A Tale of Two Cities
Perhaps nothing tells the story of Addis Ababa (and Ethiopia) better than this view from the balcony of our hotel. On one hand it shows numerous modern skyscrapers and more under construction, representing the few with wealth who live here. On the other hand, it shows a sea of tin roofed shanties, representing the many who are tying to scape out a living by any means possible.
The driver who met us at the airport and took us to the hotel told us his story in broken English. A few years ago, he was taking tourists in long drives around the county and making $400 a month to support his family of four. Now, due to ongoing conflicts in outlying areas of the county he is only driving in the city and making $140 a month. This makes life difficult, especially with inflation which is hitting this country just like it is in ours.
Solomon says the skyscrapers belong to banks and insurance companies. Meanwhile even educated people have trouble finding jobs. For example, some of the teachers we are working with were trained as electrical and civil engineers, but could not find jobs in those fields, so are now teachers.
While this reality presents the problem, solutions are harder to come by. While education is not the complete solution, as in the case of engineers, having a job as teacher is better than having no job at all, and that requires an education. Having a good education that includes learning to read and write, does offer the opportunity for life long learning and the possibility of overcoming the obstacles that one faces in life. A Christian education also offers the opportunity to read and understand the Bible and to get to know God, our Creator, and his Son, Jesus Christ who loves us and wants to have the kind of relationship with us that can lead and guide us through all of life’s challenges and promises us a better life with him when our short stay in this troubled world is over. Helping teachers include this in their teaching is why we are here.