Report on the Mission to Eritrea

Eritrea is a small country located in the so-called "Horn of Africa". It is bordered by Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and the Red Sea. It has a population of about 3.5 million people: 50% Mulsim and 50% Christian, who live together in peace and cooperation. In 1992, after a thirty-year occupation, Eritrea won its liberation from Ethiopia. In the years since then the people have been working to rebuild their country, a process that includes fixing roads, digging wells and building up the infrastructure. In 1993 my longtime personal friends, Dennis and Stephanie Schroeder, read an article about Eritrea in a local Victoria newspaper, and felt "nudged" by God to go there. After a three-week visit, they went back to their home in Sidney, B.C., and started a non-profit organization called "The Eritrean Relief and Rehabilitation Association of British Columbia" (ERRA-BC). Over the years they have raised more then $500,000 of which all but $3,149.32 (or 0.6%) has gone directly to a number of projects they have initiated, including the "adoption" of 83 orphans; establishing a "Rotating Loan" fund for farmers to borrow what they need to buy tools, a water pump and seed; and "Women's Promotion" - a rural project the teaches life skills to local women. Dennis and Stephanie have also travelled many times to Eritrea, building a network of friends, and offering support and caring to those who are there working on the "front lines" of mission.

I first went to Eritrea in November, 1999. The experience was life changing. It was such a privilege to spend two weeks with people who have put their lives in God's hands, and who dream about what they might do in God's name; who step out in faith, trusting in the providence of God. It was also a privilege to live amongst the Eritrean people. Their country is deemed to be one of the poorest in the world, yet the people have lives that are rich in community and family love. In the midst of very challenging circumstances, there is a strength of spirit: a resilience and commitment to assuming responsibility for their future as a nation. In November 2002, I returned to Eritrea with my daughter Claire. My husband, Colin, went in November 2003, and then Gillian and I went in November 2004. Colin went in 2005 and it is my hope to return in the fall of 2009. I am so grateful that, each time I have gone, your blessing and support have gone with me!

While in Eritrea, we stayed at one of the Brother or Sister houses. We travelled through mountain passes with a driver - usually Brother Ghebres or Sister Thomas. On this most recent visit, our travel was restricted by gas shortages and the need to apply for government-issued "Travel Passes". Nevertheless, we were still able to visit a number of schools and kindergartens, and to distribute the supplies you sent. We spent several evenings dividing up your donations and then delivering them to various schools in the countryside. The kindergarten teachers work under extremely difficult circumstances - often with 80 children per class and few resources. I wish you could have seen the joy and wonder on the teachers' faces as they opened a box filled with pens, markers, puzzles, wall maps, calculators and story books! At one centre the teacher had tears in her eyes as she looked at the abundance of writing supplies, and then pointed to all that remained of the supplies that Colin had taken in 2003: a few pencil stubs and broken crayons.

I was equally moved by the response of Sister Harigu, a young nun who runs a small school in a remote village, and to whom we brought an extra large box filled to overflowing with school supplies. She and Stephanie are old freinds, and after a warm greeting, Stephanie was really keen to get going in helping Harigu set up the kindergarten. Harigu, though equally keen, put a gentle hand on Stephanie's arm. "Stephan," she said, "Tomorrow we will work. Today I will gaze upon your face."

The money that you sent has been used to support a number of different projects, including the start of a community vegetable garden in the town of Afabet where, with the importing and mixing of good soil and natural fertilizer, it is hoped that villages will soon be growing okra, tomatoes and eggplant in the desert; the development of a metal-working shop; the transforming of an old building into a study centre complete with desks and generator-produced electricity where students can come in the evening to study or meet with friends. You are also supporting a "Jump Start" loan fund for young adults who are wanting to start their own businesses; the buying of a number of chickens ($20 for 10 chickens) and goats ($35 for 1 goat) for war widows trying to support their families; and the sponsorling of many childern who, through your generosity, are now able to go to school. It costs $20 to send a child to shcool for 1 year.

A large percentage of your donations are being used to rebuild the exisiting school in Ferelaba. Visiting the school was one of the highlights of our trip! We drove along the twisting mountain roads until suddently, our driver turned sharply onto what looked like a rock-strewn cow path. We bounced along, rounded a corner, and came into a "clearing"; Ferelaba!! It was like stepping out of time - the browns and yellows of the tukul huts blending into the browns and yellows of the earth and mountains. The school is a long building made of mud and stones and divided into four classrooms. There are narrow windows on one side only, dirt floors, a tin roof, and bare, dirt walls with a single blackboard at the front of each classroom. The Grade 1 class meets in a "portable" - a structure of long poles laced together and loosely attached to the main bulding. The children sit on the floor, with the hot sun streaming through the slats. Through an interpreter we talked to the village elders and learned of their passionate commitment to education, and their dream to build a new school. The planning and implementation for that is still a couple of years away, and so I decided to use some of your donations to upgrade the present building; to whitewash the walls, buy mats for the floors, and rebuild the "portable" into a room that is also made of mud and stone, which will protect the children from the sun. Whatever money is left over will be used to buy desks and books. We are continuing to make inquiries about the feasability of building a new, larger school, which would be used by several villages. If we decide to go ahead, it will be a joint project shared by the Schroeders' congregation and community in Sidney, and by a number of congregations, including my former churches in Etobicoke and eastern Ontario, several congregations in Barrie and a couple of our local schools. Several factors need to come together before this can happen, and I ask for your prayers as we continue to discern the next step.

Again, I want to thank you for your part in the Mission to Eritrea. Thanks to your generosity, opportunities have opened up, and lives have been transormed. In a recent letter from Sister Thomas she worte, "Greetings of Christmas Joy and Hope to your congregations...[may] all of you, my brothers and sisters, rejoice abundantly in our Father's blessings. I promise you all that I'll TRY to be your representative in Christ to our people in Afabet..."

Blessings!

Rev. Pat

ERRA-BC