A Beautiful Walk

So, there was a flurry of referrals earlier in the month and I've been holding off posting in hopes that we'd be in the 30's for this post. (Why does 39 sound so much lower than 40??)  At any rate, we haven't moved much at all the last few weeks and I know you have all been missing my deep insight (humor me) so here we are at number 42.  Not too bad though, I'll take it!

A few weeks ago Steve and I watched an amazing documentary called A Walk to Beautiful.  It follows the journey of 5 Ethiopian woman who suffered horrific childbirth complications that resulted in them being shunned from their villages and forced to lives of shame and loneliness.  When they hear about the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, they each decide to make the long journey to the capital city in hopes of regaining their dignity.  The story is told through their eyes and with their voices.

While people in the US argue over natural vs. drugs vs. c-section, it's a reality check on how truly blessed we are here.  It's really an interesting and eye opening (and yes, short) film that I'd highly recommend everyone see.  It's on PBS occasionally, but we got it from the library. 

Though the hospital has over a 90% success rate, there are some cases that require long-term care.  These women are invited to live at Desta Mender (Village of Joy), a gorgeous 60-acre farm village at the foot of a mountain.  There they are given not only treatment, but trained in a variety of income producing trades...from nurses aides, to gardening, to sewing, etc.

Recently Desta Mender created Juniper Cafe, an outdoor restaurant, where the women who were trained in cooking/catering serve lunch to convention meetings and visitors.  Some other adoptive parents have said it's an amazing place and we definitely have it on our (growing) list of "must-dos"!