Portrait of an Ethiopian Farmer

Today was a great day in Addis and one thing I had forgotten is how great life is here (at least for the visitor).  We worked from 9:00-11:30, and I found one patient that I will be paying close attention to over the next few weeks because I think he is a perfect candidate for special bandaging that should cut his recovery time significantly.  After work was juice, then lunch, then macchiato, then a great exploration walk around the mission area, then macchiato, then tea, then rounds with Rick. And I almost forgot, not electricity today in Sidist Kilo (the area of the mission), so we couldn't look at pathology slides with Bozuna...maybe tomorrow.   

 

The subject of today's post is an interview Rick did with one of his patient's father.  Workinah is the 10 year-old male patient with severe Olliere's disease, or enchondromas all over his hands (particularly affecting his right hand).  He has recently been accepted for surgery at a hospital in LA and Rick is in the process of filling out all the paperwork.  So today Rick interview Workinah's father, a farmer from Bedi in the Shoa province.  His father is 31 years old, married to a 30 year old woman (housewife), and has 4 children (10, 8, 6, 4).  The father does not own their farm but rents it; he makes 450 birrh/year = $50 USD.  Their house has two rooms, a dirt floor, mud walls, and a grass roof.  They own two cows and one ox; the family sleeps on mattresses on the floor.  They are Ethiopian Orthodox and go to church. 

(The specific numbers above - ages, number of children, livestock - are +/- 1)

 

I am not sure exactly why I found this interview so fascinating but it was one of my first looks into the life of a rural ethiopian farmer.  The fact that you can support a family of 6 on a "salary" of $50/year I find amazing.  Ethiopia is, without a doubt, third world.

 

Highlights from the CIA World Factbook:

~Life expectancy at birth - 49.4 years

~HIV/AIDS adult prevalence - 4.4%

~Literacy - 42.7%

~GDP/capita - $800

~Population below povery line - 38.7%

Nothing too crazy here but still far from good.  And yet life continues and the people seem happy.

(The specific numbers above - ages, number of children, livestock - are +/- 1)