How to get a taste of Ethiopia in Corvallis (no treks to Portland required)

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It’s been three years since the Corvallis Sister Cities Association – Gondar Council has held its annual fundraiser centered around Ethiopian food, “A Taste of Ethiopia.”

With the nearest Ethiopian restaurant in Portland (and a food truck in Eugene), it’s one of the few ways to get your hands on some Ethiopian food locally, unless you make it yourself.

But more than the feast — and oh, will it be a feast — Karen Sundseth is looking forward to the camaraderie of people interested in what the organization does.

“It’s just a fun night,” said Sundseth, who is vice president of the Sister Cities Association – Gondar who chairs the fundraiser scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 29 at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 4515 SW West Hills Road, Corvallis.

“We don’t really raise a whole bunch of funds. We call it a cultural awareness raising,” she said.

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What partakers will learn is about a culture that doesn’t extend a lot of books to students. There just aren’t enough to go around. So, the teachers lecture, and the students take notes. And if they’re lucky, there may be few textbooks that remain in the classroom.

Enter Corvallis residents, who since 2005 have been fundraising for books, teacher training and well-building. So far, 21 water wells have been built, and now they’re needing upgrades, which again requires money.

Patty Harris, who chairs the Gondar Council, can hardly believe her luck in finding the organization. Ten years ago, she was living in Alaska, looking to adopt a child from her native country, Chile.

But it was not that easy at the time. She had friends who had good experiences adopting from Ethiopia. Her daughter, now 10, was born in, you guessed it, Gondar.

Fast-forward to six years ago, when her husband, Scott, was applying to get his Ph.D. in forestry from Oregon State University, and Harris learned about Corvallis’ sister cities.

“I think we became members when we were still living in Alaska,” she said. “He’s done now. We love it (Corvallis), so we stayed.”

Harris’ daughter has inspired her to learn to cook Ethiopian food, though Eleni Woldeyes, who caters and offers Ethiopian cooking classes in Portland, will provide all the food.

Despite not throwing the big to-do for the past three years, the organization has managed to keep pushing its programs, Sundseth said.

“We never slowed down,” she said.

Of course, the sister city’s sister group, Corvallis Sister’s City Association – Uzhhorod, Ukraine, has taken center stage with Russia’s invasion of that country.

But Gondar, a city of 300,000 in the north part of Ethiopia, is also experiencing political unrest — so much so that Corvallis residents have been unable to make a trip to bring more books and supplies to the kindergarten program they helped launch there.

Books and literacy will be a big focus of the event on Sunday. The guest speaker is Ellenore Angelidis, executive director of Seattle-based Open Hearts, Big Dreams, who started the nonprofit after her Ethiopian-born daughter astonishedly pointed out during a pilgrimage to her native country that the children there had no access to books.

With her will be award-winning children’s author Jane Kurz of Portland, who will sign and sell books.

“I love the food, but it’s just thrilling to see all the people gather,” Sundseth said.

Harris agreed. She’s most looking forward to “seeing everybody in the community — and to share the food.”

And about that food, here’s the menu:

Tikel Gomen (cabbage dish)

Misir Wot (red lentil dish)

Kik Alicia Wot (yellow split pea dish)

Teff injera (traditional gluten-free Ethiopian bread)

Tickets cost $30 for adults and $10 for students ages 7-18; children 6 and younger are free. They’re available at Grass Roots, by text at 541-231-9824 or online at https://sistercities.corvallis.or.us/a-taste-of-ethiopia. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the program starts at 5:30 p.m.

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