Woliso (Amelia's home town)

My heart has been yearning and hurting for Ethiopia this week.

Going through some of our paperwork today, I found a document that sheds a tiny bit of light on Amelia's first days. She was born (or at least, she was found) in a place called Woliso. Woliso is in a rural area about seventy-seven miles from Addis Ababa, the capitol city.

During our time in Ethiopia, we never left Addis Ababa. I looked around on the internet, and found some photos from Woliso, and also a YouTube video. I have to say, it really strikes me and haunts me, to see where Amelia would have lived (or even died), had her first mom not found a way to give her a chance.

Here are some of the pictures I found:

This would be a kitchen area. I recognize the various pans and the

coffee pots that are everywhere in Ethiopia

A beautiful, but primitive, hut on a hillside.

It looks like there are monkeys in Woliso!
Such a sweet little girl.
The countryside looks green and beautiful.
Another little girl (can you tell I'm a girl mom?)
This is the school.
A beautiful place.
Another sweet little girl (yep, I'm still a girl mom).
I think that is coffee on the donkey's back.
On the way to town...
I think this would be "in town."

Finally, here's the link to the YouTube video I found. It was made by members of a humanitarian relieft organization who visited Woliso. More than anything, for me, it provided images and insights into life in the place of Amelia's heritage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxgjMxDozCc