Ethiopia

Africa, Breaking News, Charitable Giving, Ethiopia, philanthropy / 15.02.2011

There’s nothing quite like having your imagination transformed into reality. Less than five months ago I stood taking pictures of a hole in the ground and pile of stones on a dusty plain in Sub-Saharan Africa. Today I received a photograph via Facebook of the newly dedicated Laelay Wukro Community Primary School. Though I was not surprised, I continue to be amazed.

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Africa, Breaking News, Climbing, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Protection, Ethiopia, Manic Media Monday, Photography / 14.02.2011

It’s good to finally be caught up. After months of road trips, foreign travel and writing projects this Monday morning I suddenly find myself at the top the news cycle ready to take another lap. Now that Season Three of the Joy Trip Project is well underway it’s time to start taking a look around the world of adventure see what’s going on. Here are six stories to watch this week: Imagine One Day Opens Registration for Ethiopia Tour 2011:   [caption id="attachment_4575" align="alignright" width="368"] Majka Burhardt setting new routes in Ethiopia[/caption] If...

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Africa, Climbing, Environmental Journalism, Ethiopia / 15.10.2010

Eight thousand miles is a long way to travel just to set up a top rope. That’s especially true when there’s a guy with a machine gun blocking your way on the approach. But here on the sandstone cliffs of the Gheralta Massif was a unique opportunity to help writer and mountain guide Majka Burhardt establish some of the very first sport climbing routes in the nation of Ethiopia. The risk of automatic weapons fire notwithstanding it didn’t take long to convince me that it was still a good idea.
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Africa, Ethiopia / 12.10.2010

My morning coffee will never taste the same. After three weeks in Ethiopia the standard breakfast blend is desperately lacking that unique flavor of hospitality and culture steeped in a thousand years of tradition. With the rich fresh scent of roasted bunna still wafting through my imagination my thoughts drift back to the highlands of Africa as the sun raises slowly on a crisp autumn morning in Wisconsin.
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Africa, Charitable Giving, Ethiopia / 06.10.2010

The Ethiopia Joy Trip is slowly winding down. Today we’ll drive from Hawzen to Mekele where we’ll stay overnight. In the morning we’ll fly back to Addis Ababa. From there I’ll say goodbye to the staff and participants of Imagine 1 Day and head back home to Wisconsin. This has been a truly transformational experience for me. Apart from the wonderful culture and scenery, I have also learned a great deal about a unique expression of community investment. In combining tourism with philanthropy through Imagine 1 Day I have been handed a rare gift, to see the direct impact of a non-governmental organization as it does the good work of creating a sustainable solution to the cycle of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Africa, Charitable Giving, Environmental Journalism, Ethiopia / 23.09.2010

Dawn breaks on Addis Ababa like any city in America. A rooster crows in the distance and a braying donkey can be heard above the swelling sounds of morning traffic. This is Africa. Yet somehow, Ethiopia feels like coming home.

On first encounter locals here address me like one of their own. The color of my skin, the texture of my hair, the cast of my eyes, are all familiar to them. But upon second reckoning of my clothing, the camera bag on my shoulder, my manner of speaking they realize. I am a foreigner, a “forengee.” Yet still I am welcome. It’s up to me to impress upon those I meet that I have come to love their homeland, my motherland, and that I want to stay a bit longer.

Despite my own genetic connection to this place I believe anyone who visits here might feel a similar since of kinship. After all, it was upon this continent that more than 10,000 years ago the human race was born. In our travels I believe that we often see a common bond between ourselves and others, a shared humanity that will likely be the salvation of our race on this planet. This is a letter from Africa with love.
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