Read About what our volunteers have to say
Jeff & Hillary James - Ethiopia: June 2004 - May 2006
Jeff and Hillary James served as Project Directors over Lalmba's Ethiopian projects from June 2004 - May 2006. Hillary writes about their experience:i
My husband Jeff and I spent a 2-year honeymoon at Chiri Health Center. We left for Ethiopia 2 months after we got married. Our second year we were joined by our infant son Gideon, who spent his first year of life in Africa. Ethiopia made a profound impression on us as a family. The stories we hold with us are ones that most people only hear on the radio or read about. We worked hard as project directors. Unlike most jobs, this one showed immediate, obvious results from our efforts. When we organized construction of the new orphanage, we saw homeless children immediately reap the benefits. When we transported a pregnant woman in distress to the area hospital, we knew we were saving her and her baby's lives. The work was hard, but rewarding. More than one evening was spent with our head in our hands from frustration. Because the work was so difficult, we tried always to focus on the good things around us. If that meant holding a Christmas party for the staff and dressing up like Santa Claus, or splurging on buying a chicken at market to roast, or trudging into town to sit at a local bar and drink a beer, we did it.
Hugh and Marty were a vital element to our success while we were there. Their visits twice yearly helped focus our efforts and goals, and were an oasis of good food and drink to cheer our spirits.
We named our newest daughter "Chiri" in memory of our time at Chiri Health Center. We hope to take her back there someday. We feel blessed to be a part of the Lalmba family.
Doctors Edwin and Jessie Periera - Ethiopia: August 2008-August 2009
Doctors Edwin and Jessie Periera served as Medical Directors over Chiri Health Center in Ethiopia from August 2008 - August 2009. Jessie writes about their experience:
I knew since I started medical school that I wanted to go abroad and practice medicine. I wanted to have something concrete to give to the poorest of the poor - something tangible, something personal – not just my good intentions and a check. I needed to be there.
Lalmba provided the perfect chance. My husband and I went to Ethiopia right after we graduated from our residency programs. No jobs, no mortgage. It was the perfect window of opportunity, and the clinic in Ethiopia was exactly what we were looking for. We worked one on one with the Ethiopian nurses and staff and saw amazing things in the clinic every day. There was the satisfaction of helping the patients – hundreds of patients each week, some with common things like pneumonia and skin infections and diarrhea, and some with things I'd never seen before like bone tuberculosis and cutaneous leshmaniasis and trachoma. There was also the satisfaction of working with the Ethiopian staff to empower them to eventually run the clinic themselves instead of being dependent on American volunteers. It felt good to be part of something sustainable instead of short-term charity. Lastly there was the simple satisfaction of knowing that we followed our dream all the way to Africa, and that after years of medical training, we were finally making a difference where we were needed the most.
