Walk a Kilometer in Her Shoes

Happy Women’s History Month, and Happy International Women’s Day (March 8!)! 

Picture this: Two teams of boys, ages 13-18, have the given task; in the form of a relay race, each student must complete 5 tasks.

v Task 1: Put on a mumu (a thin and loose dress of sorts that is worn by women here) and plastic shoes (called congos), and finally tie a soccer ball (it represents a baby) to your back with a scarf (no one can assist you!)

v Task 2: For 10 seconds, squat down and wash a shirt by hand

v Task 3: Untie the scarf and pretend to breastfeed the baby for 10 seconds, then retie the baby to your back with the scarf

v Task 4: Squat down and using a cutting board on the ground, chop an onion and a potato into very small pieces

v Task 5: Carry a large bucket of water back to the starting line, without spilling! Then take off the mumu, shoes, soccer ball and scarf and pass them to the next student.

The fourth task of the "Walk a Kilo in Her Shoes" Activity!

This activity was called “Walk a Kilo in Her Shoes,” and it was a part of the 3^rd Annual 2016 AGE Summit (Action for Gender Equality Summit,), put on by the Peace Corps GAD (Gender and Development Committee).

First, let’s rewind to the preparation and travel for the AGE Summit. After waiting along the Mezezo road for 1.5 hours, my four students and I managed to get on a bus and were on our way to Debre Birhan.  It is difficult to get a bus because they come from two hours up the mountain and are full.  The math problem zero seats plus five people is not easily solved, but it helps that people are helpful and find a way to make it work.

The four student’s parents came to send their students off, and it was wonderful to get the chance to meet all of them, as their students prepared to leave for an empowering and wonderful opportunity in Addis Ababa!  One of the students had never traveled by bus or left Mezezo and so this was a big opportunity!

In Debre Birhan we visited Debre Birhan University, and it was the first time any of the students had visited a University.  They were inspired and excited, since after a year they will be attending University somewhere in Ethiopia.

Out front of Debre Birhan University!

The AGE Summit was an extremely empowering event/experience for the students and also for myself.  There were guest speakers including a US Ambassador to the African Union, and a woman from the UN.  Topics covered during the AGE Summit included sexual health, condom use, hygiene, leadership, heroes and role models, laws related to gender equality, decision making, gender roles, and more.   We did various activities that related to these topics including making hero trees, prayer flags, creating dramas, and having group discussions.

We made prayer flags, which illustrated our hopes and wishes for Ethiopia in the future.

An activity called "Eggs Can Fly." Making a contraption that will keep an egg safe when it is dropped!

Each morning during the AGE Summit, I led a short yoga class for the students and Peace Corps Volunteers.  It was the first time I have taught yoga to Ethiopians and I was so happy to have the opportunity.  Although it was something new for them, they seemed to enjoy it, and now I am inspired to try to teach yoga back in Mezezo!

Leading a morning yoga class for the students and Peace Corps Volunteers!

 The final day of the AGE Summit included the female students and Peace Corps Volunteers running in the “Women First 5K” in Addis.  More than 10,000 women participated in the 5K.  

We made it! Great job Meron and Bahilwa :)

The Mezezo group, the morning of the race!

The male students and Peace Corps Volunteers participated by making signs to cheer the women on.  All of the signs were great and encouraging, but some of the favorites included “I love Peace Corps and it is the winner,” “Struggle together for gender equality,” and “Go faster, don’t be late!” My two male students, Bereket and Daniel made wonderful signs to cheer me on, as pictured below;

Daniel and Bereket putting the final touches on their wonderful signs!

Bereket, Daniel and me at the race!

Gender inequality is prevalent in Ethiopia, with unequal access to many things including education and opportunities.  

v Only 18% of Ethiopian women can read, compared to 42% of men.

v Only 14% of Ethiopian women are employed outside the home.

           

In addition, child marriage is common in Ethiopia.  63% of Ethiopian women are married by the age of 18 and 77% are married by the age of 20 (2011 Survey Data).  In the Amhara region, about 50% of girls are married y the age of 15.  Early marriage can have negative consequences including negative health outcomes due to pregnancy at a young age (fistulas), ceasing of education, poverty, and economic insecurity. 

These statistics demonstrate that there is work to be done in the area of gender equality, and the students who attended the AGE Summit are equipped with knowledge and skills to be able to go back to their towns and villages and be leaders of gender equality.  I am very eager to see the work Meron, Bahilwa, Bereket, and Daniel do back in Mezezo; I am extremely proud of each of them.  Upon arrival back to Mezezo the students were all smiles, and when I asked them how the Summit was, Bereket responded “I have no words to express!”

Posing with our certificates from the AGE Summit!

A final thought; as Susan Page, the US Ambassador the African Union, said in her speech to the students, “Today you may think of yourself as ordinary people, but ordinary people do extraordinary things.”

"High Five Yonas!"

A few weeks ago, a group of seven, 9-13 year old boys ran up to me as I walked along the main dirt road in Mezezo, and all at the same time, in fast Amharic, began talking to me.  I picked out words and phrases such as “teach English,” “three days a week,” and “please.” For full effect, as they finished talking they all knelt down at my feet as if to show how much they meant what they were saying!  After piecing those together it was easy to see that these boys really were so eager to learn English and were practically begging me to teach them!  Their eagerness and motivation is contagious!

Notice my chacos in the bottom of the picture for perspective!

Writing down new words and phrases during our first class!

We had our first class right then (it was Monday), talking about introducing yourself (name, nationality, work, age, etc..).  At the end of the class, they asked if we could have class again that evening! I was extremely touched, but unfortunately had to tell them we will have class on Wednesday.

Every time we have English class and as I walk down the road to our meeting spot, a group of seven smiling boys comes running toward me at full speed, each carrying a notebook and pen, greeting me with various English phrases and words they have learned.  Their motivation and eagerness to learn is simply contagious and so beautiful.  I am blessed to be able to teach these students who are so excited to learn that if it was possible they would want me to teach them twice a day everyday of the week!

While I am the “teacher,” I have certainly learned a lot from these boys:

I’ve learned how approaching something with eagerness and joy, as these boys do with learning English, makes the others around you feel the same way and makes the learning process much more enjoyable!

I’ve learned that if I could have the mentality and energy that these boys do, anything would be possible!

I’ve learned about the many different personalities represented in my class, as shown in this picture:

Such a great group of boys!

We always end class with individual high fives, as I say “High Five Rediet,” or “High Five Yonas!”  They leave class with smiles, beaming as they say, “See you Wednesday,” or “Bye” or “Thank you teacher!”    I can’t wait to watch these students continue to progress and grow over the coming months, and at the same time to watch myself continue to progress and grow as I progress into my second year in Mezezo.