A northeast Portland blogger travels to Ethiopia to witness the effect of foreign aid

Asha Dornfest (center) and Kelly Wickham, (at right) dance with children from the Mary Joy Aid Through Development Association in Addis Ababa. The group works with orphans and the elderly affected by HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The women were both participants in the ONEMoms trip to Ethiopia in October.

Asha Dornfest was surprised to see green rolling hills dotted with wildflowers on her recent trip to Ethiopia.

Dornfest, who lives in Northeast Portland and writes the blog Parent Hacks, traveled to Ethiopia in October as part of a ONEMoms delegation. ONEMoms is a program of ONE, an organization co-founded by the rock musician Bono, of the band U2, to fight preventable disease and poverty worldwide, but primarily in Africa.

Before the trip, Dornfest's knowledge of Ethiopia, on the African continent's east coast in the Horn of Africa, was limited to images of famine, drought and civil war. While she did encounter the effects of these hardships, she was most impressed by the health of the landscape and resilience of the people.

"They are so full of hope, and so full of joy, as well. There was such evidence of leadership and creativity in every place we visited," said Dornfest, who has written about raising children on her blog since 2005. Her book, "Minimalist Parenting," comes out in March.


Dornfest joined the ONEMoms advisory board in spring 2012 after reading about a trip the group took to Kenya. She was honored to join the Ethiopia trip with a dozen other mothers, mostly bloggers and social media experts, to act as an eyewitness to the positive impacts that foreign aid has had on the country.

Ginny Wolfe, senior director of strategic relationships for ONE, said the goal of the ONEMoms program is to connect American mothers with women and their families in the developing world.

"There is this kind of universal connection among moms around the world," Wolfe said. "These trips give women a firsthand look at the challenges, as well as the successes and the joy and the warmth of the people, and the reasons we need to keep supporting these programs."

During their eight days in Ethiopia, ONEMoms got a tour of facilities funded by local organizations as well as those fueled by international aid and private foreign investments. They visited schools in the poor areas of Addis Ababa and in the rural town of Mojo, where girls are getting access to levels of education they have never had.

The also visited the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, which provides free surgery to about 2,500 women each year; the Mary Joy Aid Through Development Association, which works with orphans and the elderly affected by HIV/AIDS and other diseases; and the FashionABLE factory, where women once involved in the commercial sex industry now earn a living making scarves.

Back home with her husband and two kids, Dornfest will use her blog to amplify the importance of the work she saw.

"I realized how powerful this social media platform is to tell the story and share what's happening over there with my community. It's about raising awareness and taking action, being open to the idea that you can make a difference," Dornfest said. "When everyone's voice comes together, big things happen."

www.oregonlive.com