Through the Eyes of a 12 Year Old
This is my niece, Zuriah, she wanted to share her story about her experience in Ethiopia with you.
Over the summer I had the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Africa. My aunt has a community center in Hosanna and visits multiple times a year to help the citizens. I have always found this to be very interesting and was eager to go and help. My mother and I set up a GoFundMe account to go on the trip. The money we raised covered some of the payment, but not enough, so my aunt helped cover the rest of the trip knowing I really wanted to go. The flight was 14 hours which is a very long flight. They served some American food and Ethiopian food on the flight.
Handing out monthly rations to the families in the Community Center.
When I arrived, I was very nervous at first, but looking back, I am glad I went. This was an experience of a lifetime. Not everyone gets the opportunity to go to a foreign country. It showed me how truly blessed I am for what I have. The children in Africa have to walk miles to go to school, to go to the community center to get food, and really to get anywhere. Many children in America take education for granted. Children in Africa can’t afford to get an education like we do. It is a blessing to have what we have in America; we have many opportunities that we don’t even realize.
The Community Center Children in Hosanna, Ethiopia.
I loved everything about Africa, especially the scenery, it was so beautiful. One of the cities I visited was in Hosanna, Ethiopia where a wonderful woman named Wubit took me to her niece’s Ethiopian wedding. It was much like an American wedding, but they spoke in a different language, which was Amharic.
The driver we had took us up to a hill where we could see the whole city. While I was there a young girl ran up to me and gave me a hug, it was one of the sweetest things I have ever experienced. Children there were playing futball on top of the hill. Some children didn't have the proper clothing, or even clothes, but it was normal to them. They were all so very grateful and happy just playing sports. It shows that in order to be happy you don't need money or anything expensive to be happy. I felt as if I had a connection with this place. I learned from it and realized how others live. If you ever have an opportunity to take such an adventure, I would highly recommend doing so.