Along with nine other Ethiopia Peace Corps volunteers, I
have the opportunity to attend a 5-day gender development event called the 3rd
Annual Peace Corps Action for Gender Equality Summit (AGE Summit) in Addis
Ababa from March 3-7, 2016. I will bring
four students (two male and two female) from the Mezezo Secondary School. The four students are all members of the
Gender Equality Club in Mezezo. and were
selected through a writing contest, with the prompt, “Why is gender equality
important to you?”
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| Some of the Mezezo Gender Equality Club members working diligently on an activity. |
I am very passionate about gender equality, and there is a
great need for gender equality and gender development work in Ethiopia. Ethiopia was ranked in the lowest group for
the Gender Development Index (The 2015 UN Human Development Report). Additionally, Ethiopia was ranked 129th
out of 188 countries in the Gender Inequality Index. Therefore this is a great opportunity to
empower youth and educate them about this topic. The AGE Summit will provide the participants
the required knowledge, skills, and resources to be able to be change agents and
leaders in their local communities, in terms of gender equality and gender development.
In December, Gender Equality Club started at the Mezezo High
School.
We meet once a week, on Sunday
afternoons, and together we do various gender equality and gender development
related activities and have great discussions.
One of the students favorite activities was called “Life Tree,” where
they had the chance to be creative (which they rarely get the chance to in the
classroom). By using the image of a tree, they wrote down their short and long
term goals, potential barriers, what they need to achieve those goals, and
strengths/skills they have that will help them reach their goals. It was a very
powerful exercise, as the students discussed their life goals with each other
and make a plan for the future.
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| A representation of what a "Life Tree" looks like, that was explained to the students before we began the activity. |
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| The Gender Equality Club proudly shows their "Life Trees!" |
Another recent activity that we did in Gender Equality was
called “Find your GLOW.” The students
had the chance to create a self-portrait of themselves, including illustrating
their strengths and positive qualities.
Most of the students had never
drawn their self portrait before and therefore they were very shy as we
began the activity and unsure how to even begin. However, after several minutes the students
gained confidence and created wonderful self-portraits, which they then shared
with the group. By empowering the
students with self-confidence, they are practicing one of the necessary skills
to be able to work toward gender equality and gender development. The students are becoming strong leaders and
I am looking forward to how much they grow as a result of the AGE Summit; stay
tuned!!
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Students work on their self portraits and identify positive traits about themselves.
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