Drawn From Water

The people of the Kara tribe have a tradition-rich culture. It is informed by customs and beliefs dating back hundreds of years.  Because of their geographical isolation from developing areas, changes in the ways they think about their society occur very slowly. Very superstitious, the tribe lives in fear of evil spirits who can bring ill fortune to the tribe. The Kara use the word Mingi to describe subjects they consider cursed or otherwise imperfect. There are many different ways in which a thing may be considered Mingi; but there are a few that are more common and have severe consequences. One example is when a woman becomes pregnant outside of marriage. Parents and tribal elders still hold all the power in arranging marriages. A female goes to the man with the highest bid, which is on average, 120 goats or sheep, and most of the time its not the man she loves. Without the tribes blessing, some young couples in love become pregnant outside of a marriage. A second example of Mingi is when a married couple becomes pregnant before announcing their intention to the rest of the tribe. The parents must notify the tribe they are trying to conceive; otherwise any pregnancy isconsidered illegitimate.  Another example is when a childs top teeth come in before the bottom teeth.  In the Kara tribe it is very rare for a child’s top teeth to come in first, and they see this as a bad omen for the entire tribe. The Kara believe that the presence of Mingi children on their land curses the tribe.  Their solution to this perceived threat is to kill the child.

On a previous visit to the tribes villages, I was introduced to a woman six months pregnant with a Mingi child who knew she would be ordered to have it killed soon after its birth. Overwhelmed already by learning of this terrible process, I couldn’t believe how difficult it was just to ask her how she felt. She tried to be emotionally unattached because the issue of her motherhood had been decided; she knew no other option for the child.  However, as she spoke, the tears began to gather in the corners of her dark eyes. To know that you have to kill the child that is growing inside you must be harder then anything I can imagine.  I felt a conviction to search for another solution.

When our team arrived in Ethiopia in January, four of us headed south to meet with Lale, a Kara tribesman. Having completed his university education in Ethiopia, he is considered one of the most educated people inside the Kara tribe. Recently, Lale also attended a Youth With a Mission discipleship training school in Herrnhut, Germany.  He is the reason we know about the Mingi belief of the Kara.  This issue is a huge burden on Lale’s heart. He had a vision to convince the tribal elders to surrender these children to an orphanage he would oversee. This action would save lives while he goes about the diplomatic process of convincing his tribe that their belief is baseless.  The need is urgent.  Lale estimates that 75 children are killed every year.  It is our hope and Lale’s that his orphanage would exist only as long as it takes to help the tribe see that these children are a blessing and not a curse.  With Gods intervention, these children would eventually be returned to their parents arms.

We drove back to Addis Ababa, where the rest of our team was waiting to hear an update.  We shared that to run this orphanage Laleestimated he would need 2,000 Euros for the initial start-up expenses and then 1,000 Euros a month to sustain the operation. Two days later, after much discussion and prayer concerning the fate of six Mingi children expected to die soon, all 28 of us decided to travel south to the tribes villages. The plan was assist Lale by being with him while he took custody of the first child and then establish the orphanage. However, the team members had to be ferried down 11 people at a time due to only having two Land Cruisers to navigate the dirt roads.  Lale was unable to meet with us as soon as we expected due to travel delays

While most of the team was in one village of the tribe, they felt that God was telling them that they needed to go to the main village to pray for the Mingi child in danger.  Six of them made the three-hour journey there on foot in 120 degrees heat.  Lale’s good friend, Ari, took them to a man who had a daughter named Bale with Teeth Mingi that he had been hiding for five months.  It was expected that in two days the elders would kill her.  The six joined the rest of the team and they all started praying that Lale, Ruth, and I would show up the next day with the Land Cruiser and a decision about what to do.

The next day, Ruth and I showed up in our vehicle; but Lale was still a days travel away.  The time for waiting was over.  As a team of 28, it was a unanimous decision to go and rescue the child with Ari standing in for Lale.  There was no way any of us were going to let this little girl be killed if we could help it.  The next morning, six of us took the Land Cruiser to go pick her up her.  We stood on the bank of the Omo River waiting for the canoe that would bring the parents and the child out from their hiding place.  When they arrived, we sat down with the family; and the leader of the family, the father’s uncle, was very happy that we would be taking the child.  You could tell that the father was very involved in his daughter’s life as he played with her as we talked.  The mother’s eyes were dull and she looked as though she lacked all emotional capacity to handle the situation.  I couldn’t stop watching her; I sat there trying to imagine what she might be feeling.  Towards the end of the conversation, I asked Ari if the mother had anything she wanted to say.  Up to this point, only the father and uncle had been talking.  Everyone around us laughed a little at this and you could tell that women do not have much of a voice in this tribe.  Her answer; “If my husband and uncle say it’s good, for me its no problem.”

The uncle handed me the little girl and told us it was time to leave.  I shook as I maneuvered into the front seat of the Land Cruiser with the little girl in my arms.  As we drove off, I kept asking God, How could anyone want to kill this beautiful little girl?  Bale is one of the biggest blessings that has ever touched my life.  She is so bold and full of curiosity for a girl of 18 months.  She birthed a passion and determination in our team to not let any more children die because of Mingi.

When Lale arrived the next day, he saw the child in my arms and said, “Now you really know how I feel, don’t you?  He knew our newborn desire to protect these children had matured into a deep, guiding love once the reality of the situation sunk in.

Lale, Abril, and I headed off a few days later to pick up five more children.  Despite many obstacles, we were able rescue all five kids.  Though their ages range from four months to five years, they all felt the impact of leaving their families.  Our hearts cry out for the day they can be welcomed back into the tribe.  When we arrived, Lale, his wife, Gito, and the women who care for them were ready to give them baths and feed them. These people, who we believe are charged by God to protect these children, are amazing with these kids and care for them wonderfully.

Now, moths later there is an NGO run children’s home set up.  Lale continues to run things on the ground in Ethiopia and there is also a family that moved there from California to help him with the running of the children’s home.  There is a church in California that came behind us and really supported this project.  They are still very involved and set up a website to allow donations to go through them directly to Drawn From Water.

You can read more updates and donate through: http://www.drawnfromwater.org/ and http://drawnfromwater.showitsite.com/