Source: Pekin Times.com, Feb 08, 2011
PEKIN, Ill. — Ethiopia is a land-locked country in the horn of Africa that is about twice the size of Texas. Many facets of the country sit in opposition with each other.
The cooler, mountainous climates in the north could not be more different from the hot, arid climate of the Afar Depression and its Danakil Desert.
The country hosts more than 80 separate culture groups. Each has its own language and usually its own religion. Orthodox Christians enjoy a rich heritage in the country. The Queen of Sheba had a child with King Solomon, and that child became the lineage for the rulers of Ethiopia for generations. Islam is making gains in many of the southern regions of the country among the desert tribes. Many of the other tribes have a religion all their own.
Addis Ababa is the country’s capital and reveals many similar contradictions. Mercedes and Range Rover luxury vehicles wait at crosswalks while a herd of goats is guided across a city street. Chinese, American and European businessmen in fashionable suits walk past beggars on their way to the office buildings where they work.
You can look out the window of any hotel in Addis Ababa where you enjoy American-style amenities and see huts surrounded by ever-present corrugated metal fences where people live for about 50 birr (about 3 dollars) per month.
Perhaps the biggest disparity is seen in how medical care is dispersed. There are several large hospitals that have been erected in the capital city by benevolent groups from several countries. But thousands of people a year are stricken with and disfigured by leprosy.
No, leprosy has not been wiped off the earth. There are about 100 cases per year diagnosed in the warmer climates of the United States. Of course, those people are treated with antibiotics and live long, normal lives.
In Ethiopia, impoverished residents stricken with what has been renamed Hansen’s Disease often have their lives ruined by the disease.
Leprosy causes nerve damage and skin lesions, which often lead to horrible cosmetic disfigurement and even amputations. Those in Addis Ababa who suffer from leprosy are forced to walk or find public transportation to get themselves to the Alert Leprosy Hospital.
We visited that compound today and even met some of the people who make hand-made items to be sold in a gift shop in order to raise funds for the hospital. They make tablecloths, doilies and other woven and knitted items. We gladly purchased items to support their work.
That visit reminded me of the story in the Book of Luke when Jesus healed the 10 lepers. At that time, people with leprosy were forced to live together in colonies outside the city. The symptoms of their disease were obvious and they were considered unclean. As Jesus traveled, 10 lepers approached him and, from a distance, they called out, “Jesus, master, have mercy on us.”
Jesus told the men to go show themselves to the priests. This would let them to prove they were healed and be allowed back into the city. On the way to see the priests, the men realized they had been made clean.
Nine continued on and made their way back into the city. One man turned back.
Luke 17: 15-18 says, “When he saw he was healed, he came back praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’”
This trip has made me see how often I am more like the nine men who took their blessings for granted and went on their way. All too often, I am not appreciative enough for the blessings God gives me. This trip has helped change that feeling of entitlement.
We walked past an old man who had lost all of the fingers off of both of his hands to leprosy. He was weaving a floor mat using primitive but effective tools.
“Thank you,” he said, using what might be the only two English words he knows to show his gratitude for the few dollars we spent at the gift shop for which he helps create items for sale. He has no hands and works hard all day for a few benefits.
We hurry home in our nice cars, to our nice homes to watch premium programs on flat-screen televisions and spend enough on one meal to feed these people for a month.
I don’t know that we should feel guilty because we have so much while others beg for pennies. But I do know some gratitude is in order.
PEKIN, Ill. — Ethiopia is a land-locked country in the horn of Africa that is about twice the size of Texas. Many facets of the country sit in opposition with each other.
The cooler, mountainous climates in the north could not be more different from the hot, arid climate of the Afar Depression and its Danakil Desert.
The country hosts more than 80 separate culture groups. Each has its own language and usually its own religion. Orthodox Christians enjoy a rich heritage in the country. The Queen of Sheba had a child with King Solomon, and that child became the lineage for the rulers of Ethiopia for generations. Islam is making gains in many of the southern regions of the country among the desert tribes. Many of the other tribes have a religion all their own.
Addis Ababa is the country’s capital and reveals many similar contradictions. Mercedes and Range Rover luxury vehicles wait at crosswalks while a herd of goats is guided across a city street. Chinese, American and European businessmen in fashionable suits walk past beggars on their way to the office buildings where they work.
You can look out the window of any hotel in Addis Ababa where you enjoy American-style amenities and see huts surrounded by ever-present corrugated metal fences where people live for about 50 birr (about 3 dollars) per month.
Perhaps the biggest disparity is seen in how medical care is dispersed. There are several large hospitals that have been erected in the capital city by benevolent groups from several countries. But thousands of people a year are stricken with and disfigured by leprosy.
No, leprosy has not been wiped off the earth. There are about 100 cases per year diagnosed in the warmer climates of the United States. Of course, those people are treated with antibiotics and live long, normal lives.
In Ethiopia, impoverished residents stricken with what has been renamed Hansen’s Disease often have their lives ruined by the disease.
Leprosy causes nerve damage and skin lesions, which often lead to horrible cosmetic disfigurement and even amputations. Those in Addis Ababa who suffer from leprosy are forced to walk or find public transportation to get themselves to the Alert Leprosy Hospital.
We visited that compound today and even met some of the people who make hand-made items to be sold in a gift shop in order to raise funds for the hospital. They make tablecloths, doilies and other woven and knitted items. We gladly purchased items to support their work.
That visit reminded me of the story in the Book of Luke when Jesus healed the 10 lepers. At that time, people with leprosy were forced to live together in colonies outside the city. The symptoms of their disease were obvious and they were considered unclean. As Jesus traveled, 10 lepers approached him and, from a distance, they called out, “Jesus, master, have mercy on us.”
Jesus told the men to go show themselves to the priests. This would let them to prove they were healed and be allowed back into the city. On the way to see the priests, the men realized they had been made clean.
Nine continued on and made their way back into the city. One man turned back.
Luke 17: 15-18 says, “When he saw he was healed, he came back praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’”
This trip has made me see how often I am more like the nine men who took their blessings for granted and went on their way. All too often, I am not appreciative enough for the blessings God gives me. This trip has helped change that feeling of entitlement.
We walked past an old man who had lost all of the fingers off of both of his hands to leprosy. He was weaving a floor mat using primitive but effective tools.
“Thank you,” he said, using what might be the only two English words he knows to show his gratitude for the few dollars we spent at the gift shop for which he helps create items for sale. He has no hands and works hard all day for a few benefits.
We hurry home in our nice cars, to our nice homes to watch premium programs on flat-screen televisions and spend enough on one meal to feed these people for a month.
I don’t know that we should feel guilty because we have so much while others beg for pennies. But I do know some gratitude is in order.
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