3. Mingi

I’m standing in the middle of a playground at Omo Child, a non-profit shelter for rescued Mingi children.  A little girl runs right to me, as if she knows me, and gently intertwines her tiny fingers with my fingertips.  “Hello, sweet girl,” I say.  “Who are you?”  She stares up at me with her big brown eyes, and my heart melts.  It’s hard to believe that this beautiful little girl was almost killed after being labeled “Mingi”.  The word is new to me, and so is the powerful superstition behind it that is prevalent in southwest Ethiopia.  For centuries, many tribes here have believed in a “curse” upon children if they are born out of wedlock, born a twin, or even more unfathomable, if a child’s upper teeth develop before the lower teeth.  Tribal elders believe that drought, famine or disease will plague their village if the “Mingi-cursed” child is allowed to live, so all three circumstances mandate that the child be killed in one of five different ways.  Looking down at this sweet face, I can’t imagine tribal elders either drowning her in a river, throwing her off a cliff, tying her to a tree and leaving her in the wild, suffocating her, or abandoning her and letting her starve to death.  But that’s what custom dictates.  The thought brings tears to my eyes.  It’s one of the difficult realities I’m trying to comprehend as I learn about the many communities and rituals here.  Our photography group had the privilege of meeting Lale Labuko, a humanitarian and one of the co-founders of Omo Child.  At the age of fifteen, Lale learned that his two older sisters were deemed “Mingi” and killed.  This information changed the trajectory of his life, as he vowed to one day do something about the practice.  Last night at our educational dinner, he shared his inspirational story of how Omo Child has rescued 37 children, one of whom was the little girl who just ran up to me.  “She seems to like you,” one of the nannies says.  “Well I’m crazy about her.  She’s precious, and I think she’s going to take me somewhere.”  We continue holding hands as she slowly leads me around the playground, weaving between the other children who are having fun.  Laughter fills the air, and the environment is very playful and welcoming.  As I see the healthy, happy faces of the children around me, it’s troubling to think about the hundreds of children who lose their lives every year before they’ve even begun.  Lale and his team are working diligently to change that.  Two years ago, Lale’s own tribe, the Kara, banned Mingi in their 5,000-person community.  Though that accomplishment will save many lives for generations to come, Lale also hopes the Hamar and Benna tribes will soon follow suit.  Together, their communities total more than 100,000 people, and in his words, “that day can’t come soon enough.”  But there are other challenges ahead of him.  The foundation needs donations to keep the children in school, food in their tummies, and a roof over their heads.  As Lale works to abolish Mingi practices in the Omo Valley, he also works to spread awareness and raise money.  I could feel his genuine passion for helping the children and families who currently have no choice but to abide by the custom.  He knows that almost every day, a child is being killed and that it needs to stop.