Not forgotten

31/01/13

The day we left Addis Ababa to head to Hawassa was one of very mixed emotions. We had already divided the team so there was sadness for the friends made that we might not see for some time. Then there was the excitement to be heading to Hawassa, meeting our host families and making our home for the next 11 weeks, along with this was anticipation for the journey and restlessness from the busy schedule we have had. None of this compared to the blow we received when we were informed that one of our UK volunteers, Jordan, would unfortunately not be joining us on our journey – for reasons I cannot disclose.

The sense of loss was immediate, in only a few days we had made a dear friend, a genuine guy who had a lot to offer and his adventure was being cut short. We will miss him dearly, as I am sure he will miss us, and the work we will do. There were tears shed, and sadness lingered in the air during the journey. We know it was not an easy decision for the VSO supervisors to make, and even harder for Jordan to have to receive the news. I was very glad to hear that he managed to stay a few days in Addis to sightsee and meet up with the Addis team a little more before making the melancholy journey back to London.

Jordan – I speak for the entire Hawassa group when I say we miss you dearly, and we wish you the best of luck for your future endeavours. You certainly made a good impression in the short time we were all together. Don’t be a stranger!

Our UK team is now down to 8, the national volunteers have stepped up their support and we will be working harder to leave our footprints behind.

Kx