My first year in
Mezezo is in the books; I’ve officially lived in Mezezo for 12 months and am
getting ready to celebrate my second Easter (Fasika in Amharic) here. Words
can’t express what a life-changing and incredible experience this has been and
continues to be. I am committed to
making this second year the best that it can be; finishing projects I have
started, pursuing new opportunities both in and out of work, and strengthening
the relationships I have made!
I’ve had the
opportunity to pursue several different activities and projects here in Mezezo,
and the past few weeks and months have been quite busy but also so rewarding
and meaningful.
What I’ve been up to:
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| Students play the "HIV Limbo," to demonstrate that having an older partner increases your risk of HIV. |
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| A great group of 24 graduates from the GRS program! |
With Aman, my
counterpart from the Health Center, I taught the second round of Grassroot
Soccer at the Mezezo Secondary School and 24 participants finished the program
and graduated! Using sports and games we
taught about HIV/AIDS. We had a great five days together, and this time around we
were blessed with beautiful and sunny weather.
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| In Amharic this says, "Welcome to the Nutrition Class for Mothers!" |
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| A group of mothers at the first nutrition class meeting! |
With my colleague,
Bantayehu from the Health Center, we are leading a nutrition class for
mothers. We meet once at a week and the
women come to the Health Center for an hour and we teach different topics related
to nutrition, pregnancy and maternal health.
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| Daniel and Bereket teach about Gender Based Violence during Gender Equality Club! |
After returning from
the Age Summit with four Mezezo students, they have taken great initiative and
decided they want to teach the Gender Equality Club each week, based on what
they learned at the Age Summit event that they attended. Last week Daniel and Bereket taught about
Gender-Based Violence, they did such a great job and I am very proud of them!
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| Sosina, Bizu Alem and Misrek pose in front of their beautiful picture before class begins! |
I’ve been working with
the same 6 students about four days a week on their English, and the
improvement in the past year is incredible.
Their eagerness motivation, hard work and sponge-like minds has made it
possible for them to have massive improvement in their pronunciation, comprehension,
and speaking ability! They are grades 3-8, and when we meet we sing various
songs, read children’s books, do arts and crafts activities with crayons, and
also various speaking activities. There
are 3 boys and 3 girls, and the boys always play soccer before “class,” but the
3 girls always arrive early and draw beautiful pictures on the board for Alex
(my wonderful sitemate) and me.
Here's to another year of living and learning in Mezezo! :)
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