Stephanie Gibson, Program Assistant Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—I arrived in Addis on Wednesday accompanied by a Holt board member who often travels to assist with medical checkups on children in Holt’s programs. 
Massi, who was hired to help escort the first of our adoptive families, greeted us at the airport. Those families will begin to arrive Thursday evening. The Union Hotel (also known as the “guesthouse”) is about 35 minutes away from the airport—it takes an hour with traffic. The road is only partly paved, and along the side of the road much construction is underway. By next year, this road should be fully paved.
After briefly settling in at the guesthouse we were escorted to Holt’s new Transitional Center for children. A former private residence, this house is enormous, with multiple children’s rooms, office space, housing for the nannies, and a wonderful balcony where children can play outside. I am amazed at the convenience of the guesthouse to the Transitional Center—directly next door. The children are happy, playful and very warm and welcoming to us as guests.
During this day and the next, medical checkups will be conducted on children in care, and I will learn how document processing is completed in the Ethiopia office and share the processes completed in the Eugene office.
Everyone eagerly awaits the arrival of our first families coming to escort their children home.
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