Dalekich Village in Western Ethiopia.

The Dalekich Village is outside of Gambela in the far western corner of Ethiopia.   There are four Sudanese Refugee Camps in the area, but our focus is on the 8 Sudanese Churches around Gambela that are striving to serve those Refugees that are not in the UN Camps, but strive to carve out a life in Ethiopia.

The are considered the poorest of the poor in Ethiopia.   Yet these 8 Sudanese Churches have taken in orphans and children at risk who have lost their parents in the exodus from Sudan or are single parent families at risk of starvation and exploitation.

The Poorest of the Poor reaching out to help those who are in need.

Of all of the places I have been in Ethiopia, this is probably the most impoverished people I have been with. They are people who have left the Sudanese Refugee camp and made a village in the midst of a dry scrub brush area.

Their water supply comes from digging down in a ditch/ravine until water seeps up from the sand, they then scoop it up with a bowl and collect in a bucket. They will use the water filters we bought to help purify the water protecting them from Guinea Worm. They were familiar with the filters - NGO’s had provided them before.

The church is made of sticks and plastic tarps. Yet their love for and dedication to the Father is undeniable.  A few plastic chairs and thatch mats cover the mud floor of the church. Select male elder leaders sit in the chairs as all others sit on the floor.

Governments have failed them. They fled their own country due to war only to be forgotten and abandoned again in a harsh forbidding land. Yet they still sing with passionate joy to the Father who fills them with hope.

Communication is incredibly difficult. Attempts to translate from English to Nuer their native language are difficult at best. They struggle understanding my accent. Plus they attempt to do word for word communication rather than communicate the concept. Wogene begins to teach in Amharic and seemingly more is communicated.