ethiopia

If you are anything like me this is the time of year when you start to think ahead and wonder how you might holiday in the next year. I absolutely love planning for our holidays, in days gone by this might have been the time that dh and I were looking at a map and wondering where we might like to discover this year, nowadays it is more about practicalities and where will be fun for three lively children.

In October last year I spent eight days in Ethiopia; five in the capital of Addis Ababa and three in the North at Bahir Dar. I have never in my life travelled anywhere like Ethiopia before, the nearest I had probably got was the Dominican Republic.  I've mentioned in many blog posts and soundclips that I was blown away by Ethiopia, it is the most awesome place and one I fully intend to visit again in the future. It will be my privilege and pleasure to take my family there and show them the sights.

My visit to Ethiopia was very unique and quite different to what I might experience as a tourist but I saw and learnt enough to know that it would be a super place to travel to if you are happy to travel in a manner that allows you to experience the real country and not to worry about things like toilet facilities and English food.

I thought I'd share for you in words and pictures 5 great reasons to visit Ethiopia for a holiday -

1. Good hotel accommodation
In Adidis Ababa we saw lots of great hotels and the prices are pretty reasonable with our exchange rate.  There is the 4 star Intercontinental and Hilton or the 5 star Sheraton or Radisson Blu as well as many more local brand hotels of 2 or 3 star rating. Out in the countryside the hotel accommodation does become more variable but I can highly recommend the Kuritfu resorts, especially for couples. The bedrooms with their outside lounge for a romantic evening together in front of a real fire are just beautiful and very unique.

2. Fantastic food and great variety

The stews are amazing in Ethiopia, I can't recall all the names but I remember a meat stew called Wot and there was an excellent lentil one too. I am not that partial to spicy food and that was OK in Ethiopia as things were not over spicy. The national bread is Injura made with a crop that just grows in Ethiopia, it was very filling and just perfect for dipping into the stews.



3. The most amazing coffee experience - ever!
Once you have had your meal, what is better than to enjoy some coffee and boy do they do really good coffee over there? It is a full ritual, the beans are roasted by hand and popcorn is served with the strong, sweet black coffee. All you need is a tiny cup but it will keep you going for ages.

Photo credit:  ONE/ Karen Walrond

4. The landscape is beyond beautiful
One minute you feel as if you are in the UK, the next it looks like the USA and then you remember you are in Africa   There is no sea here but many beautiful lakes and why look for a beach when you can travel a country which has a little bit of everything. I'd highly recommend a visit in the lush time just after the rains stop, October when we travelled was perfect.

5.The Ethiopian people are gorgeous - both inside and out
These smiles were evident in every person we met, they are a beautiful nation of people who choose to look on the bright side and hold a very deep and reassuring faith.

Image credit for these 3 photos - Karen Walrond/ ONE

6. Interesting places to visit

Of course I was not a tourist whilst we were in Ethiopia but if you are, there are a ton of great places you can go and see. I am told it is especially good if you like visiting places of faith, such as the 'The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela', often referred to as the eight wonder of the world. Or what about visiting Lake Taha, the source of the Blue Nile and home of the spectacular Tissiat Falls.

Image Credit

Ethiopia is an amazing place, I have been home for 6 months now and it is still firmly under my skin and if I was given the chance to get back on a plane tomorrow and go back, I would!

Memorable moments from Ethiopia #ONEMums

I wrote this post on 13th October as I sat at the airport waiting for my return flight.  I have just found it in my drafts and thought it was high time it got published!
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I am sat at the airport waiting for the flight to board and I’m just trying to process everything I have seen, heard and learnt.  My travel partner Jen is poorly and has been for a few days so she is having a snooze whilst I work.

I am trying to sort out in my head what the key times have been from this journey but I keep coming to the same conclusion that practically every moment in Ethiopia has been memorable; all for different reasons.  This country will defiantly stay with me and now has a special place in my heart.

In no particular order here are some of my really special times –

*   Connecting with a little girl on the first day at the Mary-Joy centre, all those stolen glances, coy smiles and hand holding really set the tone for my stay in Ethiopia.

*   Being told by 2 Ethiopians that my accent is so good that they thought I could speak Amharic,  oh yes, how I chuckled at that one, I think I am up to about 10 words now! But for someone who has always struggled with languages it was welcome words to hear.

*   Seeing just how beautiful this country is, there is so much land and it is all so lush at the time of the year.

*   Experiencing first hand that the Ethiopians are a beautiful people.  So warm and friendly, they go out of their way for you and there is always a smile.  In a country where so many have so little there was no danger of pick-pocketing or violence, isn't that wonderful?

*   Finding out about the women being rescued by Women at Risk and meeting some of them at FashionABLE. To take them out of the sex trade and to pay them a good living wage is a marvellous thing.

*   Overhearing at Bahir-Dar airport two women talking in American accents, ‘they all have those #ONEMoms tags, I’ve read about them’.  Yay, the message is out there.

*   Shaking hands, doing high 5’ and hugging a million and one stunning children. One little girl in the slums project kissed my hand, it was so touching. I am in awe of Gabrielle’s natural manner with all children, they love her as much as she loves them.

*   Getting to know Jen Howze and spending time with the most eclectic group of women, I truly feel I have firm friends over the pond now. I have such admiration for the work these women are doing and whereas I started by feeling like the poor relation in blogger terms, all they did was affirm me and build me up.  Thank you ladies. X

*   Having so much loving support from home, despite a bit of unrest, people rallied together and I’m proud to be a UK parenting blogger. I can’t even begin to name all of you that helped, but you know who you are and I love what you have done.

*   Our farewell dinner as we each sat and shared how we had been impacted during our 8 days in Ethiopia, we all agreed over tears and laughter that this was just the start. We are a force to be reckoned with and we will fight for justice for all people.

*   The finally, finding God’s grace in just about everything.  Perfect.

Thank you Lord, thank you friends, thank you ONE.

I would love for you to read more about ONE and to sign up to offer your voice. There is a very simple widget in my sidebar.

Disclosure: I travelled with the ONE campaign to Ethiopia on an expense paid trip in October. Our trip was about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world. And it is about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs.
 The good Images need to be Credited to the wonderful Karen Walrond

Not so #SilentSunday - a powerful story from Ethiopia

Late last week I received the final cut of the video that was made whilst I was out in Ethiopia with the ONE campaign as a #ONEMum. 

We had a talented professional videographer with us the whole time and on the first day when he said he wanted to interview me I nearly choked. Really, surely there were better candidates? He assured me I would be great and he would just ask me a few off-the-cuff questions and I should answer them honestly and from the gut.  So that is what I did and he obviously thought I did OK as I feature not just once, but three times in this video. 

I won't lie to you, I was a bit thrilled by that. Not because I am seeking fame and fortune but because it boosted my confidence, it made me feel like I was good enough to be doing this. To be going out on a limb and leaving my family to travel 9000 miles to try and help a country I had never been connected with before, to be using my voice to be an advocate, to be aspiring to make a difference.

Ethiopia is an awesome country. The people's positive attitude, faith and giving spirit are a challenge to me to live my life more full of joy.

I won't say any more, I'll just share the video as I feel it speaks for itself.



I would love for you to read more about ONE and to sign up to offer your voice.  There is a very simple widget in my sidebar.

Disclosure: I travelled with the ONE campaign to Ethiopia on an expense paid trip in October. Our trip was about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world. And it is about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs.

Should you lose hope? No you shouldn't! (#ONEMums)

The last Friday when I was in Ethiopia I met a man that I will remember for the rest of my life. This was a kind man with a warm and giving heart, a man that tells me he can relate to the children of the slums, for he too grew up in Ethiopia.

Gebeyehu is living proof of what people can achieve when they believe in themselves and they are willing to work hard and make something of their lives.  I do not know all the details of Gebeyehu's life very well, I spent just a few hours with him. What I know is that he grew up in Ethiopia in difficult circumstances and he trained as a producer and later travelled to England to study for his postgraduate qualification, he then came back to Ethiopia and has worked for numerous humanitarian organisations doing work to fight for a better Ethiopia.

Look at her face, that joy!

To be honest I don't need to know too much about Gebeyehu, when you watch him relate to about one hundred young girls who all live in the Merkato slums in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia you know this man has a heart for his people. How important it is for these girls to hear empowering and uplifting words from a strong male role model. Many of these young female domestic workers (as young as 7 years old - gosh it breaks my heart) are experiencing gender based violence or GBV as they refer to it, so it is so important for them to be able to see someone like Gebeyehu lift them, even if just a fraction. Most men treat them entirely differently, respect was something they did not know was meant for them until they started to attend the Biruh Tesfa program run by the Population Council and funded by USAid.

Biruh Tesfa translates in Amharic to Bright Future and that's exactly what these girls are encouraged to aspire to by attending the program. While at this basic three classroom project housed in the middle of the slums we had the privilege of having this awesome man translate when we went to visit the girls and as we asked him to give them messages of hope from us he went that bit further and showed them how to keep putting one foot in front of the other and to take those steps towards their goals. With passion he asked them 'should we give up?' and then informed them 'no we shouldn't!'. This room full of girls aged between 10 - 15 years were mature beyond their years, probably because of the chores and responsibility they have taken on for years but those uplifting and encouraging words must have meant the world to them. Gebeyehu's female colleague told us that he was instructing the girls 'that someone who cries all the time has no vision' and that they must visualise their future and believe their dreams can happen.

Gebeyehu is ONE man, one relatively unknown man and yet he is having a positive effect on hundreds of vulnerable children.  We can all be like Gebeyehu, that is what my walk with Christ and my work with the ONE campaign is teaching me.  Every ONE person counts.  We all impact people each day and by thinking it though first, we can make sure that impact is a positive one.

If I'm honest I get really fed up of cries of 'why bother?', 'I can't make a difference' and the 'problem is too big'.  Thank goodness Ghandi, William Wilberforce and Nelson Mandela and Jesus Christ himself did not just throw up their arms and say 'well what can I do, I'm just ONE person?'.

I might not change the world on my own and the things I stand for may be different to those that really rock you but I can hold my head up high and say I'm trying. I'm fighting for a better world and I care about our world, about our people. About ONE people.

I don't judge you if your passions are different to mine, I just pray that you feel some passion and that you are able to channel it, for apathy achieves nothing.

If your passion is similar to mine and you hate to see people living in poverty, then please do consider signing up to ONE and offering your voice.  There are no catches, it is as simple as it seems. Every so often You'll get an email from ONE and they'll ask for your help - sign a petition to lobby Government, show your support on social media, write to your MP - that type of thing.  You can choose to act on it or you can choose to bin it, I understand - different days, different things.  Sometimes we have enough head space and time to deal with this and sometimes we don't. I'm no different, I do not join in with every request of me, I just do what feels right.

Take it back 8 months ago and I had never heard of ONE, take it back 8 years ago I was not actively involved in trying to create a better world and take it back 18 years ago I had no idea why anyone would bother.  Times change, people change.  Thank the Lord.

I'll leave you with the words of Gebeyehu shouted at the top of my voice - 'Should we lose hope?, No we shouldn't'.

Who is inspiring you today?

Takea  peek at my giveaway post if you fancy winning a FahsionABLE scarf made in Ethiopia.

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I've just returned from Ethiopia, where I was travelling with a group of 11 other inspirational Mums and Moms as part of an expense paid trip courtesy of the ONE Campaign. Our trip is about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world. 

It is also about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs. You can sign up to ONE using the widget on my blog right sidebar.



#SilentSunday - What a difference a week makes..

Joining in with #SilentSunday this week, although I'm never that good at staying silent! If you want to find more great pictures take a peek over at Love all Blogs.

An #Ethiopian gratitude example to us all (#R2BC #ONEMums)

Reasons to be Cheerful is being hosted over with the lovely Becky at Lakes Single Mum today, head over there and link up.  Below is my entry for this week, I'm sharing another one of my tales from Ethiopia. It would be amazing if you could take the time to read and share, every person that becomes aware of ONE and is willing to share their work or sign up and add their voice is deeply appreciated.

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Wednesday was the most full-on day, to the point that I had to back out of dinner.  I just did not know how I was going to make it through a big dinner with more guests and another compelling story to tell. Of course I want to hear what they had to say but I am only human, I had been up since 4am to catch an early flight up to Bahir-Dar and I was burnt out.

The order of the day was to visit some healthcare facilities and see the work in action and the education that happens at grass roots level. In the Ethiopian healthcare system they have 17 hospitals (which is shocking for the 84 million people that live here), 739 regional health centres, 3039 health posts (small 1 or 2 room clinics) and about 30,000 health extension workers. There is still a long way to go. It needs to be better but I say let’s focus on the positives. Things are changing and progress is being made for the future and as this continues it will snowball; change takes time but it is all heading in the right direction.

I have to be honest and say that that way people live here is a million miles away from my life back in the UK; I could not imagine having to take my child to a dirty and broken room acting as a healthcare facility. But I also see things I would love to take back to the UK, like the sense of community and the way a small group of mothers work as a collective together and each save 5 birr a week (30 birr is one British pound, so you realise how little that is) so that when difficulties arise they can all take from the pot and sort out the problem as a group. Someone on twitter recently said to me those with the least give the most and I can honestly say that is definitely what I have observed here.

I received a text from my husband today to say one of our twin daughters had been sent home from school as they believed she has an ear infection, he was able to take her straight to the doctor’s surgery and she was seen quickly and they got some antibiotics. I saw a picture of her snuggled up on our sofa fast asleep letting the magic medicine do its job. What would happen here? Not a lot I expect, that sounds harsh but an ear infection is not life or death, the child would be comforted by their mother and would have to rest and sweat it out. People are tough here. Thank the Lord.

It is the simplest healthcare interventions here that can have a massive impact. Diarrhoea is still a cause of death in a country such as Ethiopia; people dehydrate very quickly when they have a lack of nourishment, poor quality water and hot weather. Thankfully each health centre and post now has an ORT corner.  Sounds complex doesn’t it?  Basically it stands for oral rehydration therapy and it is water and sachets of a substance such as diarlyte. This is enough to get the essential salts back into a person and gives them the opportunity to live through a bout of diarrhoea.

Whilst every health professional I have met has been welcoming and looked competent it is the health extension workers that I am most impressed with. Predominantly they are women and they run the health posts for about 4 hours a day, in that time they might give family planning advice, administer family planning drugs, give child vaccinations, test for HIV, diagnose illnesses (such as neonatal tetanus, polio, etc) in people that they wish to refer up to the next level of healthcare and they give education classes in nutrition, breastfeeding and sanitation. That is some job description to pack into 4 hours, but it does not stop there.

Oh no, they will then spend the rest of their day going house to house to meet their allocated families (500 each) to educate on home cleanliness, food combining to meet nutritional needs, giving pre-natal care and delivering babies amongst many other duties. Each health post has a small wood, straw and mud built classroom that they will use for their educational classes. These are also used as models to help educate the people about having a dwelling with more than one room and that animals should sleep separate to humans. Currently the sheep/ goats will sleep next to them to protect them from theft

One of the first round of Health Extension Workers, she has been doing the job for 7 years now and yet
looks barely old enough to have left school! She spoke to us knowledgably, passionatley and eloquently
though as only a professional could.

I was interested to learn that Ethiopia spend a bigger proportion of their budget on healthcare than any other African nation, this really shows their determination to make strides forward and to change things for the better.

Whilst I was at the health centre I was very privileged to be able to briefly meet a new mother and her new-born daughter, she was just establishing breastfeeding having given birth half hour before.  We congratulated the grandmother and her face turned from a stony scowl to a bright smile and pride shone through as he told us thank you. This birth that had taken place in the delivery room is a million miles away from the one this lady would have experienced even 10 years ago in Ethiopia.  All births would have been in the home then and would not have been attended in the main.  Now the health extension workers and/ or midwives will try to be with a lady as she labours to ensure things progress correctly.

The delivery suite is very basic and the paint is peeling but it was clean and there
was instructions for sterilisation of utensils etc

Because this lady had come to the health centre she was able to have some pain relief, oxytocin to help with the afterbirth and stiches to any tears if necessary.  After resting up a while and feeding her baby she will be given a lift home in the ambulance and she is very happy for this new service.

The midwife we met was a petite and quietly spoken lady, well dressed and very beautiful. I asked her about twin births and she responded in Amharic for translation but the terms ‘complicated’ and ‘present breach’ gave me a good idea of the kind of issues she has, she told us she needed new breathing equipment if she could have anything but she was grateful for what she had.

We can all take a leaf from her book and be grateful for what we have, I know I am!

What is making you feel grateful today?

I'll just add in a soundclip I made last week about this days visits too, enjoy!

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I've just returned from Ethiopia, where I was travelling with a group of 11 other inspirational Mums and Moms as part of an expense paid trip courtesy of the ONE Campaign. Our trip is about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world. 

It is also about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs. You can sign up to ONE using the widget on my blog right sidebar.

Image of Health Extension Worker - Karen Walrond/ ONE



Down to earth with a bump! #ONEMums



Cards the kids made for me, you can't really read them as they are in pencil
but I loved Miss M's, it said Praying for Mummy

I've been home 48 hours now, that's not long is it?  No wonder I still feel pretty weird. 

I'm not quite sure how to describe how I feel right now but I'm a bit like an alien in my own home town. I think my biggest issue is that I am completely tried but I am also very overwhelmed, I'm trying to process all the things I saw, heard and learnt during my seven days in Ethiopia and it is taking the wind out of me. I feel kind of fragile, like I might break if you shout at me. So please don't.

We landed into Heathrow early Sunday morning and was greeted by freezing fog - the first big shocker, where has my sun and beautiful blue skies gone? I was mighty pleased to enjoy a cup of real English tea and a toasted sandwich for breakfast whilst I waited for my family to arrive and then when they did we did the movie scene stuff and ran towards each other for a big hug. It felt really good to have my babes back in my arms. I took my girls to the toilet and they were busy chattering away to me about their week and how pleased they were to see me. We came out of the cubicle to find a lady beaming at us with the biggest, most friendly smile and she commented about how lovely my girls were, so happy. It's true, this trip has certainly made me appreciate how lucky I am to have three wonderful children and a great husband, but most importantly that we have all the basics and do not have to worry about where the next meal is coming from. I am so looking forward to the weekend and having some time to just enjoy being with them.

People  keep asking me how Ethiopia was and throwing questions at me and I an a bit shell-shocked, I do not feel ready to answer all their questions yet. When you visit in excess of 15 different projects, areas and groups of people in a matter of seven days you are bound to fell pretty burnt out and overwhelmed aren't you?

I know that I need to be kind to myself and not push too much and just allow the processing to take place and slowly the information will fall into place and then dh and I can make some decisions about how we want our lives to change and we both know that we do.  Last year dh went to India on mission and that touched and changed him and now my Ethiopia journey has done the same for me, but we need to see how those changes translate to real everyday life.


The delightful picture my kids chose to send me whilst I was in Ethiopia!

I can't seem to keep away from twitter and my new friends blogs, reading about our time in Ethiopia helps me to remember it was real and not to let go fully yet. I miss that group of women so much, we had the most amazing time together and I don't think anything will ever break that bond.  I have a lump in my throat just typing this.

There are so many ideas going round my head; posts I want to write and publish, promotion for ONE that I want to do and ideas for the future.  When I hear yet again that people don't know who ONE are or what they are supposed to do I get a little disheartened, it feels like a massive job to help educate the UK about who ONE are. I have written so many posts about it now that I could start to question myself about my ability to transfer information. But I won't as it's not productive. With ONE not being a traditional charity and not asking for money I realise it is a bit harder to be able to fully grasp who they are and want they want. I turn my worries over to God as it is no use me pondering them over and over.

I can't deny that I have been effected by all the talk of our trip, both positive and negative.  I am so thankful to all those who chose to help share our journey and I feel happy that I fulfilled the brief I was given of sharing the living proof that UK and US aid is working successfully in Ethiopia.  As I mentioned elsewhere I never went to Ethiopia to become a blogging superstar, I don't care if not one person recalls my name. I just wanted to do something for an campaigning and advocacy organisation that I have become super passionate about in the last 8 months. At the beginning of this year I had no idea who ONE were but now I am happy to give my time to spread the word and I ask for nothing in return.

But this is not the end, not by a long way.  I'll have many more Ethiopia posts to share and I'll keep doing my bit for ONE as each new campaign raises its head. I'd love it if you feel you would like to as well.

If you want to know more about ONE you can check out their website, any of my posts on here tagged with one.org or ask me a question direct, I'll happily help. Then if you want to sign up and add your voice and be available to sign a few virtual petitions in the future, do the odd blog post, tweet or share or if you are willing to write to your MP to back up a campaign then you will be doing far more than most people in the developed world and that makes you a rock star in my humble opinion.

Thanks again, Mich x

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I've just returned from Ethiopia, where I was travelling with a group of 11 other inspirational Mums and Moms as part of an expense paid trip courtesy of the ONE Campaign. Our trip is about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world. 

It is also about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs. You can sign up to ONE using the widget on my blog right sidebar.



Leaving a part of my heart in #Ethiopia #ONEMums

It has been the most intensive week ever, I cannot even remember anything like it before and I expect I may never experience it again but I swear I'll never forget this or the people of Ethiopia and I so want to come back.  I'd be so proud of them to come back in 10/15 years time and see the progress - because I know 100% that things will have moved on massively.

I am a little bit overwhelmed, tearful and tired right now, so this post will be my last for a day or so and I just wanted to share my week with you in photos.  I'll try and cut down the 561 photos that I have taken down to a managble number for this one post.  All photos shared here were taken by me or with my brilliant little iPhone.

Yet again, I'll just say thank you for following this journey.  You are all awesome (yes I have gone all American but still with a very British accent) and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for getting to know who @ONEcampaignUK are. If you can lend your voice, via petitions, emails, social sharing, blogging or even 1 simple RT then you are doing better than most people in the world and congratulations YOU are making a difference joining the fight to end extreme poverty.

If anyone is not sure who ONE are or what they do and you want more information, in easy to understand language then email me and I'll help.  Love you all lots, Mich x

Arrival in Ethiopia - Day 1

Day 3 - Journey to 2 schools in Mojo

Day 4 - Travel to Bahir-Dar and visit a healh centre, health post and bee keeping project

Day 5 in Bahir-Dar - Visiting a farming training centre and health post

Day 6 visit to HIV clinic and Merkato slums project for you g girl domestic workers

Day 7 - Visit to Muta scarf and pottery factory

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I am currently in Ethiopia travelling with a group of 11 other inspirational Mums and Moms as part of an expense paid trip courtesy of the ONE Campaign. Our trip is about success – Living Proof -- of what is working and why it is important that we continue to support projects that are making a huge, measurable difference for less than one percent of the entire US budget. It is about letting more people know what a tremendous difference the US and UK are making in the lives of millions around the world.  And it is about adding thousands more voices to those already letting their elected officials know they support these life-saving programs.