I sorely miss shaking hands. I have been a prolific handshaker across several countries.  In the U.S. I have loved best shaking the hands of men of my father’s generation, men who judged character by the firmness of your grip and the sincerity in your eyes.  In Kenya I’ve shaken thousands of hands in my 23 years of working there, and Kenyan handshakes are fun! The friend handshake starts with a loud clap of two hands coming together.  Then the hooked thumbs, swivel up at the fulcrum into a soul brother shake, and then quickly back down. Often it ends in a hug or vigorous back pats. The professional handshake is elegant and gentle. You shake hands while resting your left hand on your right forearm, with a slight bow of mutual respect.

In Ethiopia, greeting traditions are slightly different.  The handshake is followed by an immediate shoulder bump, right shoulder to right shoulder. The bumps are often several in succession, and seem to increase the fonder you feel about the person. But what’s also common is hand-holding.  In Ethiopia, it is very common for male friends to stroll hand and hand with their buddies. It has come to feel very natural, and a fine way to walk and talk with a friend.

The handshake — that brief physical connection, the passing touch of goodwill, is one of the most beautiful ways to unite in our humanity.  I sorely hope it will remain with us when this crisis is all over.   Regardless, I know that the power of human compassion and connection will transcend any virus!

Speaking of hope and future generations, I’ll be honest with you, these weeks in isolation have been unnerving.     A few times, I have found myself trembling on the edge of despair, and I hated it!  That’s not what any of us should be feeling right now, and it is definitely not the legacy of Lalmba. We need hope, of which Lalmba has been a fountain for 57 years, and that’s exactly what we will remain!

Last week we had a flurry of calls from Africa.  Our Kenyan project director, Marico, called to check on us.   From the news he had heard that America is in crisis.  Other African staff also wrote or called to make sure we are all ok.  As Marico said, “We owe everything to our friends in America.  If you are suffering, we also share in your suffering.”  It touches us deeply that the care and concern we have frequently shared with Africa is now being so tenderly reciprocated.  So for all of you Lalmba supporters, your African friends are sending you their wishes of hope and solidarity!

HOPE…the virtue that has become synonymous with Lalmba.  Lalmba is the name of a mountain near the city of Keren, Eritrea, where our organization began in 1963. For generations, elders and those in great need have made pilgrimage to that mountaintop to climb closer to God to pray.   So you see, our very name means that hope is always within view, as long as we keep looking up!

While hope is our hallmark, so is calm in the midst of crisis.  Lalmba has stood on the front lines of the war in Eritrea, the humanitarian disaster in Rwanda, the refugee crisis  in Sudan, and the AIDS pandemic in Kenya, to name a few.

Our mission remains clear.  More than 1000 orphans depend on us to stay in school and eat this month. Tomorrow, 50+ people will show up at our clinics suffering from malaria and seeking treatment. Likewise, 710 HIV+ patients will still come to the clinic this week for their medicines, malnourished  children will arrive needing nutritional intervention, and pregnant women will still need a clean and safe place to deliver their babies. It’s business as usual for us in Africa, and crisis or not, we will continue ensuring our communities have the health care they so desperately need.

During these uncertain times, we thank our country’s health care professionals who are on the front lines fighting coronavirus, risking their lives to help others who are sick.

Lalmba would also like to thank our staff on the front lines in Agaro Bushi, Ethiopia and Matoso, Kenya, for their tireless efforts to ensure the health and well-being of their local communities, who will likely see patients with coronavirus, but due to lack of local testing, will never know.

We find that everything takes a little bit longer to get done in Africa than it does here at home. But as they say in Ethiopia, “Little by little an egg walks.”  Last year the rainy season seemed to go on forever, and therefore the roads to Agaro Bushi were impassable for the large trucks. There was too much mud!

While Jared, our Project Director, waited for the rains to pause, he was negotiating with contractors, buying supplies and scheduling deliveries, approving designs, and simultaneously managing the day-to-day operations of the clinic and Lalmba’s children’s programs. (Not to mention functioning as a 24/7 ambulance driver!)  We don’t know how he does it, but we suspect he wears a cape beneath his t-shirt.

These pictures may resemble the archeological excavation of the ancient kingdom of Punt, but they are in fact the newly constructed foundation of the Agaro Bushi Medium Clinic. Can I get a “woohoo”?  We are so excited to watch the progress this year. The contractor has given us an estimate of 3 months to completion, which I think translates to a year on the Ethiopian calendar.