Road Update!!
One of the capitol projects we are currently working on in Jemo, Ethiopia is building a road.
The road, pictured above, becomes a mud slide during the rainy season. As you closely examine the picture you can see that in the background there is a steep incline. Each year as the rain water permeates the soil, this whole sloping road becomes treacherous. Traveling on it to and from work is impossible. People have actually been washed into the river (at the end of this road) as they attempt to navigate this it at the height of the rainy season.
When I (Alicia) learned that the first capitol project the leadership at Jemo believed we should work on was a road, I was disappointed. A road did not seem very important. To this momma of 5, a road seemed a bit boring! I had a HARD time believing that a road would be the most beneficial thing we could provide this community. However as I have learned more, I have changed my mind. If the condition of this road makes working IMPOSSIBLE for several months of a year, how can the families survive? If it is unsafe to leave your housing compound, how do you gather needed grocery items? Remember, in Ethiopia stocking up the freezer is not an option! What is someone gets ill and needs a doctor? What if. . .
I now fully believe in this project!
I am completely convinced that in order to help the families of Jemo thrive, they need to be able to travel to and from work, markets, school, etc. . . safely EVERY DAY of the year. It makes perfect sense to put this project at the top of the priority list! (And I am SO thankful that wiser people than I make the priority list!)
That said, Troy Reno, Jemo Sponsorship Coordinator has been ON TOP of funding this project since the first day it was presented! The funds were needed ASAP since the rains were quickly approaching and the Ethiopian government and the people of Jemo promised to begin as soon as there were funds available. To date we have raised $18,288.00 which is 40% of the necessary total funds.
In Ethiopia every resource is used and used well! As proof, we received these photos of the road thus far! The people of Jemo have been able to utilize the funds available and Cobblestone 350 meters of the road making part of it safe to use this rainy season!
These young Jemo residents will never remember the old, dangerous, dirt road their parents once struggled to travel. 
In this photo you can see the fence (on the right) that the men of Jemo and the men of BCC worked to build this past May.
On the left side of this photo you see the gate way to the Jemo church compound.
You can also see where the road ends. . . for now anyway!
Thank you for your support of this project! As someone who has been to Jemo, I assure you that the community is filled with hope and encouragement over this improvement! In ND we know how liberated we feel when the snow plow arrives after a huge 3-day blizzard to plow the streets and make it possible for us to leave our homes. In Jemo the people have remained home-bound during the rainy season for years, the liberation our brothers and sisters there feel from this simple road is sure to be intense.
In order to complete this project more funds are necessary. Please consider making a contribution to this project! Also consider sharing this need with people you know that may be passionate about it. Working together we will get this road built in Jesus name.