July, 2018

Kamp Kurat, a weekend heritage camp for families with children from Ethiopia, began the summer of 2014.  Our inaugural weekend was held at Somerset Beach Campground, about 1 hour west of Ann Arbor, MI. We launched our camp with two main hopes: To celebrate Ethiopia and to build friendships.

Who is “we?”  This camping weekend is what you’d call a labor of love. It’s planned by volunteers; parents with children adopted from Ethiopia, along with help from friends at ENAHPA (a Michigan-based nonprofit that provides medical care to the people of Ethiopia) and members of Michigan's Ethiopian community.

Our camp started with a conversation between two people, myself and Dr. Ingida, a Detroit physician and founder of ENAHPA, and also my friend. He had just returned from a medial mission to Hawassa where ENAHPA has built a maternal and child health hospital to a region of nearly 1 million medically underserved people. We talked about how adoption is perceived in Ethiopia and how many wonder and worry about what happens when the children move away… will they remember their first home?  As a mother, I’m forever trying to find age-appropriate ways to keep my son connected to his birth culture.  I want very much to help him grow into a proud Ethiopian-American man.  But there is only so much I can do alone. Dr. Asfaw and I agreed that maybe we would make a good team. Like the Ethiopian proverb says, “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion." 

After 4 years, with guidance from ENAHPA and the help of Facebook groups, local Ethiopian restaurants, churches, college students and lots and lots of good people, Kamp Kurat has become and annual event that brings together the gifts of over 150 people.  

We hope you'll consider joining us. 

Amasagnalahu,

​Carrie and the Kamp Kurat Planning Team