Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

I’m in Ethiopia, scouting locations for a new one-hour public television special about hunger, and hope for the future. I’ve been here for almost a week now, and I’ve noticed some recurring themes.

One thing that keeps coming up is that traditional charity (in the form of handouts) can actually set back development. As they build their economies, the helping hand that developing countries want and need isn’t just money — it’s smart assistance. And fundamental to that is an investment in “human capital” — a healthy and educated populace that has reason to work hard, and reason for hope.

Another recurring observation I’ve had is that, at least in Ethiopia, children are fully employed…with the job of getting an education. Watch this little clip and take a look for yourself.

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Water is life.

Living in extreme poverty often means having no ready access to clean water. Imagine if the first thing you had to do each day was walk several hours to fetch and then carry home water for your family. Then imagine the jubilation you’d feel if your village suddenly got a well.

Watch this clip. And then consider what a beautiful investment a couple thousand dollars for such a well is. Yes, water is life.

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I’m in Ethiopia, scouting locations for a new special that will air next fall on public television. And right now, we’re in a tiny village in one of the most remote places I’ve ever been. We’re here to see a high school that was built right in the village, so that local students can get an education without having to move to the nearest city — which means more families can afford to keep kids in school through grade 12.

Ethiopia is committed to education, and today nearly all its children attend primary school. In some of the more remote and poor areas, schools are built by NGOs from the developed world, and then staffed and run by the national government. I was inspired by this high school, and I think you will be, too.

(Allow me to be political for a moment: As the rich world girds itself for an influx of desperate refugees escaping hopelessness in desperate lands, some political leaders are stirring up a fear of immigrants. They are doing this to justify the use of harsh measures against these people — and to win votes. We can learn from what’s happening in Ethiopia. When a struggling country becomes more peaceful and prosperous — and schools like this one are made available to all kids — people have a reason to stay home. European governments understand this, and they are expanding assistance programs in countries from which lots of people are fleeing. A fearful rich society can build walls and call out the military — or it can use those billions of dollars to do something constructive.)

Hello from Ethiopia! I’m here to scout locations for a new special, airing next fall on public television — and today, I visited one of this country’s leading and most historic churches. Join me for two minutes inside the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, in the town of Axum.

And check out this ancient bible. Ethiopia was cut off from the rest of Christendom 1,300 years ago, when Islam swept across North Africa — and today, it is a mostly Orthodox Christian nation.

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The developing world can leapfrog technology in many ways. For example, phone lines and electrical wires are so yesterday. Latecomers to development are jumping directly to mobile phones and solar-powered homes.

Here in Ethiopia, roughly half the population have a mobile phone — and at Abedi’s farm, the old kerosene lamp is gathering dust. Instead, his solar panel is powering his light bulb. And with light at night, hours that used to literally be “in the dark” are now available for studying and other productive activities.

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