THE WHERE
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

NAME
DEBBIE BUZUAYEHU

I grew up going to church​ ​in​ ​my​ ​home​ ​country Addis​ ​Ababa,​ ​Ethiopia.​ ​It​ ​means​ ​alot​ ​to​ ​me​ ​because​ ​it’s​ ​a​ ​church​ ​I​ ​went​ ​to​ ​at​ ​every​ ​stage​ ​of​ ​my​ ​life,​ ​and​ ​still​ ​go​ ​to when​ ​I​ ​go​ ​home​ ​for​ ​break.​ ​​ ​The​ ​internal​ ​memory​ ​that​ ​sparks​ ​in​ ​my​ ​mind​ ​everytime​ ​I​ ​see​ ​this​ ​gray​ ​brick​ ​structure,​ ​is heart​ ​warming,​ ​pleasant,​ ​and​ ​overall​ ​pure.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​where​ ​my​​ ​mother,​ ​five​ ​siblings,​ ​and​ ​I​ ​​ ​would​ ​go​ ​to​ ​after​ ​our nightly​ ​routine​ ​of​ ​walking​ ​around​ ​our​ ​neighborhood.​ ​We​ ​did​ ​that​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​growing​ ​up,​ ​after​ ​dinner​ ​my​ ​mom​ ​would​ ​get​ ​us to​ ​take​ ​a​ ​walk​ ​as​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to​ ​stay​ ​active.​ ​We​ ​would​ ​usually​ ​stop​ ​by​ ​the​ ​church​ ​but​ ​it​ ​wasn’t​ ​always​ ​planned.​ ​The​ ​church compound​ ​would​ ​be​ ​empty,​ ​and​ ​my​ ​mom​ ​would​ ​set​ ​up​ ​the​ ​rules​ ​of​ ​the​ ​game,​ ​‘Akukulu’.​ ​At​ ​this​ ​point​ ​and​ ​time​ ​I​ ​can no​ ​longer​ ​recall​ ​the​ ​rules​ ​of​ ​the​ ​game,​ ​but​ ​I​ ​just​ ​remember​ ​my​ ​sibling​ ​and​ ​I​ ​running​ ​circles​ ​around​ ​the​ ​church.​ ​It’s honestly​ ​one​ ​of​ ​my​ ​favorite​ ​memories,​ ​and​ ​It​ ​reminds​ ​me​ ​of​ ​the​ ​amazing​ ​upbringing​ ​I​ ​had.