Day Fifty

NEW to ONE LOONEY IDEA, start here, otherwise, start from the picture of me as a six-year-old child.

In 2006, we began a relationship with Ethiopia that we cannot turn our backs on.  

We don’t really want to turn away, but life became undeniably more DIFFICULT after our first, and consecutive trips. Members of our family were in Ethiopia in ‘06, ’07, ’08, ’09, and ’13. In Ethiopia, the majority of people build a life with less than a dollar a day. A dollar a day does not provide basic necessities. Roughly 39% of Ethiopians live below poverty (<$1.25 USD)—that is over 28 million people. The population of Canada is just over 35 million. 

The world is not equitable. 

We all have challenges. At this point in my life I am living with abundance. It doesn’t feel good to continue to accrue treasures when so many live with scarcity. I want to choose something different.

From January 15^th, 2015 – January 14^th, 2016, I am going to spend ONLY a dollar a day (average) for discretionary items.

I will put one loonie into my purse each day. Every time that I want to make a purchase, I will stop and think. I am becoming a thoughtful and responsible consumer, one day at a time—for a lifetime.

You can support me by pledging a dollar a day for any part of my 365 day challenge. The money will go to Canadian Humanitarian, who we have worked with extensively over the past nine years. —Just check out my Pledge Page on the left side bar. 

Betam amisegnalo. 

***

Here I am with my cousin Johannah - I am six years old. 

Candle, Light, and Whine.

Candle

A daily ritual.

I light candles all through the day. I like how the light accompanies me and connects me to the divine. It invites me to pause for the briefest moment. Some believe that candles remove negative energy. Most importantly, they ground me, and I feel peace in their flickering glow. Who isn’t mesmerized by a burning flame? Beeswax candles are known to clean the air and help allergy and asthma sufferers. I am both. Beeswax and Soy candles are healthy alternatives to paraffin, but much more costly. Adding essential oils to beeswax or soy candles can decrease the stress hormone cortisol (No Honey, I don’t have a double-blind randomized trial to prove it). Candles have a long history in ceremonial, religious, and spiritual traditions, all over the world. Light is the symbol of joy. Here, in the developed world, we associate candles with romance, and they almost always accompany a fine dining experience. 

But, I cannot make the claim that they are essential. Not here.

Light

Ethiopia sits just above the equator. The sun rises and sets at roughly 6:30, or 7:00 year round. Just 23% of Ethiopians have access to electricity. Candles, somewhat superfluous to us, are an important source of light to both poor and rich Africans, due to frequent power outages. Ethiopia does not have a natural source of wax for candle-making, so they import over sixty tonnes of it every year. They “consume” more candles than Coca-Cola products. Candles are integral to religious and spiritual ceremony, and also to daily life. Without electricity, many rely on candles and kerosene lanterns to light up the night, so they can finish chores, and schoolwork. But, even more people cannot afford this “simple” waxed pillar, and remain in the dark.

On our 2009 trip to Ethiopia, Ward and I took a day trip to the country, with Canadian Humanitarian, to install a solar-powered lighting system into a farmer’s hut. We got the solar-panel, battery and LED lamps from our friend, who operates Add Your Light Products. I think Ward and I, along with AYL hoped to provide a sustainable, affordable, solution for these rural areas with no access to electricity. 

Before the sun rose, we pulled out of the guest house. Our three kids: Laurèn, Yohannes and recently adopted Faven, stayed behind with my mom. We planned to be back in Addis before sun set. But a different adventure awaited. We traveled along the paved highway for the first hour and a half, and then stopped for breakfast at a lovely hotel, with a thatched-roofed dining room. It had a bar in the centre that reminded me of the TV show, “Cheers”; I half expected to see Sam slinging drinks, and Norm sitting staring into his mug of beer. 

We left the comfort of pavement, and began the four-wheeling part of our trip—in a mini bus. The area had experienced torrential rainfall over the previous days. The roads morphed into an off-road mud-racing track. We came to a section that would mark the worst of the journey. Our bus perched at the top of a hill; it shuddered, trying to communicate its fear of proceeding. Before us an orange grater moved mud to the side of the road, filling the ditches, where pedestrians slopped through barefoot, and horse-drawn carts loped along. A large white bus was glued sideways into the road like tubular pasta into clay. Our translator and guide, Ketema, rolled up his pants and headed out to assess the situation. Ward and I leaned into the centre aisle watching with disbelief as a large red truck took off down the hill as if descending a ski ramp. It picked up speed, skidded side to side, and then the mud grabbed the tires and rendered the truck immovable. 

“Surely we are not going to try,” I said.

“I don’t know,” Ward said, “Looks like Ketema is waving us forward.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

The driver revved the engine, readying himself for the run. We careened around the grater, slid past the red truck, and barrelled straight toward the bus. My mouth gaped open, and I gripped Ward’s leg the same way I do at movies. With car rally precision, the driver tucked right around the bus. We made it.

Six hours after we had left the guest house, we arrived in the village of Amaaya. After a lengthy discussion with the chairman of the woreda, in which he asked if the solar panel could run a TV, we headed to the farmer’s home. We stopped at the side of a dirt road and got out; we gathered our supplies, and walked across marshy fields toward the farm. The farmer, tall and proud, led the way. Ward and I, in shorts and t-shirts, looked out of place. The farmer wore a weathered sports coat, buttoned sweatshirt over a dress shirt, and a plaid fedora shaded his dark face, set with deep lines—a map of experience. His chapped lips stretched into a smile, revealing large yellow teeth. 

As the men went about the job of installing the solar-panel, at a certain angle to the sun, I sat on a small stool, and observed this small community. There were four huts, one made of hand-cut logs and a thatched roof, and the others made of dung with a tin roof.  The farmer was vague about who lived here; we found out on our return trip that he lived there with his three wives and over a dozen children. Only the main hut would be wired with lights.

Ward had been trained on the lighting system back in Calgary; he also spent the better part of the last two days getting ready. In the courtyard of our guest house, he built a wooden frame to attach to the roof, and hold the solar panel. He studied the installation diagrams we brought with us. His knowledge of electricity has always amazed me. Nonetheless, his nerves vibrated through the night, and dreams of wiring and circuits flooded his mind. The pressure of arriving late affected him; we only had a few hours of sunlight left by the time we got to the farm.  

The entire project was accomplished with hand tools. The solar panel attached to the roof on a wooden frame; the wires were pushed through a hole made in the roof. Inside the hut, a 12-Volt battery was installed. Wires from the solar panel connected to the battery, as well as to each of the LED lamps, and the lamps connected to a switch near the door. The wiring wrapped around open beams near the ceiling, and was secured with U-shaped nails down the supports. My husband did all of that, with eager, but untrained helpers, and dwindling sunlight. What an amazing task; I was in awe of him. Throughout the day, he remained focused, and nonchalant.  

When the installation was complete, everyone gathered inside the two-room hut. The farmer flipped the switch. The lights beamed. I expected cheering and whooping, but everyone was completely silent. And then one by one, they laughed. Ward let out a heavy sigh. 

Fourteen hours after we had left, we pulled into the guest house. As luck would have it, the power was out, and we used our winding flashlights to find our way upstairs. My mom, and the kids played cards, by candlelight. 

Walking into the farm site.

The ladder that was procured for the installation.

Ward and Ketema making some adjustments to the frame because the roof was sloped and not flat.

Ward is using a hand cranking drill.

The official presentation of the solar panel to the chairman of the woreda...

...and from the chairman to the farmer.

This is some of the family gathered, the lights are on. This picture was taken without a flash. 

Whine

I have just come through a fairly grumpy spell on this Looney-a-day journey. I momentarily forgot why I even thought this was a good idea. A friend of Faven’s helped me to remember. Faven, Laurèn and I shopped for dresses for the upcoming Mexican wedding. One of Faven’s friends found us and joined in the dress-picking fun. My young beauties found fabulous dresses at 50% off, a happy situation. While I paid, they headed off to another store, boasting a Closing Out Sale. I found them there, and Faven had a summer jean jumper-type thing in her hands—picture short shorts joined with a tube top, no straps. 

“Mom, can you buy this for me?” she asked.

“No,” I answered.

“Why not? It’s only 5.99.”

“Because, for one, you don’t need that, and two, I am in my loonie year.”

“Sheesh! That is so stupid.”

Faven’s friend asked, “What’s a loonie year?”

“My mom is doing this thing where she only spends a dollar a day. WE are the one’s suffering. It sucks.” 

“I do have a reason for doing it,” I said. 

“Yeah, I know,” Faven said, somewhat chagrined. 

Her friend looked at me, waiting for an explanation.

“I am spending an average of dollar a day on non-essential items, for the year between my 49^th and 50^th birthdays. I am doing this challenge to raise awareness and funds for programs in Ethiopia, where Faven and her brother were born.”

Her friend said two things. “That’s so cool,” and she smacked Faven on the arm, and then she said, “You don’t look 49, I thought you were in your 30’s”. Smile.
There are days when I don't feel like holding back. I want my belly button to open up and spit loonies out like a Las Vegas slot machine. 

But, I remind myself, and you, why I am doing this when I don’t have to. 

I am attempting, through intentional spending and sacrifice, to advocate to make the world a better place for those who suffer because of lack of access, poverty, disease and underemployment. 

I hope that you can find a way to support me along this loonie journey. It isn’t as easy as one might think.