no excuses

Our last day in Ethiopia. 

Today we went to visit the nuns - the Little Sisters who came from Italy in 1985 during the famine and stayed on to help the sick and the poor. Every day they feed up to 60 street children and they run a hospice for those who cannot afford treatment or are terminally ill.  Sarah stayed with them for a week in 2014 and found them to be truly inspirational women, living frugal lives and constantly battling Ethiopian bureaucracy.

We had to take a train and then two crowded local minibuses to reach Kore on the outskirts of Addis, where the sisters live.They made us strong cups of coffee and wanted to hear all our news. Then, as usual, they asked for advice on some of their patients. This was a very humbling experience, witnessing the way that very poor people can suffer in horrible ways and yet have smiles on their faces. The people we saw had a variety of illnesses - leprosy, cancer, osteomyelitis, chronic arthritis and nerve palsies. 

This lady was the one who made the most impression on me. Her wounds were caused by her husband, who had stabbed her while her little girl looked on. She has nerve damage which means that her left arm is weak. Her little girl is always by her side, anxious for her mother's welfare. They don't need medicine but the nuns are providing shelter, safety, and - what they give best of all - their loving care.