Art auction for Ethiopia
Ric Foxley knows how difficult it is to cross a river in Ethiopia, and he’s doing something about it.
The man from Ashhurst is promoting an art auction so that a bridge can be built to make the crossing a lot safer.
‘‘The river is down a steep little gully. When I’ve been there you can just hop across rocks, but in the rainy season it would be 2 metres deep,’’ Foxley said.
‘‘You’ve got this horrible scramble down one side ... the other side isn’t so bad.’’
Foxley started a charity called Bricks for Life after meeting Amlaku Teshome while he was travelling in Ethiopia in 2009. The money raised by the charity has helped Teshome work on various projects for his village, Baregota, including rebuilding houses and improving agricultural practices.
All proceeds raised from the auction will be used to build a pedestrian bridge across a river that divides the village.
Villagers cross the river daily, as it effectively splits the village in two, with some housing, the church on one side and the remainder of the houses and the grain mill on the other.
The river crossing is also used by those travelling further into the hinterland, and Foxley estimates it is used by 10,000 people a year.
‘‘People are back and forth all the time,’’ he said.
The auction, aptly named To Ethiopia With Love, will feature donated pieces from artists such as John Tidball and Colin Hoare. Organiser and Bricks for Life committee member Helen Pratt estimates there are 50 pieces of work for sale, including a piece she painted herself.
Initially, Foxley had a vision that the bridge could be built by the locals with wood from gum trees around the village. However, he soon realised the village would need a bridge designed by engineers, so he reached out to Bridge the Gap Africa, an American organisation that specialises in building footbridges across dangerous rivers.
The 30-metre long bridge will cost $100,000 to build.
Pratt hopes Bricks for Life can raise close to half of that amount at the auction.
The auction is at the Honda Cars Manawatu¯ showroom at Main St. It will start at 5.30pm on Thursday. Members of the public are welcome to view the art in the days leading up to the auction between 9am and 4pm.