Our flights to Ethiopia were very uneventful. Eight of us arrived last night and three this morning from all over the US: PA, CT, Las Vegas, NJ. I left Philadelphia at 5 pm EDT and arrived in Ethiopia 9 pm the next evening. It took another two hours for passport control, customs and transport to our hotel. One piece of equipment got stuck in customs and it took all morning and some paperwork and money to retrieve it.
A few team members went to the Ethiopian National Museum which is a very nice cultural and historical museum. Three of us went to Mother Theresa's Children's home on the outskirts of Addis. It was originally started 15 years ago or so when there were hundreds of children dying with HIV infections. Over the past 10 years, therapy for HIV has dramatically improved and is relatively available here so many of the children are thriving. They are either orphans or abandoned by their families but seem to have a good place to live now. It is run by a Catholic charity. There is a school and the kids seemed happy and healthy. They have just started a transition program for those who turn 18 and are ready to leave the village.
We also visited the medical clinic and hospital. There were a dozen or more patients who mostly had TB. They can also be treated, but so many of them are arriving so late in the course of their disease that it is difficult. The physician who works there and gave us the tour is from Italy and has been working there for six years. We were very impressed by their work and we will be seeing some of their patients this week and training one of their medical assistants. We couldn't take any pictures, but it was quite clean and appeared well run.
We did a little souvenir shopping this afternoon and visited a local coffee shop. The coffee is amazing!
We had dinner with an ENT team from Syracuse that is leaving today. We met their team leader on a previous trip and have been trying to coordinate some efforts. We are staying in a very nice hotel which is a bit incongruous since the country and area are so poor. One of our partners has contacts with the managers and they have generously donated the cost of our stay. It is always quite amazing how many people we meet at the hotel who are here for medical related work. The need is immense, but it is hard to know where to start and what things are really making a difference.
Tomorrow - unpacking and checking OR equipment and lectures and dinner with other colleagues.