One of my colleagues went to visit Yetemwork’s Mum only to find that she had given birth three hours previously. She had delivered the baby herself and he was wrapped in a scarf, but was quite cool and hadn’t fed. Advice was sought from a Dula (an Ethiopian lady taught basic maternity and post natal care), who was driven over from another project.

We made a further visit recently armed with green coffee beans, oil, lentils and nappies. Carefully we negotiated the slippery, uneven passage towards the home.

Yetemwork was washing her hair in a bowl of rainwater outside as we arrived and greeted us as we passed. Inside we found the baby beside Mum. They were on a blanket  on the floor in the doorway of the bed section. (The blanket had been provided by ladies in America who had made the small covers for just such occasions as this). It was so dark that we needed the flash from our cameras and phone torch to make out the tiny form. Mum was happy to let us hold the baby and put a nappy on him (up till then he hadn’t been wearing one). We established that feeding is going well and Mum knew when her next clinic appointment would be. In Ethiopia there is no hurry to name a baby.

Korah is the area where the city dump is based. For many people this is their home. Unfortunately with all the rain lately there was a landslip (or rather a dump slip). This caused running water through the dump to change course and homes were wiped out. It is estimated that seventy families have been made homeless. The tents that are used for funerals have been erected and the government have issued a mattress and blanket for each family. Five to six families currently spend the night in one tent.

In contrast, although we have seen plenty of rain in Addis the same cannot be said for the countryside. Friends from Ziway have told us that they rarely see rain during the day. The government estimate that four and a half million people may require food aid across Ethiopia as a result.

Back at Bingham we are always seeking to improve the experience for the children in kindergarten. Last year I gave our workshop pictures from the internet of an outside musical instrument.  We had something like this in Green Lanes School, Hertfordshire. It was popular with the children there. The metalworkers had no personal experience of such things. I was therefore much impressed when they came up with this.

It has metal beaters too, which make a fine loud sound which the children are delighted with. I wasn’t sure that the same could be said for the office staff in the next building though. So I ordered wooden beaters (showing the carpenters an example from the music room). These have duly arrived. I just need to have the metal ones replaced with the wood. It would be nice to have the pipes painted but I suspect there are rather too many of them, too close together. Nevertheless we now have an ‘enhanced learning environment’ for those in kindergarten. Hertfordshire Quality Standards assessors would be impressed!