Our group had a pretty special experience on Sunday. We took a drive to another Habitat site in the town of Debre Birhan, a two-hour drive north-east of Addis. It was nice to get out of the city, and the smog, and the traffic - although the altitude was higher (and noticeable) at over 9000 feet.
The Debre Birhan Habitat location has the distinction of having the most Habitat houses built in Ethiopia, with over 600 new houses all in neat little lines.
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| Debre Birhan |
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When we piled off the bus, there was a line of people waiting for us, and as we got closer they all started clapping. We were arranged in a circle while their community leader thanked us for our work in Addis, and explained to us (in very good english) that we were to be honoured guests at their latest house lottery. Apparently they build houses in groups, and to encourage all families to participate in work on all houses, they are not told what house is going to be theirs until the houses are complete. The 18 houses were basically complete except for the floors, and today was the day that these 18 families would find out what one was theirs - they were so excited!
The lottery was constructed by placing house numbers on 18 pieces of paper, rolling the paper up, and placing the rolled up paper in a bowl. The families were then called up one-by-one, and we took turns picking out a piece of paper, unrolling it, and calling out the numbers. This was followed by cheers, yells and ululations for each number while we shook the new owners hand and gave them the piece of paper. After all the names were drawn, the families ran off to see their new homes.
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| And the number is..... |
One guy was so excited, he pulled a couple of us over to his house shouting 'My house! My House! My house!'. When we got there we took pictures of him on his doorstep, where he turned gave his new house a big hug. Many of use were pulled off to have pictures taken with the owners whose numbers we had drawn. You could almost see them planning where everything was going to go when they moved in.
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| My House! |
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| Christine and her new homeowner |
After a short period of time we were treated to another coffee ceremony, which was accompanied by 'celebration bread' served with some very tasty honey.
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| Warm bread with honey...mmmmm.. |
Then it was time for the kids to get involved, as we played soccer (except for the short break when a herd of goats were driven across the soccer field), jumped skipping ropes, and a number of girls attended the local under-8 beauty salon.
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| Not quite Champions League.. |
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| Ladies Hair Salon - no waiting! |
Although we had not participated in building these houses, we felt a definite connection to these very happy people.
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| .. and some kids just want a hug |
