There is no Me Without You

I just finished reading a book- There is no Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene.  The subtitle is- One Woman’s Odyssey to Rescue Her Country’s Children.  This is a powerful story.

The book (non-fiction) is an account of Haregewoin Teferra.  She is a middle-class, middle aged, Ethiopian housewife when her husband dies very suddenly and very unexpectedly.  Shortly after his death she also loses one of her two adult daughters.  Haregewoin’s grief is deep and devastating.  She decides to become a cloistered woman and go into solitude.  The priest tells her that before she enters the cloister he needs her help.  He has a young boy who is an orphan, living on the streets since his parents died of HIV/AIDS.  The boy needs a place to live, some food, and some supervision in his life.  To the shock and dismay of her friends and family Haregewoin takes the boy into her home.  Before she knows it the priest is back with a young girl.  Then there are the twins, then more children, younger children, healthy children, sick children.  The police bring kids they find on the street.  Neighbors bring abandoned babies, parents on the verge of death leave their children at her gate to praying she will take them in and care for them. 

Before long Haregewoin is running an orphanage.  This woman who knew nothing of AIDS or politics or international adoption is a full blown entrepreneur changing the course of her country and the lives of thousands of children and families.

The book raises differing sides of some complex issues.  While it doesn’t debate the issues it at least asks the questions about international adoption and the effects on nations and children.  It addresses the harsh realities of poverty in Ethiopia, one of the poorest nations in the world.  The author also provides heart breaking statistics about the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the efficacy of anti viral drugs, and the prohibitive costs that allow thousands and thousands of fathers, mothers and children to die.

Haregewoin is not a saint and she is not perfect.  She makes mistakes and she makes a difference.  Her story is moving, heartwarming, infuriating and captivating.  I am glad I read it before we arrive in Addis Ababa and I begin to meet these children who changed this woman’s life and I am confident will change mine as well.