Two months from today, I'll be on a plane to Ethiopia! (Well, actually on a plane to Washington DC, then overnight in DC, THEN on a plane to Ethiopia on January 9th!)
Preparations are in full swing. Visa should be back any day now, vaccines done, malaria prescription filled, starting the pile of 'maybe packing' and list of things left to buy (including a new good travel camera bag - still on the hunt for that). Also met up with my 'R&R' post-build travel group to start plotting and scheming.
Booked my plane ticket to Ethiopia this morning. It's starting to feel very real!
I'm leaving Tuesday, January 8th and return on Friday, February 8th, 2013.
I need to do a couple blog catch-up posts about our team meetings and all the great Ethiopia info and connections I've been making but for now, I have to go jump around and do a happy dance.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Be the change you wish to see in the world ~ Gandhi
It's official! I'll be traveling with the Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East team to Ethiopia in January 2013. We will be working in the capital city - Addis Ababa - building water and sanitation facilities for Habitat families.
It's hard to believe it's been 2 1/2 years since my Women Build trip to India. I'm really looking forward to working with a great team from Portland. It's a small team (12); half the members are Habitat staff and the other half are all long-time volunteers. Two of my long-time Women Builders are going - Susie and Jen - so I'm super excited to work and travel with them.
More info to come, but here's a video from Habitat Ethiopia about the work we will be doing.
Your support - emotional, informational and financial - is greatly appreciated. If you know anyone that has been to Ethiopia and has any travel tips, please let me know. I'm planning to do a lot of photography and document the trip. And of course, all good vibes, mojo and love are the most important support!
In addition, I'll be raising funds for the program fee (approximately $1,300 - which covers lodging, food and support for building materials and Habitat) as well as my plane fare (approximately $1,600). I've set up a 'Ethopia Fund' through paypal (link to the left) for airfare and will have a separate Habitat fundraising page for the program fee (those donations will be tax deductible).
Last but not least, as a small token of gratitude, anyone who donates $50 or more will receive a 8x10 print - either from my current work or an image from my trip. I'll link to some selections soon - but pretty much anything from my website: www.heatherbinns.com or my flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/heathre is fair game!
Stay tuned to this blog for more updates and info about the trip. January seems a long way off, but I know it will be here before I know it.
