Children WavingDuring the holiday season, there always seems to be plenty of excess “stuff” available.  Whether that includes food, gifts or stress, the stuff can hinder our ability to remember that happiness can be achieved in the simplest ways. For those who traveled to Ethiopia this Winter Break, there was a chance to be reminded of how the most basic “stuff“—a smile, a laugh or a caring hand– can have the most profound impact on someone else’s life.

From Dec. 29 to Jan. 9, the group of seven made its way through Ethiopia. The travelers included Elizabethtown College students, faculty members and graduates, as well as volunteers from Brittney’s Hope, a nonprofit organization in Elizabethtown. E-town junior David Nagel said, “As I began this trip … I assumed the mentality that ‘I must help these needy people’.  However, near the end of the trip, I started to realize how arrogant this mentality sounds …. I started to realize the importance of not only helping others in need, but connecting with them, talking to them and understanding their culture.”

The College and Brittney’s Hope partnered to visit the day care/preschool in Bahir Dar called the Dawn of Hope and a center for orphaned children located in Injibara. The two facilities were established by Brittney’s Hope. It is important to the organization that they visit their programs because of the personal connections that are established, and it gives them to ability to assess the effectiveness of their services first-hand.

We set the bar so high for happiness, but really it’s all around us.”

The Dawn of Hope preschool and daycare was created for children from a minority tribe called the Negede Weyto. The center provides an education for the students to prepare them for the government schools in Ethiopia. Since the center was opened, children from the impoverished and marginalized tribe are being admitted to the government schools for the first time. While there, the volunteers had the opportunity to deliver much needed blankets and school supplies as well as visit with the students and their families.

The group next visited the center in the small town of Injibara. Four new cottages were recently built at the site, doubling the amount of children able to live in the center. “As orphans, they had not much individual attention in their lives; our presence and care helped to reassure the children that there are people who care about them and who love them,” Nagel said of his experience with the children.

For senior Rustin Dudley, the highlight of the trip was spending the Ethiopian Christmas holiday with the children in Injibara. They had a feast and handed out gifts. “The most amazing thing was what they cherished. Yes, they liked the toys and such, but what they liked the most were the heartfelt things (letters, photos) from their sponsors. They would not put those things down. It was like they were able to celebrate Christmas with their American ‘families’.”

It is impossible to ignore the profound effect the trip had on the volunteers. Though they went to assist others, they came away from the experience with changed perspectives, realizing that those they went to help helped them in return.

“This trip allowed me to rediscover wonder in small things,” Dudley said. “Seeing Tarike and Matteos (two toddlers at Injibara) holding hands, singing songs around a campfire, giving the kids a hug just because, laughing at ourselves (and the toddlers) trying to do yoga… We set the bar so high for happiness, but really it’s all around us.”