Day 8

Saturday 11th July

A wee lie in was enjoyed by all the team after our first four days on site. A number of the team met to pray. We had our traditional breakfast of fried potato and vegetables along with finger-like sausages and delicious pancake. The usual excellent Ethiopian coffee was needed to open sleepy eyes. Declan and Tom led the thought for the day which focused on how mankind originated in Ethiopia and how far the country has moved from that Garden of Eden. They noted how wrong that turn of events seemed and we discussed the whys and hows remaining focused on what we can do to help remedy the situation.

After a well needed restful morning, we headed off to meet an Ethiopian Scout Group - Cistercian Monastery Mariam Tsion School Group. Before we left, Neil noticed that his tour polo shirt was a little tight so he handed it over to a grateful Fiona! 

Neil's Small Ladies Polo Shirt 

On the way to meet the Scouts, we passed Bob Marley Square which celebrated his One Love song,while Peter became a bit preoccupied with the many herds of goats being chased down busy city streets.

We received a very warm welcome from our Ethiopian Scouting family. They formed up to give us a guard of honour while being led in exuberant African chanting. We shook hands and saluted as many people as we could. 

Warm Welcome

We were then given presentations about Ethiopia and Ethiopian Scouting by a Cub Scout Abel Niguse and the Akela Tilahun Gitma. 

Akela

The remainder of the afternoon was spent in a circle enjoying the singing, chanting and dancing. The leaders were superb as they led us with enthusiasm and comedy - any barriers fell away and we were left with a strong sense of Scouting friendship and camaraderie. It has to be said that we didn't match the Ethiopians in this regard although Alex, Fiona, Rachel, Stephen and others did their best! Alex almost caused an international incident when he was within inches of knocking over some Cubs as he sailed round the circle at one stage-"Woooosshhhhhh!"

The activities ended with a tug of war competition which we nicked 2-1 thanks to me joining the Ethiopian team and clearly weakening it!



Tug of war victory celebrations

We visited the Group Headquarters which contained the poignant photographs of two members who have disappeared in mysterious circumstances which is one of the difficulties of life in Africa. 

Outside the Group HQ

We then gathered to present a Belfast scarf to the Akela as well as Ulster and Belfast badges to the Scouts present. The team enjoyed swapping scarves and badges as well as contact details. There was talk of a future trip to camp in Ethiopia and perhaps an Ethiopian contingent attending NIJam 2017!

Leader's Picture

The Ethiopia Scout Association were very well represented at this event - we met the International Commissioner Brook Dawit; the Messengers of Peace Commissioner Henock Amberbir; the National Programme Commissioner Belyu Tsenat Dancer (who is 16 years old - proper youth-shaped!); and the Addis Ababa Scout Council Commissioner Melak Moges. My sincere thanks go to the Association and to these Commissioners for their effort in organising an excellent afternoon.



Group photo with both scout groups

It is exciting to think that through our visit that the Ethiopian Scout Association and Habitat for Humanity Ethiopia plan to partner in future activities for their mutual benefit.

For dinner, we headed out to an Italian restaurant, Grani di Pepe, for some excellent food. There were a few power cuts throughout the meal which reminded us of the fragile nature of life here. Habitat's Dereje joined us after his busy week with our own Jenny Williams. A number of us did a shop run for Coke, Galaxy bars, biscuits, etc before the reflection and entertainment began. The reflection saw the team appreciate being members of this wonderful worldwide Movement of Scouting. The day ended with a light-hearted table quiz which was won by Alex, Sam, Rachel, Tom and Declan. Another really good day!

Post by David Scout