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In the early morning of inauguration day, villagers prepare the
bridge, decorated in American and Ethiopian flags, for the ceremonial
opening.
Once
they arrived at the site, they planned to follow the "bottom
up" strategy recommended earlier: approach the respected elders
of villages on both sides of the broken bridge to seek their permission
and blessing. However, before they had an opportunity to travel
anywhere, a delegation of 16 elders appeared at the river to talk
about the bridge. They offered their overwhelming support, a trend
that continued during three different meetings with more than 60
leaders at villages on both sides of the Blue Nile.
The
results were nothing short of amazing in an area where the only
means of "fast" communication are telegraph wires and
human messengers who serve as runners from one village to the next.
Village elders flooded the state capital with messages urging the
government to approve the bridge repair project. "We had the
permit in hand within two weeks after returning to the U.S.,"
Frantz said.
Through
the Internet, Ken and Forrest discovered Sahale, a Seattle company
that specializes in the design, engineering, construction, and repair
of remote pedestrian bridges like those found on mountain hiking
trails. Sahale did the design at cost, to meet two main requirements.
The bridge would have to be strong, as Bridges to Prosperity would
have no control over how many people and animals used the span at
once. "At the same time, it would have to be transportable—something
that could be broken down and be thrown on the back of donkeys,"
Forrest explained.
After
the design was complete, the bridge's lightweight steel trusses were
fabricated in Turin, Italy. Then, early last February, they were shipped
via boat to the nearest seaport, located in the country of Djibouti,
from there by train to Addis Ababa, and finally by truck and jeep
to the trailhead. |
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Perhaps
the most touching story to come out of Ken Frantz's journey
to Ethiopia is that of a 12-year-old girl named Banchamlak.
During their initial survey trip, the Bridges to Prosperity
delegation made an overnight stay in a nearby village.
Banchamlak's father asked if the visitors could help the
girl, who was accidentally burned from her forearm to
her shoulder years earlier. With no doctors to care for
her, the burn formed scar tissue that held her arm permanently
locked at a 90-degree angle, severely limiting her most
basic activities.
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