 Against the backdrop of a banner made by local villagers, reading "Long
Live to [sic] Bridges to Prosperity," Ethiopian Orthodox priests
celebrate during the bridge inauguration with drums and centuries-old
biblical songs of joy.
Ken Frantz, his nephew, Brett, and friends Randy and Gary
returned to the site to supervise the bridge construction. The
movement of 25,000 pounds of concrete, steel, and gear required
that 25 donkeys and 50 porters make several trips between the
trailhead and the bridge site.
Bridges to Prosperity hired local villagers to work on various
aspects of the construction project, distributing the work equally
between villages. All of this was coordinated by another key
volunteer, Zoe Keone. She served as photographer, videographer,
payroll master, menu coordinator, and dispute resolution manager,
along with many other tasks.
Keone also oversaw the start-up and operation of a free medical
clinic staffed by an Ethiopian doctor and a nurse originally hired
to handle construction injuries. During construction, the clinic
treated 1,000 people from nearby villages, with the waiting line at
times growing to more than 500.
The bulk of the bridge repair involved masonry work, followed by
assembly of the bridge, which was pulled manually by ropes into
place over the broken section. The entire project, scheduled to
take two weeks, was completed in 10 days.
Once the bridge was finished, Frantz held an inauguration
ceremony that drew 1,000 people who celebrated the moment with
dances, singing, and speeches. In a touching display of affection,
villagers brought him gifts of eggs—a precious commodity in a land
where many suffer from malnutrition.
 Ken Frantz thanks a little girl for a gift of eggs she has brought for the Ferenji, the foreigners.
Frantz originally estimated that reopening the bridge would
increase trade in the region from $300,000 per year to $3 million
annually. He now believes that total is likely to be much greater.
Such economic benefit is at the heart of the Bridges to Prosperity
mission statement, which reads, in part: "We believe improved
access to markets brings about more trade, and more trade improves
economic prosperity."
As the construction party hiked out of the area, Frantz noted
some interesting traffic moving in the opposite direction: Porters
carrying sheet metal headed for villages across the bridge to
modernize old grass huts, and a large caravan of mules loaded with
goods to be sold on the other side.
This is the true story of the bridge, Frantz said—the resulting
increase in trade between villages and the economic benefit for
people who so desperately needed to transport their goods easily
from one place to another.
Many people want to aid poor countries and are often moved by
images of starving children, Frantz added. But Bridges to
Prosperity is "doing something that has long-lasting benefit for
those starving children, that allows them to help themselves inside
their own country."
Bridges to Prosperity has completed three other small pedestrian
bridge projects, including two in Nepal and one in Indonesia. A
second Ethiopian bridge, across another portion of the Blue Nile
River, is in the design stage.
And to come full circle on the magazine photo that started it
all, National Geographic featured Frantz's work to repair
the Second Portuguese Bridge in its October 2002 issue.
Teresa Wippel is a Seattle free
lance writer.
Zoe Keone is a professional
photographer based in Gig Harbor, Washington.
For more information on Bridges to
Prosperity, click here.
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