FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Scott Brown traveled to Ethiopia in 2006 to watch over the adoption of Enoch, a 3-month-old, 5-pound boy with big brown eyes.
It was the first adoption the Gladney Center for Adoption would oversee in Ethiopia, and Brown, its executive vice president, wanted to make sure it went smoothly
And it did — until the couple preparing to adopt Enoch realized that something was wrong with his head. Tests showed a condition that is fatal about half of the time in Ethiopia: craniosynostosis, when a soft spot in the skull closes too quickly and prevents the brain from growing.
The couple, not sure they could handle a baby with such medical needs, backed out of the adoption. When Brown learned Enoch could die without treatment, he persuaded doctors and medical personnel at Cook Children’s Medical Center to operate to save Enoch.
Three years later, Enoch is healthy and happy. He is now Brown’s grandson, having been adopted by Brown’s son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Abby Brown.
“We feel so blessed and fortunate that God chose to place him in our lives,” Abby Brown said on a Gladney video. “We call him our little miracle.”
But there are more babies and children in Ethiopia whom Scott Brown and doctors at Cook Children’s — some who belong to Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth — want to help.
That’s why they are in Enoch’s homeland now on a medical mission.
There, more than half a dozen local medical personnel are visiting hospitals and clinics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, and in the remote village of Gunchire.
They are giving lectures, making rounds, performing surgeries and sharing thousands of dollars of donated medicine and supplies, hoping to help save and improve the lives of Ethiopians.
“These are genuine people who are doing the very best with what they have,” Brown wrote in an e-mail from Ethiopia. “My vision for this trip is that it is the first of many.”
Living out their faith
For many, this trip is a way to serve their church, help others and share their faith.
For several years, Christ Chapel and its members, which include Brown, have worked to help orphans in Ethiopia, even building an orphanage in Gunchire.
Now they are evaluating the medical situation there, to see how they can be the most effective.
“A key vision of our church is to be ‘a church without walls,’ ” said Dr. Michael Stevener, this mission team’s leader and a neonatologist at Cook Children’s. “Members are encouraged to be the ‘hands and feet of Christ’ in service to the needy both locally and around the world.
“For me personally, the trip is part of a spiritual calling to live out my faith using my abilities and resources to help others.”
He and others say there are more Ethiopian doctors in Washington, D.C., than in all of Ethiopia. Many move to the United States after getting their training. Those who stay, Stevener said, truly love their country and want to make a difference.
Christ Chapel Executive Pastor Bill Egner said the impact that local doctors have on their Ethiopian counterparts could create a ripple effect for years to come.
“It’s about empowering those good doctors to become more of what they would like to become,” said Egner, who led a pastoral trip to Ethiopia in January.
“There are techniques or tools our doctors can teach that will make substantial impacts — and make a difference in people’s lives from Day One.”
Tour of duty
Brown and local medical personnel — including two neonatologists and the pediatric neurosurgeon who operated on Enoch — arrived in Ethiopia last week and plan to return home next Sunday.
During the trip, they will talk about topics ranging from newborn resuscitation to allergic reactions to drugs. They’ll visit medical facilities, including Kidmia Transitional Care Home, Guchire Regional Health Clinic, the Black Lion Hospital, Korean Medical Center and the Mother Teresa HIV orphanage/clinic.
And they’ll be sharing suitcases full of medicine and medical supplies donated by Cook Children’s, Texas Health Fort Worth hospital, Christ Chapel and others. Some of the doctors are also donating medicine and medical supplies from their offices.
Ethiopian pediatric physician Dr. Etsegenet Gedlu said she believes the doctors from Fort Worth can help her and her colleagues.
“The lectures and workshops will definitely give . . . our students, interns [and] residents a new insight and sharing experience from other perspectives,” she wrote in an e-mail. “We all are hoping . . . we may find a common ground for future collaboration.
“I hope our colleagues will find this visit beneficial in terms of … experiencing medical practice in a different setup and quite different disease epidemiology.”
Humanitarian adoptions
Adoptions of Ethiopian children have sharply risen in recent years. In the U.S. last year, 1,725 Ethiopian children were adopted, 470 more than in 2005, U.S. State Department records show.
Local adoptions have risen as well.
Gladney facilitated four adoptions from Ethiopia in 2006, its first year doing so. In 2007, there were 47, and last year, there were 99. This year, there have been 67, but officials believe they may place 125 Ethiopia children in U.S. homes by Aug. 31, said Jennifer Lanter, public information officer for Gladney.
“In Ethiopia — with extreme poverty, the AIDS virus — there are so many horrific things happening, and the people there don’t want their children suffering,” Lanter said. “They want their children to have a home.”
More than that, adoption officials say they see a new trend emerging.
“Before, families adopted to grow their families,” Lanter said. “With Ethiopia, a lot of churches have gotten involved, and many feel called to adopt through this country to help these people.
“People are now adopting for a new reason — for a humanitarian reason.”
Working in Ethiopia The team includes medical personnel from Cook Children’s Medical Center:
Dr. Michael Stevener, a neonatologist, and his wife, Beth Stevener
Dr. Michael Stanley, a neonatologist
Dr. David Donahue, a pediatric neurosurgeon
Ben Donahue, an anesthesia technician and pre-med student
Dr. Robin Roberts, an adult dermatologist
Amy Schubert, a pediatric ward nurse
Dr. Jeff McGlothlin, a pediatric neurologist
Dr. Benjamin Sui, a pediatric cardiologist
Scott Brown, executive vice president and director of the Ethiopia program for the Gladney Center for Adoption (and father of a girl adopted from Ethiopia)
AMMAN (Jordan Times) – Ethiopia’s Habte Dibaba Robele was crowned champion of the men’s Ultra Marathon (48.7km) after clocking 3h05m leaving second place to Iraq’s Nouri Jaber with 3h05m39s and Jordan’s Salameh Al Aqra’ came in third place with 3h06m27s.
Robele, who took part for the first time in the event, was not able to break last year’s record registered by American Mark Werner, who clocked 2h58m36s.
Jordanian runners excelled in the 16th annual run of the LG Dead Sea Ultra Marathon (LG DSUM) held on Friday.
In the 42km race, Suleiman Zboun took first place with a new record of 2h11m14s, and left second place to Mithqal Abadi, who also registered a new record in this category with 2h12m33s, and third place to Hayel Rawahneh with 2h18m58s.
In the women’s category, Jordan’s Kholoud Atieh won first place with 2h51m39s, followed by Americans Maya Buchanan, 3h28m41s and Krysten Koehn, 3h55m56s.
In the men’s Half marathon (21km) Jordanians Ra’fat Qasem won with a time of 1h05m14s, followed by Hussein Momani (1h07m24s) and Ayman Ahmad (1h08m19s).
In the women’s race Canada’s Katherine Muckle won in a time of 1h01m52s, followed by Americans Tracey Villano (1h29m16s) and Erica Dueger (1h34m28s).
Jordanian’s also swept the men’s Fun Run 10km with Mohammad Abu Rizeq (35m1s) coming in first, followed by Majd Suleiman (35m5s) and Abdullah Saleh (356s).
Iraqi Ola Jasem (45m58s) won the women’s Fun Run. Jordanian’s Laura Diaz (51m41s) and Hoson Akeel (52m23s) came in second and third respectively.
In the women’s category, UK’s Sara Connor took the first spot, with 4h05m39s, followed by Naomi Ferguson, 4h06m33s, and German’s Anita Ehrhardt, 4h13m37s.
In the boy’s Junior Marathon (4.2km), for 6-15 year olds, Basel Riyad won followed by Basel Awad and Mohammad Abu Shileh. The girl’s Junior Marathon was won by Lyan Al Saheb, followed by Areej Al Saheb and Eman Audeh.
The LG DSUM, held under the patronage of HRH Prince Raad, the Chief Chamberlain, was organised by the Society for Care of Neurological Patients (SCNP) and had a record number of 4,500 runners.
Prince Raad, HRH Prince Mired and HRH Princess Majeda watched the annual marathon and expressed their satisfaction with the event which promotes the Kingdom globally.
The event ran from Amman International Motor Show at the Airport Road to Amman Beach at the Dead Sea, 400m below sea level, the lowest point on earth.
The sponsers were LG Electronics, the Greater Amman Municipality, Public Security, Civil Defence Department, Aquafina, Emirates Airlines, MEC, Jordan Television, Picasso, Kassab, Scholl, Moonlight for Tourism and Travel, Sawt Al Ghad radio station, Sunny FM, Grand Hyatt Amman, Layalina magazine, Cozmo, National Paints, AdDustour newspaper, Jordan Today magazine and Movenpick.
Ababiya Abajobir, the uncle of Kemeria Abajobir Abajifar
The mysterious Ethiopian woman identified as the cause for the divorce between the reality TV show star LuAnn from The Real Houswives of New York and her husband Count Alexandre de Lesseps has been identified as Princess Kemeria Abajobir Abajifar. She is the granddaughter of King Abajifar, the last King from the Gibe Kingdom of Jimmaa, located in current day Ethiopia.
An inside source close to the Count, wishing to remain anonymous, confirmed the details in an email correspondence.
The Ethiopian princess, and granddaughter of the King, is the niece of Ababiya Abajobir, another prominent man in the Oromo-Ethiopian community. He was one of the founding members of the OLF (Oromo Liberation Front), an armed Ethiopian opposition group, and served in various positions in the organization throughout its 35 year history.
The source told EthioPlanet that it was the wish of both the Princess and Count Alexandre de Lesseps that she no longer be identified as “‘the Ethiopian woman’ but with her real identity.”
The fairy-tale marriage of Countess LuAnn de Lesseps is crumbling over a princess.
The mysterious Ethiopian beauty at the center of the divorce between Bravo TV’s “The Real Housewives of New York” star and her husband, Count Alexandre de Lesseps, has been unmasked as Princess Kemeria Abajobir Abajifar, reports Ethioplanet.com.
She is the descendant of King Abajifar, the last ruler of a powerful kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian news Web site said.
An unnamed source said it was the wish of both the princess and Count Lesseps, 59, that she no longer be identified as “the Ethiopian woman” but rather with her royal credentials.
It was last month that de Lesseps, 43, discovered her husband of 16 years was serious with another woman in Geneva. She said she was “blindsided” by the news and added that she found out after the count sent her an e-mail.
“I just think some people aren’t good at confrontation,” she said.
The former model, who has a book due out next week titled “Class with the Countess,” told People magazine that she quietly separated from her husband more than three months ago but felt “ashamed” when news of his infidelity broke.
“It’s been like a death,” she told People. “You go through anger, bereavement. It’s really an end to a part of your life.”
She and the count have two children: Noel, 12, and Victoria, 14.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The pirate standoff with the U.S. Navy has burned Somalia into the West’s consciousness as a base for lawlessness and terror, but the hostage crisis illuminates a potentially dangerous picture confronting a far greater area.
Much of the Horn of Africa, which is made up of six countries covering roughly half the area of the United States, is beset by a rare set of disadvantages that makes it ripe for chaos. Poverty, hunger, corruption and lawlessness has made the region a haven not only for pirates, but for arms smugglers and Islamic insurgents.
“The situation in the Horn is the most explosive on the continent,” said Francois Grignon, head of the Africa program for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank.
Home to about 165 million people, the six countries that make up the Horn — Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Djibouti — are seen by many as the next possible front in the war on terrorism.
The footpaths, rutted roads and steamy coastal dens along the Horn may seem a world away to many in the West — but the conflicts that fester here have hit home before.
Americans have been targeted in the region in the past, although it is not clear if the pirates who launched a failed effort to capture the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama on Wednesday knew they were attacking an American ship. The U.S. was negotiating with the pirates Friday for the ship’s American captain, the only hostage after the crew overpowered the bandits.
U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were the targets of deadly twin bombings by al-Qaida in 1998. An Israeli airliner and hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, were targeted by terrorists in 2002.
The attacks emanated from neighboring Somalia, which has had no effective central government since 1992 and has a growing Islamic fundamentalist movement. And in 2006, Kenyan police caught a smuggler trying to bring in an anti-aircraft missile.
The United States worries that Somalia could be a terrorist breeding ground, particularly since Osama bin Laden declared his support for Islamic radicals there. Bin Laden himself has ties to the Horn, having once lived in Sudan.
The U.S. has stationed 1,800 troops in Djibouti to keep terror networks in the Horn of Africa in check. The country, which has close ties to the West, is located at a strategic point where the Red Sea opens into the Indian Ocean.
The Horn of Africa is notorious for corrupt governments, porous borders, widespread poverty and discontented populations, creating a region ripe for Islamic fundamentalism.
When hijackings spiked off the coast of Somalia last year, counterterrorism officials pressed for any evidence that the country’s extremist factions, or even al-Qaida militants operating in East Africa, might be using piracy to fund their violence. But the complicated clan structure and Somalia’s ungoverned black market — there is no functioning banking system — have made it difficult to trace the cash transactions.
U.S. officials have found no direct ties between East African pirates and terrorist groups. But piracy is believed to be backed by an international network that runs from the Horn of Africa to as far as North America. It is made up primarily of Somali expatriates who offer funds, equipment and information in exchange for a cut of the ransoms, according to researchers, officials and members of the racket. With help from the network, Somali pirates brought in at least $80 million last year.
Ethnic Somalis are the common denominator in the Horn of Africa, and their large presence in neighboring countries has long been a source of conflict. In the mid-1970s, then Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre advocated expanding the country’s borders to unite all Somali-speaking people in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Despite Somalia’s disastrous and short-lived invasion of Ethiopia in 1977 and political anarchy since 1992, Somali nationalists and Islamic fundamentalists still advocate this Greater Somalia. An ethnic-Somali insurgency continues in eastern Ethiopia. And many Somalis were angered when Ethiopia sent troops at the request of Somalia’s weak transitional government to oust Islamists who controlled the capital at the end of 2006 and were expanding their influence.
The Islamists’ ascent was marked by a dramatic decline in piracy. The Ethiopians withdrew in January as part of an intricate U.N.-mediated peace deal.
Analysts are warning that the increasingly brazen piracy and its toll on shipping companies is going to lead to higher prices for commodities headed to the West. In addition, more than 10 percent of the world’s petroleum supply is shipped past Somalia and into Gulf of Aden, the shortest route between Asia and Europe.
Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Maritime Bureau in London, said piracy is now becoming a global issue because the pirates are targeting foreign ships further afield from Somalia, in part to avoid international naval forces stationed in the Gulf of Aden.
“The worrying issue is that what was originally a Somali problem has spilled over,” Mukundan said. “If you look at what is available, in Somalia itself, nothing can be done. There is no government. It is a failed state.”
As for help from nearby, he said: “The neighboring countries don’t have the resources.”
Elizabeth Kennedy has covered East Africa since 2006.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — Ethiopia’s dictatorial regime on Saturday criticized the UN for not taking strong measures against arch-foe Eritrea over its failure to withdraw troops from disputed territories along its border with Djibouti.
A UN resolution adopted last January gave Asmara five weeks to pull out, and the Security Council earlier this week concluded that Eritrea had not fulfilled its obligations 10 weeks after the request.
“Unless the international community is prepared to hold Eritrea accountable for such open and reckless defiance of international norms and decisions, there is the real danger Eritrea will be encouraged to continue its regional destabilization,” the Ethiopian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The UN resolution had welcomed the fact that Djibouti withdrew its forces from the disputed areas as requested by the council last June and condemned Eritrea’s refusal to do so.
Eritrea is also involved in a bitter border dispute with Ethiopia’s regime led by Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (Woyanne), whom it fought in a 1998-2000 war that killed some 70,000 people.
The long-running border row between Djibouti and Eritrea over the disputed Ras Doumeira promontory on the shores of the Red Sea flared up last June after previous clashes in 1996 and 1999.
The clashes have assumed a greater strategic significance because both France and the United States have bases in Djibouti, a former French colony.
The United States has more than 1,200 troops stationed in Djibouti, which hosts an anti-terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Scott Brown traveled to Ethiopia in 2006 to watch over the adoption of Enoch, a 3-month-old, 5-pound boy with big brown eyes.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The pirate standoff with the U.S. Navy has burned Somalia into the West’s consciousness as a base for lawlessness and terror, but the hostage crisis illuminates a potentially dangerous picture confronting a far greater area.