Photo: Selemawit, Zanthe, Susan and BerhanI arrived in Ethiopia in the early hours of the morning of July 20. A brief stopover in Addis and I was on my way to the capital of Tigray, Mekelle. Mekelle is a bustling town in Northern Ethiopia. The people are warm and hospitable. The children shout ‘faranji’ (foreigner) and rush to shake hands with this bizarre creature that I have apparently become. Mekelle is like living in two or three centuries at the same time. There are some of the most indescribably, chronically poor people I have ever seen, children working, selling what they can, begging and desperately trying to eek out a living. I am as likely to be run over by a horse and cart, as a top of the range jeep. Then there are the rows of electrical stores, selling wide screen TV’s and internet cafes with their 21st century state of the art flat screen computers, where the owners sit by candle light waiting patiently because the electricity on their side of the street is not working today. The cook baking bread with a wood burning stove and Sr Medhin lamenting the fact that she cannot access her email because the modem is not working. At a bus stop, a man tries to sell his herd of goats to waiting commuters. Ethiopia, I have never seen a place so full of contradictions in all my life!
I have come here to teach English in a project for homeless children ranging in age from 7 to 20. The Daughters of Charity, who run this project, are a partner organisation working with Trócaire. Myself and another volunteer, Anna (from the English development organisation CAFOD), are guests of the Sisters for the duration of our stay here. We are here for the next six weeks. An amazing opportunity to not only work with a partner organisation, but to live with and experience the day to day obstacles they face in their assistance of the poorest of the poor in Mekelle.
Nothing could have prepared me for the greeting that we received on Monday 24 July. It was emotional and at times overwhelming. The children sang and clapped as we arrived and a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony was performed. Some of the older children have a band and ‘gig’ regularly around Mekelle, providing them with a small income, which is put into bank accounts for them to manage. It is an opportunity that teaches them the value of working, earning and managing their own finances. As the band played for us, some of the children got up and started to dance. This dance involves a lot of shoulder shrugging and is quite intricate and specific in its movement. I later learned it is called Iskista. It was a bit of a shock I can tell you when I had to take to the floor at 10.30 in the morning and much to their amusement, proceeded to make an eejit of myself.
Without exception, the children are enthusiastic and eager learners. They work so hard, writing and speaking. One boy in particular has started school for the first time in his life this year; he is 17 years old. The challenge for him is not only to speak a totally foreign language, but to read and write as well. A shy, unsure boy that one can see improve and grow in confidence daily. There is camaraderie amongst these children, an incredible bond brought about by the all too horrific tales of their lives. I was at a loss to understand but I am learning through talking to them, how families and lives can become so broken that a six year old child ends up fending for themselves on the streets. The common theme with most of the children begins with the onset of illness and ultimately the death of a parent, often the arrival of a step-parent, violence and chronic neglect appears to be the root cause in many cases. Other children are AIDS orphans, sent to live with relatives who cannot see the child as anything but a burden, another mouth to feed in an already stretched household.
The children are counselled by a trained social worker at the project, Tedros. It is he who usually finds them, having been alerted by the police about a child in desperate need of help. He and Sr Fiseha, usually manage to reunite the children with family members, working closely with the families, making frequent home visits and addressing the needs of all involved. Each morning the children have breakfast. They pay 10c (1c) for it, teaching them not to depend on charity. They earn this money, carrying bags at the local bus station, selling ‘softees’(tissues), or shoe shining. Some of the older boys attend local training colleges after school, hair styling or computer studies. The project also provides a facility that enables them to wash themselves and teaches them to wash their clothes. This they do every morning as soon as they arrive. They are provided with a nutritious biscuit after lessons each day. This is part of a supplementary feeding programme that gives them the essential vitamins required for survival. Not one day goes by that the children don’t offer a piece of what little they have. They are the poorest of the poor and yet the generosity of these children is something very special.
I have come here to teach English in a project for homeless children ranging in age from 7 to 20. The Daughters of Charity, who run this project, are a partner organisation working with Trócaire. Myself and another volunteer, Anna (from the English development organisation CAFOD), are guests of the Sisters for the duration of our stay here. We are here for the next six weeks. An amazing opportunity to not only work with a partner organisation, but to live with and experience the day to day obstacles they face in their assistance of the poorest of the poor in Mekelle.
Nothing could have prepared me for the greeting that we received on Monday 24 July. It was emotional and at times overwhelming. The children sang and clapped as we arrived and a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony was performed. Some of the older children have a band and ‘gig’ regularly around Mekelle, providing them with a small income, which is put into bank accounts for them to manage. It is an opportunity that teaches them the value of working, earning and managing their own finances. As the band played for us, some of the children got up and started to dance. This dance involves a lot of shoulder shrugging and is quite intricate and specific in its movement. I later learned it is called Iskista. It was a bit of a shock I can tell you when I had to take to the floor at 10.30 in the morning and much to their amusement, proceeded to make an eejit of myself.
Without exception, the children are enthusiastic and eager learners. They work so hard, writing and speaking. One boy in particular has started school for the first time in his life this year; he is 17 years old. The challenge for him is not only to speak a totally foreign language, but to read and write as well. A shy, unsure boy that one can see improve and grow in confidence daily. There is camaraderie amongst these children, an incredible bond brought about by the all too horrific tales of their lives. I was at a loss to understand but I am learning through talking to them, how families and lives can become so broken that a six year old child ends up fending for themselves on the streets. The common theme with most of the children begins with the onset of illness and ultimately the death of a parent, often the arrival of a step-parent, violence and chronic neglect appears to be the root cause in many cases. Other children are AIDS orphans, sent to live with relatives who cannot see the child as anything but a burden, another mouth to feed in an already stretched household.
The children are counselled by a trained social worker at the project, Tedros. It is he who usually finds them, having been alerted by the police about a child in desperate need of help. He and Sr Fiseha, usually manage to reunite the children with family members, working closely with the families, making frequent home visits and addressing the needs of all involved. Each morning the children have breakfast. They pay 10c (1c) for it, teaching them not to depend on charity. They earn this money, carrying bags at the local bus station, selling ‘softees’(tissues), or shoe shining. Some of the older boys attend local training colleges after school, hair styling or computer studies. The project also provides a facility that enables them to wash themselves and teaches them to wash their clothes. This they do every morning as soon as they arrive. They are provided with a nutritious biscuit after lessons each day. This is part of a supplementary feeding programme that gives them the essential vitamins required for survival. Not one day goes by that the children don’t offer a piece of what little they have. They are the poorest of the poor and yet the generosity of these children is something very special.
I came here to teach. What I have received is a lesson in humility. I was told it was their privilege to have me here. But the privilege is all mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment