Thank You Ethiopia

When I applied to Peace Corps, I asked to be placed in a Spanish-speaking country. Little did I know that I would be assigned to Ethiopia, which was the opposite of what I requested, but would turn out to be the perfect fit.

My best friend and confidant, Hibist <3 td="">

During the past two years of my Peace Corps Service in Ethiopia, I have made friends and family that I will never forget.  I learned and got more out of the experience than I could have ever given or taught.  It’s impossible to put into words how much this experience has impacted me. 

With the three girls club leaders, who all attended Camp GLOW!

It’s very difficult to look back and reflect on the past two years and the transformation that has occurred both within myself and also within my perspective.  I am not the same person I was when I stepped out of the plane into Ethiopia two years ago.  Ethiopia has taught me about strength, resilience, beauty, hope, and joy. I learned how to simply sit and be, how to communicate in Amharic, and how to integrate into a new culture, and this is just naming a few of the many things I’ve learned.

In Ethiopia I have found a second home, and I know I’ll be back. Ethiopia, betam iwudishalo. (Ethiopia, I love you so much). I can’t wait to share about Ethiopian culture with my friends and family back home, and of course make you Ethiopian coffee J

My Ethiopian mother, Itagenyish, shares a rare smile with me while we drank coffee during my last week in Mezezo.

Le ine, etiopiya yitamarkubut ina yiagungubut nich. Le ine etiopiya hulu neger nich.  Le Etiopia ina le Peace Corps, betam amasuginachulo. (Ethiopia taught me about myself and helped me to find myself. Ethiopia means so much to me). To everyone in Ethiopia, and to Peace Corps, thank you so much, for everything the past two years.

Additionally, I wouldn’t have made it the past two years without my wonderful friends and family who have supported me and loved me through the challenges and successes; to each of you, thank you so much; to my Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa and entire family, KOG congregation, fellow PCVs, Cammi, Brooke, Jennie, and Alex: thank you so much, I love you all!

Love these strong and beautiful women, who taught me so much.

Last market day for me in Mezezo! Utter chaos:)

My wonderful sitemate surprised me with this delicious cake :)

English club students who I worked with for over a year! Can't wait to see the wonderful things they accomplish.

One of the hardest goodbyes: to my landlord Yekoyesew and my friend Zenebech. Two people who mean so much to me.

Latrine update: The public latrine is complete and ready to be used!!

Both Beautiful and Challenging

Part of the beauty, and also one of the challenges of Peace Corps, is the pace at which projects and things in general, move.

To catch a bus in Mezezo to head to a bigger town like Debre Birhan where I go to the bank and post office, I stand on the road waiting for a bus to come down the mountain and hope there is an open seat, or that I can squeeze onto an already full row of people.  The waiting time ranges from 30 minutes to 2 hours.  While at times, such as when I need to get to Debre Birhan quickly or am feeling sick, this is very frustrating and I become impatient, other times it turns into a wonderful experience.  Often the times I am waiting on the road for a bus, or waiting for a bus to fill up (they leave once the bus is full, even if it takes 4 hours..), have been the times I won’t forget; when someone invited me in for coffee, or a stranger strikes up a great conversation with me where I learned about different opportunities to collaborate with NGOs in the area, or when my best friend Hibist is walking past to school and stops to chat and gives me an orange for the road!  These times I will never forget ad they are both beautiful and challenging.

I had a plan to plant a garden at the primary school in June, when rainy season was in full swing. I got the seeds and was ready with enthusiasm! Several times I went to the school, but the director wasn’t there, or the time wasn’t right for the teachers, and I was told to come back, time and time again. I persisted, and finally last week, on Friday, I went to the school, and the “price was right!,” or rather, the time was right! The director was on board and we got 7 eighth grade boys to start digging and in 30 minutes they cleared out an extremely overgrown 4x4 meter area.  It was challenging to wait 4 months when I was ready to start the garden in June, but behind the mission of Peace Corps is the fact that the community must be the engine behind all projects. I can help to get the engine going, but in the end they must be the engine. For the garden project it took 4 months, but when the project took off, it was beautiful seeing the students working hard and digging, excited about the garden, and asking if we could also start an English club.  This is another example of experiences that are both beautiful and challenging, but ones I will always cherish.

8th grade students hard at work!

Finally looking like soil ready for a garden!

When you have to wait for things, they become that much more beautiful J Although, I admit I didn’t mind not having to wait more than 3 minutes for a bus in Switzerland!

With only 4 months left of my Peace Corps service left in Ethiopia, I find myself reflecting back on the experiences, lessons learned, conversations shared, and am trying to make the most of every last day here.  It has definitely been an extremely transformative experience, where I’ve gotten more out of it then I could have ever given, and Ethiopia will always have a special place in my heart.

Latrine update:  The public latrine is about 90% done!!!

The updated picture of the latrine!

Very pleased with the almost final product!!

Trachoma Surgeries: An unforgettable 2 days

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Last week during a 2-day event, the Mezezo Health Center provided free trachoma surgery to the Mezezo community and the surrounding rural areas.  It was a wonderful opportunity for community members suffering from trachoma. The surgery reversed the trachoma before it caused serious visual impairment and blindness.

What is trachoma?

Trachoma is a disease that is transmitted by flies, dirty hands or dirty cloths that have bacteria and that come into contact with someone’s eyes.  The signs and symptoms include inflammation and over time, scarring of the inner eyelid, due to the eyelashes turning inward and scratching the cornea.  Eventually it can lead to visual impairment and blindness.  Prevention of trachoma includes antibiotics, washing your face with soap and water, and keeping your environment clean, therefore minimizing the amount of flies.  Surgery is also a way of preventing trachoma from progressing to eventual visual impairment and blindness.

The day prior to the event, we decorated the Health Center with banners and flags, made posters, and set up a stereo system. In addition, massive amounts of food were prepared (injera and lentils), rooms were cleaned, tools were sterilized, and the surgery rooms were prepared.

Patients rest for a few minutes after surgery before making their way to the resting room.

On Friday morning when the patients arrived at the Health Center (most from very rural areas surrounding Mezezo), they first went through a screening process to see if they qualified for the surgery. If the trachoma if severe enough that the patients’ eyelashes have turned inward, they qualify for surgery). Then they proceed to the surgery area, where my job was to pass out numbers based on who arrived first and then guide them to the surgery room as the surgeons were ready.

Community members waited for the screening process.

The surgery room.

Five people received surgery at one time, since five surgeons that came for this 2-day event.  Each surgery took approximately 10-20 minutes, and the patients did not feel any pain during the surgery because of the use of local anesthesia. At the end of the surgery, the patients were given medicine to take home, and all the medicine and services were free of charge.

A woman comforts her friend during the trachoma surgery.

This was my first time seeing trachoma patients as well as trachoma surgery.  The surgery was utterly amazing to watch (and at first very hard to watch/graphic!). After a local anesthetic was given through a shot, the eyelid is flipped upward and sliced with a sharp blade, pried open with scissors, and then the eyelid was stitched to the newly cut part of the eyelid.  The final step is to squeeze medicine in the eye before closing it and putting on a gauze bandage.  I helped with this step a few times, and then explained to the patients how and when to take the medicine.

Trachoma surgery in action.

Most of the patients (90%) only had surgery on one of their eyes, but some had surgery on both of their eyes.  One older gentlemen had both of his eyes done, and after his surgery, with bandages over both of his eyes, I supported him with my arms and guided him down a rocky path to the resting room.  I can’t imagine how scary that must have been; for 24 hours he had both eyes bandaged shut, and only in the morning he was able to see if he had his sight (which he did, and he recovered very well!)!

After the surgery, the patients rested on mattresses in a resting room at the Health Center, and then were fed lunch and coffee. They stayed there through the night, then in the morning they had their bandages taken of and were able to return to their homes.

After surgery, the patients enjoyed injera and lentils for lunch.

A staff member assist a patient to the resting room after she had surgery.

This 2-day event was one of my favorite health outreach programs in Mezezo so far. I learned a great deal during those 2 days, and was inspired both by the surgeons and the courage of the patients, but also was inspired to further educate the community regarding personal and environmental sanitation to hopefully decreases the incidence of trachoma in the Mezezo community!

And an update on the public latrine: so much progress has been made! These men sure are quick and very skilled workers and have quite an efficient system!

Great progress on the public latrine!

The workers carefully balanced as they build a concrete and rock wall/base for the latrine!

Reunited!

After almost a year and a half away from my host family, I was able to return to Butajira and spend time with the family that I lived with for the first three months of my Peace Corps Service.  I went for the Ethiopian New Year Celebration, which was on September 11^th; Happy 2009!!

We spent the weekend together eating delicious food, sitting and talking about the past year and a half, and remembering the great times we had together.  It was so special to be back, and even after a year and a half, the minute I walked into the door I immediately felt like I was home.

As I walked into their home, the little baby (who was six months when I lived there and is now 2 years old), pointed to a picture on the wall (of me and the family), and said “Hannah!”  It sure felt good to be back home with them!

Here is a summary of the weekend, in photos:

Elshaday my little host brother. We enjoyed looking at family photos together and talking in Amharic:)

Learning how to play marbles, with my host brother, Natnael!

My host brother (Natnael), my host mom (Aynalem) and my host sister (Tsega). Happy to be back together!

A walk to the gorge with my host brother Natnael!

Birds eye view of the gorge near my home; a great and sunny spot to wash and dry clothes!

Kabir and Natnael: Such swag!

Rainy season has made the gorge very beautiful!

"Happy New Year" drawing from a child in town that was given to me while I was on a run!

Meet Buddy, my host family's new dog!

A group of girls came to our home singing and playing a large traditional drum.  Girls do this on New Years, going from home to home giving a performance, and then in return they get paid a few coins!

Zenebech: A Woman of Strength

 Zenebech lives at my compound home and her job is to cook (exclusively on charcoal and wood fires), make injera, clean, serve food, wash clothes by hand, make coffee, go to the market, take care of the sheep, cow and chickens, and watch the home. Her job is essentially 14-16 per day, 7 days per week, and for this work she makes the equivalent of 5 US dollars per month.  This is a normal wage for this job in Ethiopia; I include it here just for perspective.

Zenebech making coffee in the evening.

Zenebech never got the opportunity to go to school, which unfortunately is a reality for may girls in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, there are more than one million primary school-aged who aren't in school.(www.planusa.org).  Zenebech can’t read, which I didn’t realize until several months after I got to Mezezo.  She came to my room with a fresh piece of injera (as she does every time when she makes injera) and a big smile on her face, and asked if she could use my phone to call her son who lives in Addis and who she hadn’t seen or talked to in years (since she doesn’t have a phone).  She brought a piece of paper that had several names written on it in the Amharic script, with a phone number next to each. She asked me which of the names read, “Kebede,” her son’s name.  As she called her son, I have never seen her so happy; she simply lit up as she got to hear her son’s voice for the first time in years.

When I’m working in my room or cleaning, I put on Ethiopian music on a speaker, and several times I’ve seen her smiling ear to ear, swaying and dancing. However, she is careful not to let the music interfere with her work of transforming wheat into flour, by grinding the wheat with a giant 4-foot tall mortar and pestle outside the house; she makes her tedious labor look so beautiful and graceful; the rhythmic grinding of wheat has come to be a soothing sound. It’s moments like this that I won’t forget.

One evening several weeks ago, a guest came over, and we were chatting in Amharic over coffee. The guest asked Zenebech, “How is it having Hannah as a neighbor? Is she a good neighbor?” Zenebech immediately replied: Hannah isn’t just my neighbor, “Ihite nech”, which means “she is my sister”.

Zenebech helping me wash my "gabi"- a large blanket-like, cultural scarf 

In Zenebech I not only have gained a sister and friend, but I have learned about strength, joy in the simple things, and taking time to just sit and be still.  In the evenings while we waited for my landlord to get home, we would sit for an hour or two and listen to Ethiopian music, talking and laughing, while she went through the ritual of making coffee: washing the beans, roasting the beans over a charcoal fire, pounding the beans into ground coffee, and then boiling the coffee.   This ritual is much more important than simply drinking coffee; it brings people together, and invites deep conversation.  Sharing these evenings with Zenebech and drinking the fresh coffee were some of my favorite times in Mezezo.