“If there is a medical doctor on board could you make yourself known to one of the cabin crew please?” It was 3am and I was lying uncomfortably across three seats near the rear of a Boeing 777 trying to sleep. I’m on my way back to Addis after a short trip to the UK when this dreaded announcement penetrated my brain through my foam earplugs.

Arriving in Ethiopia, everything seemed somewhat familiar. The traffic, Mum and Dad’s flat, their church, Bingham Academy – none of it was a surprise. Having spent 2 ½ years following their blog and catching up on Skype weekly, I had a pretty good impression of what I was going to experience visiting Addis Ababa for the first time.

‘Waste not want not’ was a phrase repeated many times during my childhood, growing up in the sixties. I certainly saw this mantra in action at home, but not to the degree that the attitude is applied here.