Camp Sodo G-GLOW: I Want You!

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to camp we go!

Camps are a BIG part of Peace Corps. And by BIG, I mean HUGE. GIGANTIC, even. This summer, in Peace Corps countries throughout the world PCVs will come together with campers for a week full of activities, learning, sports, and (hopefully) campfires. Camp (G)GLOW–(Guys and) Girls Leading Our World– is a camp focused on gender equality and female empowerment, an issue important in most Peace Corps countries, especially in Ethiopia.

Traditionally females in Ethiopia, as in many parts of the world, have been oppressed by their male counterparts. The women stay at home, look after the house and children, go to the market, prepare bunna, cook all meals, and remain ever obedient to their husbands. Child marriage (for girls), female genital mutilation (fgm), abuse, and fistula (a disease which is often an outcome of child marriage) have long been issues in Ethiopia– which now, thankfully, are on the decline. In recent years, the government has made gender equality a priority in Ethiopia, but often, in communities outside of the capital and larger cities, the oppression still exists. Working in the schools, I often see the manifestation of this issue. In class, girls are quiet and are afraid to answer questions. Female drop out rates are higher because girls leave school to help around the house. Around puberty many girls miss chunks of school because of “that time of the month”. Girls cannot take part on Health and Physical Education (HPE) and sports because traditionally they wear skirts. Female teachers cannot make it to trainings or clubs as often because of their responsibilities around the home. And the list goes on.

Camp G-GLOW is a chance to address these issues for girls and guys. Girls become empowered, and guys explore how they can support and respect girls. In addition to gender equality, Camp G-GLOW at Sodo will focus on HIV/AIDS eduction, health and hygiene, building leadership skills, and improving English education. 11 PCVs from across Southern Nations will come together to facilitate this camp and each PCV will bring 4 campers from their site. At the end of camp, the hope is that each of these students will return to their home-communities and not only put to practice what they learned, but to share that information with their friends and family.

So how can you join the G-GLOW movement? If you would like to help donate to camp, several volunteers and myself have made a wish list on Amazon full of the arts and crafts we were blessed with as children growing up in the USA. These things will be used to help facilitate different camp sessions and free time activities. If you would like to donate any of these materials you can email me (lnfeigh@gmail.com) and I will give you a shipping address in the United States! I’m coming home to visit in June and I’ll be bringing back a suitcase full of camp supplies, saving anyone that wants to help out the un-godly cost of shipping. You can access the link to the 2013 SNNPR Sodo Camp GLOW  wish list here. Together we can help empower girls and guys to make their world a better place. 

BAMM!

In my last post I ranted about the need for education in addition to funding for Malaria eradication, and I thought it was important to put my words into action. Thursday, April 25th was World Malaria Day and to celebrate I worked with several of my English Clubs to share with them the importance of Malaria prevention. I worked with 3 different clubs, around 150 students, at 2 different schools to discuss the importance of Malaria prevention and treatment, and in the end we came together for a poster competition with some high school students. Each session we began by playing a game in which we discussed Malaria myths vs. facts. Then I introduced some of the basic facts, prevention methods, and treatments for Malaria to the students. After the short lecture, the students grouped up and were instructed to perform a “drama” or skit to go along with a specific Malaria scenario they were given. Often I have difficulty with out-of-the-box activities like skits, but with a bit of Amharic explanation, the students did an amazing job grasping the material and presenting their skits! At the end of the day the students received a sheet of paper where they could draw a picture representing “how to prevent Malaria” which would be entered into a poster competition. The best artists would come up to Adarash (my main school) on Friday where (together with some high school students from Danna’s competition) they would recreate these pictures on flip chart paper. The winning pictures will then be displayed around the students’ schools for all to see (and hopefully learn)!

Another group busy planning away for World Malaria Day.

Working on posters for Yirgalem’s World Malaria Day poster competition

More poster contest winners working away to prevent Malaria

Director at Adarash checking out the work

The Real Question

A week ago Saturday I was working on some things for our upcoming Southern Nations Camp when outside I heard quite the commotion. My compound neighbor and closest friend in Yirgalem, Heiwot, was standing outside of her house while one of the compound kids, Abete, climbed through her window and began handing her things. When I inquired into the “chigger”, or problem, she told me that her husband, Belete, was in the hospital very sick with Malaria. Apparently, he also had the key, and she had come to the house to get clothes and such for him. As she left, I told her to tell him to izoh, be strong, and that I hope he was well soon.

In 2010, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 216 million people were diagnosed with Malaria and 655,000 people throughout the world died from this terrible disease. 91 percent of these world-wide deaths occurred in Africa. While 33 percent of Ethiopia remains safe from the disease due to the elevation, the other 66 percent of the country is at risk (62.8 million people), especially during large-scale epidemics which often occur ever 5-7 years. Throughout Ethiopia alone, about 1 percent of the population is estimated to die from Malaria each year, that’s about 938,000 people. This disease affects children the most, and it’s estimated that 1 in 11 children in Ethiopia will die before their 5th birthday (not just from Malaria, but it’s certainly one of the larger causes). Last year in Yirgalem, according to the local health officials, approximately 10 percent of the population was diagnosed with Malaria—and that’s just in town, not the rural areas where most people live. Due to these alarming rates Peace Corps volunteers in all sectors across the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, have been given the mission to help “stomp out” Malaria. This month in the Peace Corps world it’s Blog About Malaria Month (BAMM) and with World Malaria Day on April 25th I too have been trying to do my part to eliminate the horrible disease that is Malaria.

For those of you that are not in school for medicine, biostatistics, or teaching biology (shout out to Kate, Alice, and Lisa who could school me on this topic any day), Malaria is a parasite carried by the female Anopheles mosquito. The disease is transmitted at night through the bite of this specific mosquito. There are four different species of the parasite which causes Malaria and two of the species are common in Ethiopia, including Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly species. When a person has Malaria, it takes almost a week for the symptoms to appear; when these symptoms finally come on I’ve heard they are terrible. High fever, chills, headache, vomiting, body aches, the works. Once diagnosed, it’s pretty easy to treat, with a full dose of certain Malarial drugs. If not treated, Malaria can be and is deadly. The easiest ways to prevent Malaria are with a long-lasting insecticide treated net, Indoor Residual Spray, and certain medicines. The net is certainly one of the best says to prevent Malaria. The mosquito bites at night, and the net creates a physical barrier between the person and the mosquito. The insecticide kills the mosquito that may be infected with the parasite. Easy-peasy. Hang a net, avoid Malaria.

The question that plagues my mind every time I hear these statistics and prevention methods is: if Malaria can be easily prevented and treated, then why are so many people across the world and in Ethiopia still diagnosed with and dying from Malaria each year?

I shared the story about last weekend in hopes to give you a better glimpse into the larger problem. See, what I failed to mention is that Belete and Heiwot are both health professionals working in Yirgalem Hospital. He is the head nurse of the surgical ward and she works with the dentist. They are both continuing their education to gain further degrees in the medical field. They both understand how Malaria is transmitted. They both know how to prevent Malaria. They both see people that come to the hospital with Malaria. They both know people that have had Malaria. They both know that you can die from Malaria. Yet both of them sleep each night without a mosquito net.

A few days after Belete and Heiwot returned from the hospital I asked them each why they don’t have a mosquito net. Heiwot replied that Belete didn’t get Malaria from Yirgalem, he was infected at a training in Arba Minch. My landlady, an older upper-middle class woman, overheard our conversation and thought she’d inform me that Malaria does not exist in Yirgalem. She is wrong. I shared with her the statistic I learned from my site mate Danna, who works at the local health center: last year 10 percent of the residents of Yirgalem were diagnosed with Malaria. She was shocked. She asked Heiwot if this was true, if Malaria in fact existed in Yirgalem. Heiwot corroborated my statistic, but stuck to her belief that Belete got Malaria from Arba Minch. After all, Arba Minch has many more mosquitos. Never mind the fact that it only takes one mosquito to transmit Malaria and the symptoms take over a week to present. When I questioned Belete, he gave me a sheepish look and just kind of shrugged. He knows he should use one. He just doesn’t.

In doing research for this blog I came across statistics saying that over 80 percent of Ethiopian homes have nets, but the entire time I’ve lived in Ethiopia, I’ve been invited into many Ethiopian homes and I’ve only ever seen one mosquito net. Even despite the fact that in most communities mosquito nets are meant to be plentiful and free (in Yirgalem the local health center has no nets currently, but they expect to get a new shipment of nets in September). When I ask Ethiopians about the lack of nets they always tell me the same answers: our town does not have Malaria (despite the health statistics), mosquito nets are uncomfortable, I do not get Malaria, I have immunity (even though Malaria immunity goes away quickly, especially in Ethiopia), minamin. I’ve been given every excuse and told every myth is fact. Did you know that holy water cures Malaria? Or that you can treat yourself with Malaria?

Despite these dismal observations and statistics, I still think there is hope that Ethiopia can one day eradicate Malaria. Malaria eradication has only recently become a priority for organizations like the WHO and others who work to combat diseases across Africa and the world. Funding for Malaria initiatives has increased dramatically over the past few years, but I think it’s important that with this funding should not come alone. Funding should come with education. Throwing nets at people will not work if the people believe they’re not necessary. Education is the key. Education to combat these dangerous myths. Education prove that Malaria is a serious problem throughout Ethiopia. Education that teaches people how to correctly protect themselves from this dreadful disease. Education that shows people they can have a Malaria free future.

Cre-a-tiv-i-ty

Last Friday I had the honor of hosting the Yirgalem round of Peace Corps’ International Creative Writing Competition (ICWC to be PC, because everything in Peace Corps needs a good acronym). For the past semester I’ve branched out from my normal work at Adarash Elementary School to work with some of the Yirgalem High School students on creative writing. Creative writing–really just writing in general–is quite the foreign concept for most students in Ethiopia. Few students are expected to write formal essays, so asking them to write about abstract ideas poses many challenges.

Over the course of the semester I held writing workshops for interested students focusing on the basics of creative writing. I read many stories aloud: from Shel Silverstein to Dr. Seuss, and lead the students in practicing and creating their own stories from topics, pictures, and other students’ ideas. More than one time I was asked “Teacher, what is the purpose of this?” If I answered “It’s optional. To have fun and practice your English!” one more time I might have burst into a thousand tiny ferenji pieces. After a few lessons, though, certain students really latched on to the idea. Writing for fun? I don’t get graded? Someone will read what I have to say? What is this madness? 

The Friday of the competition, along with my counter part, I made my rounds through the spacious high school campus to round up stragglers that might be interested in English and/or writing. Come that afternoon I had 75 students waiting for me to begin the competition. I was astounded.

After an hour of writing I proudly collected the 75 crisp essays and set upon reading them immediately. Some of them were a bit dull, as expected. A blind person sees darkness because they cannot see. But others were brilliant! A conversation between dorro wat and kitfo? Death being compared to a thief. Several stories about life as a dog in Ethiopia. Sure the English spelling and grammar are not great (English is often their third language), but the ideas some students presented are a big step in the right direction.

But enough of my rambling on. Without further ado here are some of the winners from the 2013 Yirgalem ICWC:

12th Grade (If death were a person what would he/she be like?) Winner – Lidetu Kebede: aka my future James Joyce

            Why I am writing this article? sorry! You don’t know who I am, so how could you imagine what my though is, I also don’t know you either but I am writing… writing…

            If death was aperson, in my opinion, she would be agirl; why I am saying that? Because in nature girls are more beautiful than us. (you uderstand what my sex is… haha…) what type of girl?, you may ask. The most beautiful girl in the world. Why are you annoyed? Don’t be; ok! I wil tell you why I said that. Monalisa, which was painted by Davinchi, is assummed to be the priettiest girl, but Death is more than what she look like. Believe me. (everyone is writing. The writing hall is silent. I don’t know what they are writing. our manager- let us say him for the time being is strolling checking what we are doing. am one of the writers, so I am writting…)

            Death resembles Hamer Goldness ladies (By the way Hamer is a place which is located in south nation nationalities and peoples. They have spectacular culture. There dancing style is out standing! There dressing stye– woooooo! I swear I have never seen such an exciting dressing style in the world). Almost Death is aclone of these ladies. Many people think that white are beauty but blacks aren’t. We are beauty! As Martin said individual should be said ‘beauty’ or ‘ugly’ by their color skins. “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” as it is said. Death, as I said it earlier, is beautiful laddy. She is slim, she have dimples on both cheeks, have long hair (I have never seen and certaily I will not see such along hair). her lips are as red as apple, her breasts are standing like asoildier who is waiting his commander order inorder to martch…. what can I tell you… she has every thing what deserves for agirl. she, like Hamer ladies, use only Natural beauty keeping materials….. she didn’t believe in arteficality like many people do. (Lacy is collecting what students have just written… but I have many things o write. Lacy is beautiful woman but not so beautiful as death… hahaha… she is abit fat… but every time she smiles. “No one is ugly up on smiling!” who said that? I am so sorry. I forgot…)

            Many Human kinds inhabit this earth. for everly posetive action there will be another inverse or opposite action. There are people who are rich and poor, white and black, who rarly eats ones a day and who selects food type (balanced diet), wholeam in private modernize school and who learn outside class/ on  bare land/, who wears spectacular clothes and those that wear thread bare clothes… (I am crying… I remember my friend who don’t has any thing to wear),…. there are people in developed countries and their world countries…. there are human beings who live in street and those who live in avilla…. Do you know Cdumb’s Law? There are two charges in nature posetive and negative. There are two fronts in human beings life. (English is not my mother tongue, so how could I explain the running ideas inside? How? so please tell me the way? Language is a means to communication… I will try even am not good at both grammer and vocabulary. But I will try….. try….. “Don’t lose your hope!” is my life principle….)

            The beautiful girl death, the sweet young lady, the clone of Hamer girl…. make us all to be equal! I am 100% sure, there is nothing other than death who make people equal. “Equality of people… gender equality….” are word what I ‘m fed up w hearing. In the most democratic country like America, Britain,…. people are not equal. still in industralized countries equality is never and never. But the young lady death makes us equal. Carlos (the richest person (mexican) in the world) is equal with me. haha… I have no money in my pocket but he has more than $ 60,000,000,000! But he left all in this earth but goes “there” empty pocketed. Thanks to the young lady Death! Lacy is equal with Bill Gates through death! Congratulations Lacy! hahaha….

            Nothing in this world is with out any negative effect. Our mobile has an invaluable use but it has side effect…. every thing it has negative effect it also has posetive one. Devil by him self has posetive effect although his negativity exceeds…. oohhh! I am trying to pull your leg. the two exception  are God – who has only posetive effect and Devil, in contrast, has one negative effect. Death, the beautiful lady has negative effect… she may separate  two lovers, mother from her kid, aleader from his/her people… etc but she tooks their soul to “Heaven” or “Hell” depending on what they did on earth.. this is what I belive. why death servive? Because its good impact exceeds the bad one. “The fit will survive and the unfit will be eliminated!” as it said. (In front of mine there along black board. the plasma is by it… Lacy said only one more minute left… but i didn’t finish the history of my young lady… world is like this. some thing starts before other ends…. I may start something at home…. I have an appointment with my young lady,…. Death… I don’t know at what time! 

11th Grade (One thing I wish I could do that is not allowed is…) Runner-up – Aselefech Bekele My heart goes out to this girl.

One thing I wish I could do that is not allowed is… When I wish dance but htat is not allowed me why the Bible says that dance is sin When I am adancer I separet my God When I separeted My God all my vision is blinded when I separeted My God I seleued for Devil I seleued for devil that is the fire when the fire eats me I dead when I dead the sin I don’t stand for Jesus comes again when Jesus comes the end of the world at the end of the last I see something behind when the end of the world Jesus comes again When we sin is desteet so the dance is not allowed for me dance is sin.

9th Grade (What does the world look like through a dog’s eyes?) Winner – Psinat Mezgebu

The world Looks at me as a murder but I tink I am not. I relly Love my master. I tink he loves me two but I relize that the only person who loves me in this world is my master. I relize that when I was a baby dog my first master tride to kill me & I run away & now I live in my new masters hous who found me in the street. one day I was walking alon & I was so hungry. I had to eat some ting & I want to a reach person’s house, I look at him as a pity full baby dog. he took me to his home & geve me a delises food. I eat to much I slept all the night, at the morning. the reach person come to me & start to blam at me “why did you sleep all the night, you have to wak & watch the hous safe,” & I reliz that if I need to get some ting I have to give some ting., even if he is reach. he doesn’t have a good filling for Animals & that day my heart was broken I wished I would die at that time & I feel like I was alon in the world, I had noone to care for me the reach man kik me out of his hous even if he is reach he needed some ting from me. I sow the world as bad as the reach man, that day I was afraid at the next day I faud my new master he was so polite so Good to me, so I reliz that the world is like the to face of one coin. Good & bad. 

7th Grade (If the food in your fridge could talk what would it say?) Winner – Fitsum Belete: My primary school humorist.

The first one is Doro Wat and the second one is ctfo.

Doro wat – who are you?

ctfo – i am ctfo. Who are you.

Doro wat – i am doro wat. i am many times prfear use in holy days..

ctfo – i am in many time used in gurage and wolita sodo first slit a cut andthey take Red meat from the see and cut the meat. thy prepare butter. in the lost meat and Butter are miced and put on the stake and they can to eat. how do you prepare?

Doro wat – first slite the chicken and pick the wing. they wash my bodies. they cut my leg and my face. the preper onions. they cut my bodies in many times. they put on the stove and add the egg. in the last they eat me. Doro is very sweet food. Goodbye. i see again.

in the last i see they but they have not mouth and again shut the door. they talk each other and I am very amaizing. 

Just Do It: Peace Corps Challenge

Some of my wonderful friends here in Ethiopia came up with a Peace Corps Challenge, and my other dear friend Nora (http://alternatenavigations.wordpress.com) agreed to let me share hers with you. I share this game with you not to prove how difficult my life is, at this point it’s normal to me, but rather to share with you what so many people around the world live with every day. I’ll change up the prizes a bit: get 300 points and you get a wonderful letter, 500 gets you a small gift, and 770– well I don’t even know. Even if you don’t hit any of the prize levels, let me know which ones you tried and how it may have changed your views. God speed.  Lacy Ever wonder what its like to live as a Peace Corps Volunteer? Or why I have a wishlist of things I would love.love.love to receive here in Ethiopia? Some wonderful PCVs here in Ethiopia created the Peace Corps Challenge. And I think it’s such a wonderful idea, I appropriated from them and created my own version. So enjoy. Its hard work, but even in a connected, wonderfully accessible land like America, these things can be done. And oh, how inconvenient your life will be. But thats no reason not to try. All of these things are possible, yes, even in the first world. Some are one-time options which can be repeated at your leisure, yet others are highly encouraged for an entire week. These options are marked with a 1W. Best use of the Challenge: Pick one week, and cram as many challenge items into one single week as possible. You may pick and choose as you please. A la carte. Point values are assigned to each challenge item. For 1W items, you may only get the points if you do the item for an entire week. The maximum points you could possibly get is 770. If you get that, I will be absolutely astonished. However, if you get at least 500 points, document it for me, and send me your address, I will send you a present in the mail which will enable you to sport some Ethiopia pride. Send the appropriate documentation to norakreml[at]gmail.com. But honestly, if you even do any part of the challenge, I will be so incredibly proud of you for giving up some of the things we all take for granted every.single.day. The Challenge   Do not use your personal vehicle. Options: hitching rides from others (spouses don’t count), bicycle, public transportation, by foot. 5 points per day 1W Do no leave your house after 7 pm, unless you will staying at a friend’s house. 10 points 1W Wear only 3 outfits. Rotation, rotation, rotation. 15 points Spend an entire evening after dark (minimum 5 hours) without electricity. Flashlights are allowed, but candles are preferred. 15 points per day 1W Live on a maximum of 3.50 USD per day, spending. If you had food in your fridge and bring a sandwich to work, you’re in the clear. This only applies to people who are not listed as a dependent on anyone’s taxes. (Lacy addition: or live on their own). 15 points 1W Watch only television channels in a language in which you are not fluent. However, you can watch previously downloaded TV shows or movies that are on your computer- in any language you prefer. 20 points 1W Do not use the internet. *This isn’t a regular challenge for me, though it is for other volunteers. But I have previously gone months without internet; I also have infrequent weeks when service and network disappear. 20 points 1W When you have to go to the bathroom, first go outside of your house/workplace and close the door, then walk back inside. Then you may go to the bathroom. 30 points 1W Only use water from a bucket i.e. fill the bucket from a tap and only use water from the bucket. You may refill the bucket as many times as you like. 40 points per day you do not use your indoor tap Do not bathe for at least 3 days (washing of face and feet are allowed). 3 days is the minimum. Because on a regular basis, I shower once a week; my personal record being 11 days. Yes- I did just admit that. (Lacy addition: my personal record is about 10, I think… I suggest baby wipes) 10 points for 3 days; an additional 5 points for each day added If you go one week, 100 points On bathing day, heat water on the stove and crouch in the bathtub, pouring water over your body. (Lacy addition: or you can take a straight up cold shower for 5 points) 5 points per bucket bath Wash an entire load of laundry by hand and let the clothes hang dry. 20 points for wash; additional 5 points for dry 1W Your only food options are the following: Your only veggie options are carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, chili peppers, and potatoes—unless they come from your own garden. Your only fruit options are bananas, oranges, mangoes, papayas, pineapples, and limes. You may only supplement them with rice, lentils, beans, pasta, injera, or bread products. You may not eat canned foods. On Wednesdays and Fridays You may not eat any dairy products, including butter/margarine. You may not eat meat. You cannot eat eggs. 40 points (Lacy Bonus Addition: Easter Fast) Eat only vegan food for 2 months– I don’t follow this one in my house, but my community does. 100 points 1W Your only drink options are the following: Water, Coke (not Diet Coke), orange pop, tea, and coffee. 20 points 1W You may not use your oven (stove top is okay), microwave, nor your dishwasher. 20 points 1W Do not open your refrigerator. How to survive: store foods/leftovers in a pot or Tupperware on the counter. Be sure to reheat each time you eat. 30 points This is my life. every.single.day. Take the challenge.

To One Who Does Not Know…

“To one who does not know, a small garden is a forest.” -Ethiopian Proverb

Upon arriving in Yirgalem I received the news that I would be getting a model classroom. Like any skeptical Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, I decided not to get my hopes up too much in case the promise fell through, but before too long my wonderful counterpart managed to dub one of the best classrooms the ELIC– English Language Improvement Center. One would think receiving a classroom would be enough to get started, but alas, as soon as I received the classroom and lock, the desks were confiscated for other rooms. “We will bring them when you need them” my vice-director said. “That defeats the purpose of a classroom” I countered. After about a month long stand-off, I won the war of the desks and received about 3/4 of them back.

Desks lead to two active English Clubs, grades 1-4 and 5-8, on Thursdays and a weekly read-aloud time on Wednesdays. The classroom I was given was fine. It has an actual ceiling (more than I can say for my house), with lots of windows, and a cement tiled floor. Mud-spattered walls, stomach-high, left me wondering how a person could get mud that high on a wall without throwing it. Everything was going well, but I wanted to make the English room special. Somewhere students could come to escape from the dull everyday hum-drum of classes and embrace the English language. I decided a fresh coat of paint and some fancy design would help attract teachers and students alike. My school’s director agreed, but he never got around to actually buying any paint (a follow-through problem I had with a lot of projects first semester). Then, magically, I came back from a meeting in Addis and my director had been transferred to another position. Within a week the new director told my counterpart and me to go to the hardware store and pick out the paint, and that he would buy it the following day. And he did. 

I decided on “water green” and “light brown”, colors I felt would be appropriate for both genders– and let’s be real, fun for me.

My classroom before I redid it.

When I arrived to help the school guard paint the classroom on a weekday during the semester break, I showed up and we had paint but no brushes. Also, I was told, we had to first scrub off the mud. Just when I thought I had gotten out of it. So scrub we did for about two hours straight on our hands and knees with just water and towels. When the mud was cleared I told the guard we would break for lunch, and that I might be a bit longer because my friends were coming to grab a bite with me. I thought he understood, but when I returned a couple of hours later the first watery coat was already on– the walls and splattered on the floor and desks. It was clear that he had watered the paint down to near watercolor consistency and that someone was going to have to scrub it off the floor and desks. We waited for the watercolor to dry and attempted a second coat. At this point I took over one brush and tried to model teach appropriate painting procedure: using lines and not just swirling the paint in random places on the walls. At the end of the day it was clear I was going to have to come back and do a third coat. The top yellow half was still showing through the first two watery coats.

I returned on Sunday, in full paining gear, to finish the room in time for the new semester. After finishing the third coat of the top half, I took a step back and had to admit, it looked pretty damn good.

After painting the base coat

On Thursday my good friend OhnSoon, who lives 30 minutes up the road in Leku, came to help me paint a masterpiece– a large Acacia Tree. We pulled up a picture of a tree on the internet and OhnSoon free-drew a huge Acacia Tree, better than I could have imagined, almost completely from memory! While she worked on the tree, I hung up some of my teaching aids and decorations from the previous semester. We finished the tree together. While I cannot draw, I can paint an outline with the best of ‘em.

Hanging the alphabet for students to enjoy

Ohnsoon sketching the Acacia tree

Painting and hanging

What a beautiful Acacia tree!

Saturday I went back up to the school to add the final touch– an Ethiopian proverb about education.

To one who does not know, a small garden is a forest.

Since I’ve finished the room, and reorganized my remaining desks in an active-learning friendly way, it has been a big hit. The teachers come just to see the room and we end up speaking for a bit in English. The students come to my door just to peer in; I’m hoping one day they’ll have the courage/memory to come join English Club or the Read-aloud.

Redoing the classroom also seems to have kickstarted my motivation. After my failed attempts at Teachers’ English Club I felt rather down, but now I actually enjoy spending time here. In addition to my English Clubs I have started Model Teaching two classes each day, one grade a week. I’m also working on developing a training program for teachers to give working with them another shot.

Six months after arriving in Yirgalem, I have a physical footprint of what I’ve done and it feels great!

View from above

Some students that stayed behind to help me clean after English Club.

International Women’s Day

Students in English Club

Whistle While You Work

The other day I had a realization while Skyping with my dear friend Alice and her mother. Somewhere in-between conversations about my recent holiday adventures and gossip from home, they asked me what I had been up to work-wise. It was that moment I realized (aloud, I think) that lately haven’t mentioned anything about my work at the school. I promise you, cross my heart, that I have actually been working; though, as I quickly found out after my first few months at site, trying to work may be my biggest struggle. Life here doesn’t revolve around the fast-paced, go, go, go, work-centered attitude of the States. Rather, people have different motivations. I’ve had to learn that improving English won’t be a first priority if your most important job is being a single mother with a baby waiting at home to be cared for– and perhaps, most importantly, I am beginning to work within this context rather than fighting it.  That being said, here’s what I’ve been up to for the past few months:

Student English Club: Each Thursday I meet with my 2 student clubs for an hour each. Club attendance is voluntary and I still have about 50 kids show up to each meeting each week.  We do activities ranging from pen pal letters to learning “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.”  One day, when my internet is capable, I’ll post a video of my 1-4 grade students singing which will probably melt your heart. These kids are motivated and excited to practice their English; they make my entire existence in Yirgalem worth it.

Teacher English Club: Was pretty much a flop last semester. Out of 6 attempted clubs I had 3 teachers come once.  kas ba kas… The one club teachers did attend was a success! Even though we were a small group, we analyzed the lyrics from “Let it Be” which the teachers seemed to enjoy– especially the gospel version from Across the Universe. Over the semester break I’ve been in the process of revamping this club to make it shorter and more accessible for teachers.

Reading Programs: Unlike many schools in Ethiopia, my school has an excellently stocked library: everything from Harry Potter to The Giving Tree. One of the biggest problems, though, is that students prefer reading the Amharic books to the English ones (as shown by the layers of dust on How the Grinch Stole Christmas). To spike student interest I’ve created a book display table in the library to feature certain English books each month. Twice a week I also have a read-aloud time in my classroom during the daily 15 minute break. I knew this program was successful when the students burst into spontaneous applause one day after the reading.  Talk about an ego boost.

Model Classroom: Upon beginning work at Adarash Primary School I was given a classroom to use as an office and to create a model teaching environment, complete with teaching aids. The process of acquiring desks, losing desks, acquiring them again, getting resources, painting, and various other tasks has taken awhile, but I’m proud to say that I’m nearly finished. This project deserves more than a short blurb; I’ll be posting an entire blog about this one soon.

International Creative Writing Competition (ICWC): In addition to working at the primary school, I’ve been working with some high school students to prepare them for an upcoming creative writing competition hosted by Peace Corps Volunteers throughout the world. Ethiopian high school students may be accustomed to writing some papers for classes, but the concept of creative writing is as foreign as a Snickers bar (which, coincidentally, is also now coming to Yirgalem). I offer tutorial classes on the basics of creative writing, and allow the students a chance to practice using different techniques. One of their favorite lessons was creating chain stories where each student writes on a certain topic for 5 minutes then passes the story on to the next student. In the end, the students have completely different stories than what they started with, and their creative juices were really flowing!

Tutoring: When I first came to Yirgalem I met a sweet young girl, Bete, who is receiving a scholarship to study in the States from the US Embassy. She asked for some help studying for the SAT and TOFEL. Since then she’s become more of a friend than a student, proof being that I’m willing to look at a book about the SAT again.

Next week begins a new semester with new work. In addition to continuing the clubs and such, I hope to facilitate some formal trainings and begin some actual teaching. I’ll start the semester in Hawassa for a regional training, then the next week I’ll be back to work in Yirgalem.

The 5-8th grade club working on pen-pal letters to Emily’s club in Dangila.