Poverity is rife in Ethiopia. The United Nations ranks it amongst the poorest countries in the world. For many, the Nile is the source of hope and salvation. It was humbling to witness the strength of their belief. -Some people might think that worshiping a river or just the source of the river sounds a little bit of exotic. Shall we say? This river is a life-giver. It provides water for and irrigates the fields of tens of millions of people. So to me, in any way, it makes perfect sense to celebrate any worshiping.

-We are from the Nile.

The source is mroe than 8,000 feet above the sea level. As it trickles and tumbles down hill, the water widens into a river, as it's joined by more streams from the highlands.

-Thank goodness! It's grown a bit already.

Since more than a million people died during drought and famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s, many think of this is a dry country. But during the rainy season, this river will swell6 ten fold. Ethiopia provides more than 80 percent of the total flow of the Nile.