Awash

I suspect that a mother parting with her baby must be an excruciating experience.....one that would likely haunt you for the rest of your life. I choose to believe, however, that in the case of international adoption, it is the ultimate act of love......putting the needs of your child before ANYTHING else. Last week we took the long ride to Awash, Levi's place of birth – where his biological mother made the gut wrenching decision to give him a better life. Although I will likely never meet this woman, her sacrifice will never be forgotten. We are connected forever through this little boy who we will both forever refer to as "my son"....

Once you leave the city, everything changes. The landscapes are gorgeous and the air is clean. Things become rural – very rural.





We passed several volcanic lakes....





....as well as some cows, goats, monkeys and camels....





Although I was busy keeping the boys occupied (snacks, toys, “eye-spy”), I allowed myself to day dream about what I might see in Awash. It was here I would meet the kind lady who took Levi in and cared for him after he was relinquished by his birth mother.

She was a lovely woman - soft spoken, warm and gentle. It was easy to see why the children of Awash flocked to her, as her genuine love of these helpless souls was palatable. She was more than pleased to see Levi. There were tears, hugs and kisses. She couldn’t believe how much he had grown. Levi was guarded. Just like when we returned to the orphanage in Addis (where I first met him), he was not too interested in what was going on. He cried (see photo) and preferred to bury his head in my chest. I took that as a good sign.





She took us to her little school first - full of orphans eager to learn. It was a single, small, dirty, broken down cement structure with close to 100 kids jammed in like sardines – all sitting on the floor. It was the type of place you might see on TV – with a celebrity attempting to tell a story that might convince you to open your wallet. It was THAT kind of place.





We were then off to the orphanage itself - a very basic set of buildings in the middle of the extremely hot and dry little town of Awash. The most impressive part of the orphanage visit was watching the caregivers look at the pictures our representative had brought with her…..pictures of kids from this orphanage who were adopted to Canada years ago. They were glued to the photos contained in the annual reports that we, as adopters, must legally provide until our children turn 18. There was not a dry eye in the little shack, as they remembered each and every one of these little kids.





Lunch was injera and goat innards. I managed to politely choke it down, with a coke chaser. The hundreds of flies swarming our small plastic table made our meal that much more uncomfortable – but also that much more authentic. Here we were in real Africa…..eating just like the locals.

Most importantly, I was able to learn a bit more about Levi’s story – the story before he came to Addis into the Canadian run transition home for children already matched to Canadian families. It is not a pretty story – but then again, I don’t know of many that are. There were hugs, tears and more hugs. It was a long and emotional day – but worth every minute. Years from now, Levi may want to know more about his history and thankfully, I now have a little piece of it.