I have the privilege to travel abroad quite frequently and every time I visit another country, my eyes are opened to the way things are done there. At the same time, I can’t help but compare what I see with the way we do things here.

 I recently visited an Asian country and took the opportunity to make a tour with a guide. Normally I travel around making my own bookings and planning my own visits but this time I wanted to take a more relaxed approach and leave all the planning and logistics to somebody who knows his or her ways around. And it paid off. Admittedly, when you first meet the person, you will depend on during the next few days, it takes some time to get used to a new accent develop a common understanding and clarify expectations. In the course of the first day my initial apprehension changed into acceptance as we went underway, and I noticed his safe driving style and a keen interest in what I wanted to see and learn during this trip. Over the next few days, it turned out to become a wonderful experience, during which I felt safe, understood, and given real value for money. We developed a warm relationship, and, in the end, I completely trusted him. It was somewhat emotional to say goodbye when he dropped me off at the airport. Friendly, caring, problem solving, professional, are some of his qualities that came to my mind.

It made me remember the multiple occasions during which head office colleagues from the organizations I have worked for during my career, used to come over for project visits. They would also have their apprehension, assumptions, and pre-conceived opinions about the progress of the project and the capability of the project team. More often than not they expressed concerns about communication, late reporting, lack of progress, and missing deadlines, not being aware of the real situation on the ground and the challenges faced during project implementation. Things change though, from the moment the visitors are picked up from the airport, introduced to the office and offered the first Ethiopian coffee and lunch. Hospitality after all is one of our great assets! Next comes the actual project visit, travelling by air and road, during which the visitors, become dependent on us, the project team, and the communities we are working with. The team will be friendly, caring and solving problems all the way, making the visit as comfortable as possible. Back in the main office in the city, feedback from the visitors often included appreciation for the way all was organised, their wellbeing taken care of and the capacity of the team to carry out their work. Now the situation on the ground and the challenges faced were understood. The visit turned out a real eye opener so to speak. Also here, bidding farewell, is filled with emotions.

I imagine similar processes developing when tourists visit this country, finding themselves in the hands of their tour guide for several days. After all this is the land where the smile is at home and where we bend over backwards to make our visitors comfortable.

Our hospitality and capacity to take care of visitors is really something to be proud of. And there is more.

Now, I realise the country and the people are facing difficult political and economic challenges. Conflict, insecurity, corruption, and inflation come to mind. Doing business has become quite challenging and families find it difficult to make ends meet. Choices must be made.

So, it is understandable to be discouraged and to be negative about many issues. I must admit that as I was returning to the country last week, I was apprehensive about a number of things that I knew were going to come my way. But as I approached immigration, I was welcomed back with a smile, and going down the stairs, our luggage was already on the belt. We were on our way home in the country of thirteen months of sunshine! At home we were greeted by typical Ethiopian breakfast dishes, we had missed for a while.

As the week began, I knew I had to renew my driving license and I dreaded going through that process. After all, two years ago, this was a very cumbersome and time-consuming undertaking. After getting my medical report from the neighbourhood medical clinic in the morning, I went to the road authority office in the afternoon, where I was told that they did not take on new cases in the afternoon and that I should come back early next day. My apprehension was confirmed, and my heart already sank on my way to the licensing office early next morning. I arrived at 8am and I was surprised there were hardly any other customers. I got my service number and noticed there were only five others before me. Before too long it was my turn and I was served at the window, made my payment, and was advised to sit and wait. I sat down next to an Ethiopian gentleman, and we started a casual conversation. It turned out he had the same worries as me, remembering the process of two years ago, and he made sure he turned up at 7am to queue. He said he must have been even more worried than me as he was there much earlier. We had a laugh; his name was called, and he took off happily with his renewed license. Mine followed minutes later and I was back on the street within half an hour!

Now, I realise that these are only a few small positive experiences, that do not weigh out major challenges that many face, but still. Celebrating positive experiences really help compensate some of the discouraging issues that come our way. So let us look for the positive things in life. And as I mentioned earlier, there are many. The Ethiopian hospitality, culture, food, nature, the greatest coffee in the world, young new talents, and musicians. Watch and listen for example to Yohana Sahle on YouTube, to mention one. There is a whole generation of young people ready to make their footprint in society. Let us celebrate and encourage them. The future is theirs. Remain positive!         

Ton Haverkort