Meals at Mercy Ministry Home

I’m living in a poor community outside the capital of Addis Ababa. As volunteers, we “sort of“ live like the locals—no running water, electricity when we have it. The difference: we live behind a concrete wall and have nighttime security. And we get three meals a day guaranteed.

Here are photos of typical meals we were served my first week here:

Typical Breakfast

This is for both of us: Rolls; tea (hot water always in a pink thermos)
Robin bought the jar of peanut butter.
The instant coffee/creamer is also Robin's.

Per person: A roll, hard boiled egg, tea.

Typical Lunch

Per person: A spicy (yummy) lentil (?) soup and a roll. Tea.

Typical Dinner

Shared: Boiled carrots and potatoes, a roll, tea.

Shared: Pasta with garlic?, (I didn't eat this), tea.

At the end of my first week, we started wondering if they were running out of money. On Thursday morning, we found that supplies had been delivered to the “pantry” (the area beneath the stairs):

Buza (BOO-za) getting teff (a grain) flour to make injera for the students' meals.

Dinner that evening was slightly more nutritious if not still one dimensional:

HALF a roll each, green beans and carrots cooked in oil, coffee! 

So ... I'm not getting much nutrition through the week and often find myself hungry at night. Oh well ... I'm eating more than most here. And the kids all get three traditional meals a day (more to come).