First Impressions and New Beginnings
By Jennifer Wenningkamp
Ominous clouds warned that there may soon be another rainstorm. My first visit to Agaro Bushi had already highlighted how the life-giving rain can make travel here so difficult. Just to get here we had to leave our vehicle on the side of the road and travers the last hour on horseback to this beautiful mountain village. Now, we were walking again, down a squishy foot path because the fertile soil under our feet hadn’t had enough time to soak up the previous day’s rain.
This was an important visit and one that could only be made by foot over beautiful mountain sides and through lush meadows to reach our destination. Led by Lalmba staff members, we set off from Lalmba’s clinic and hiked for about twenty or thirty minutes to the closest home of a family supported by Lalmba’s new RCAR program in Agaro Bushi.
Lalmba’s RCAR (Reaching Children At Risk) program is by no means new. But the remoteness of Agaro Bushi has limited its development here until just recently. Led by one of our newest staff members, Ayinalem, the program now supports 29 families, most of whom live much farther away from the center of this remote village. Lalmba’s staff visits each community identified family to assess their situation and, if selected, enroll them in our RCAR program. Ayinalem has been working diligently since March to establish the RCAR program and on this trip she was conducting a follow up visit.
When we arrived, the team was greeted by a feverish child resting in the garden of his traditional home. He quickly called into the lush vegetation for his sisters and their mother to inform them that we had arrived. This family, a single mother and her three children, found themselves in desperate need of assistance after her husband passed away. Their living conditions spoke to why the community identified them for RCAR support. Many details of her home highlight simplicity and
tradition, which themselves are not always an indicator or poverty. However, her home showed signs of wear and tear, and the look in her eyes indicated that she and her family could no longer keep up. Yet there was still strength in her, and pride in the little she could do. Her beautiful garden attested to that. This was not a woman who had given up and it was obvious that she wanted to provide the best possible love and nurture for her family. Her situation and tenacity touched me deeply.
Through the hard work of Ayinalem, and Lalmba’s staff, we hope that the RCAR support she is now receiving will help alleviate some of her worries. Her children will have uniforms and materials to go to school. The food assistance and medical care will help her and her children remain strong. And, hopefully, the community connection will encourage her and help foster the strength that her beautiful flowers and small vegetable garden stand witness to.
It is our great joy to spread hope and remind the RCAR families and guardians that they are not alone. The visit to this very special home ended with fun photos and tender instruction from our Ethiopian staff to come to the clinic for the school uniform distribution the following morning.
We stayed with them for a few more minutes to share in their beautifulsurroundings and celebrate their lovely garden before beginning the walk back to the clinic.
A Muddy Mile In Their Shoes ….
By Jennifer Wenningkamp
The moment I felt the horse falter beneath me to bear up my weight and struggle through the deep mud, I knew more than I ever imagined. I had been told about the challenges in these remote areas, but suddenly it had become so real. Yes, it was time to dismount this gentle beast of burden, but it was also time to “walk a mile” in Lalmba’s shoes.
Lalmba’s staff often traversed this path at the end of the road with the sole purpose of saving a patient’s life. It wasn’t coincidence that I arrived for the first time in Ethiopia during the rainy season, it was perfect timing for me to come and see the difficulties they are facing firsthand. 
The tremendous responsibility of providing lifesaving health service is often overshadowed by limitations. Some of those limitations are manmade, and others are the consequence of where Lalmba’s Agaro Bushi Medium Clinic is situated.
Unlike a hospital or health center, the medium clinic is permitted to provide specific services and refer others to the nearest hospital. For example, a laboring mother in need of a cesarian section must be referred and transferred to the closest hospital in Bonga, about a 2-3 hour drive when the road is open. Just two weeks before we arrived, a laboring mother found herself in a nearly impossible situation. The baby was in the wrong position and our medical staff determined that a cesarian was the only medical solution for a saving both the life of the mother and her baby.
The only choice they could make in the following moments was “who will help carry her down the muddy path to the road?”. Lalmba’s staff and several community members answered the call.
Two weeks later, as we journeyed in to Agaro Bushi, we had the privilege of meeting this new mother with her baby as they themselves returned home.
Photos taken the night of September 10th, 2022 by Atinafu Gebreyohanis.
The tradition continues! In July of 2023 we will be stepping off on our 5th Tembea Na Mimi charity walk across Kenya. If you haven’t heard about these amazing walks for a great cause, we spend 10 days waking across the Maasi Mara and rural Kenya to Lalmba’s clinic on the shores of Lake Victoria. For more information, please check out www.lalmba.org/tnm. Most importantly if you are interested in joining us, or know someone who might be, please let us know! Contact Rob Andzik (rob.andzik@lalmba.org) or call us at 720-260-6785.
