International Literacy Day

One of my favorite memories as a kid is the bed time stories my parents used to read to me or how my mother tells it, the stories I would read to them because they were reading it wrong. I used to love when I was finally old enough to go to the school library, I would always be the last back to class, taking an age to decide what book I would read. Since I was a little girl, not much has changed, I still spend hours looking at books in the library and always come home with a pile of books to read. For me escaping into the world of the book I'm reading is my favorite thing to do, the smell of a new or old book, the feeling of accomplishment when you've finished that book that has taken an age to get through. I am so blessed that my parents taught my older sister and I to read from such a young age and that they always encouraged us to read and write. I guess I never really thought what life would be like if I didn't have my books, if I couldn't write a letter, or if I couldn't write postcards to my family when I travel. I never thought about what it would be like if my parents had never read us bed time stories, or taught us to read..until now. Today is International Literacy Day,its a day dedicated to ensure that literacy stays a priority on the national and international agenda. Did you know that there are 1 billion people that are unable to read and that the majority of those live in the developing world? What would you if you were 1 of that 1 billion?

What if you had never been inside a library, had never read a school book, had never seen a pop up book? These two little girls Mustakema and Berkesha, had never seen books with pop up figures in them until we brought them to Ethiopia. It was amazing to see their smiles and hear their laughs when we showed them how the animals in the book popped up, they kept trying to catch them. The girls weren't the only two who were excited about the books, many of the adults we met had never seen such colorful, pop up books and were as equally excited. In that moment I realized that the children weren't the only ones that didn't have access to books, many of the adults even working ones were unable to afford books for their children,

Youth Release is trying to change that, through the opening of the library at the youth center, children are now able to enjoy the experience of browsing through the books, they can take them home, they can use the school books from the library so they can study. Children are teaching their parents and younger siblings how to read and write and now have the resources to do it. We want children in Dire Dawa to have the experiences we had when we were children, even if its something as simple as reading a book. Many people take the ability to read and write for granted, but imagine if you couldn't read to your children before they went to bed, if you never experienced the joy when your child spelt/read their first word. 

Next time you're buying a book, why not think of children that don't have their own books and donate one to them! Happy International Literacy Day, enjoy reading those books today and remember how lucky you are that you can read and write! Remember how lucky you are, that your children can read, that you can teach them to read. Today is a day to make a change, today spread the word about International Literacy Day, make sure the world knows about the 1 Billion people that cannot read or write and make sure that there is #educationforall. You have a chance to make a difference, spread the word.

Where will you sleep tonight?

It’s been a year since I slept in my own bed at home, a year since I’ve had the comforts of home and all that comes with that. I find myself counting down the days until I can sleep in my own bed, in my own bedroom, in my home. Could you imagine if you never had your own bed to sleep in? Could you imagine never having a bedroom, even a shared one? Could you imagine never having a place to call home? I know I couldn’t, but for many of the children that live in Dire Dawa this is their reality. Their home is the spot on the street where they can find space to put their bed, many times a piece of cardboard, or a garbage bag, their bedroom is the city that they share with over 18,000 other street children and thousands more adults. Their dreams are interrupted by others taking their space, others trying to take the little food they have and others trying to exploit them.  They don’t have the comfort of their own home, bedroom and bed, but we can change that.

I remember my first experience of children living on the street, we had just arrived for the Youth Release first volunteer trip to Dire Dawa. As we drove into Dire Dawa, children started following our car to get a better look at the ‘fereinge’(white/foreigner). We all jumped out of the car and were flooded with children, they were laughing, and jumping on us, touching us, and some even cried as they had never seen a white person. We walked from the little town of Dire Dawa to our compound with probably 100 children accompanying us. I guess in my naivety I just thought they were children playing in the street that were excited to meet us, they in fact were mostly children who lived, worked and played on the street but it would take me a week or so to realise that.

Later that evening (around 9pm) we took a walk around the city, in the pitch black dark, our host had to tell us to watch for potholes because they are so big you could fall in them. Trying to walk in the dark and not fall into pot holes proved much more difficult than it sounds. We walked for maybe 30 minutes and during that time, children were coming to shake our hand and ask our names. As we walked on, I saw a little girl, who was maybe two/three years old, sitting alone on the side of the street. As we were approaching her, I couldn’t take my eyes off her, waiting to see her mother get her, or at least an older sibling. No, that’s not what happened, as we got closer, I realised she was begging for food, money, anything we could give her. I stopped to talk to her, and we asked where her family was,  begging some where else she told us. I remember the sheer anger and sadness I felt, thinking that a child that young was alone at night, begging. Our host told us she would beg late into the night and then sleep in that spot. As the weeks passed, this was a common occurrence, seeing children begging late at night, alone.

Many of the children at the Youth Center have lived on the street at one point or another, many of them were on the streets until the project gave them assistance. Through the program, they are now able to get an education or a training, allowing them to get an income so they can afford their own bed, their own place to call home. They won’t ever have to sleep on the street or beg for food late into the night, they can provide a home for their younger siblings and make sure they never have to sleep in the street again.

When you get into your warm, cosy, comfortable bed tonight, think of the children of Dire Dawa who have never had a bed to sleep in, think that for as little as 80cents a day you can change that. YOU can make sure they never live on the street again. YOU can ensure that they don’t have to beg for food, YOU can ensure that they get an education, YOU can be the change. YOU can sponsor just one child today, http://youthrelease.com/childsponsor.php

Why I love Ethiopia....

Every time I travel to Ethiopia, the general response from my friends is ‘Why would you want go there? Is it not horrible there?’ This is a question I have tried to answer a million times, and yet people still just don’t get it…maybe by the end of this blog post you’ll start to understand…

Camels blocking our path

Some of the beautiful scenery on the road from Addis Abba- Dire Dawa

People always see Ethiopia as a terrible famine starved country and yes while famine exists, Ethiopia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  The media doesn’t tell you about the beautiful scenery, they don’t tell you about the 100+ camels that will block your path when you’re trying to get somewhere; they fail to mention the beautiful rich culture of Ethiopia. Did you know Ethiopia has over 80 different languages, not to mention the different tribes? Each tribe wears different clothes, and most have different languages and their own unique culture. One of my first experiences with a tribe from rural Ethiopia, was when a group of us "faranji" (means foreigner in Amharic) descended from our bus to take a break from travelling. I was wearing a skirt to just below my knees and the women were trying to cover me up as I was showing too much skin. There was a little girl standing near her mother,  I tried to shake hands with her and say hello, she screamed and ran behind her mother crying…she had never seen a white lady before. We stayed talking with them for about fifteen minutes, during this time they tried to teach us their local dance and language, but it was an epic fail on our part. Oh well, at least it gave them some laughs!

One of the most famous Ethiopian tribes

 Living in Dire Dawa for a summer was one of the most difficult and rewarding experiences of my life. The poverty is something you learn to see every day, and the Ethiopian way of life while it may not be our way is just something you have to get used to. Working with the street children living in Dire Dawa was incredible, they are possibly the most fun, loving and kind children I have ever met. One story that comes to my mind is the time my older sister and I got caught in a torrential rain storm at night. There was no shelter, and we had no umbrella. One of the children Roida who worked on the street at night (at the time she was maybe 10) came and gave us her little jumper so we wouldn’t be cold. We refused, as she had only rags for clothes and that was the only solid piece of clothes she had. At least we could get home to shelter once the rain died down…she couldn’t. 

Roida and Layla, Roida is on the left

Dire Dawa really is a beautiful place, over the last five years; the Youth Release team has become part of the community. I have been nowhere else in the world, where the kids run up to you from a mile down the street just to give you a hug.  They stop you walking down the street just so they can hold your hand (although this has caused some fights as we only have two hands each and there are about 20 children on any given day). The community as a whole welcomes us with open arms, they invite us to their homes, they prepare coffee ceremonies for us, and they let us teach their kids despite our cultural differences. So why would I want to go there right? Is it not terrible and full of poor people (yes I’ve been asked this) Yes Ethiopia has a lot of poor people but god they are the most beautiful people I have ever met. Instead of us trying to teach them, maybe they could teach us westerners a few things. It's not all roses there, there are also a lot of bad stories I could share but you know what? The good stories out weigh the bad and it's time some one shared them! Did you know Addis Abba means new flower? Ethiopia is a flower just waiting to Blossom :)

A coffee ceremony we were invited to..the coffee is amazing as is the fresh made popcorn

(This blog post is all my personal opinion and does not reflect the views of Youth Release as an organization)

Meet Zemedkun Ketema

                                           
 

Zemedkun Ketema is 14 years of old. He lost both parents due to HIV/AIDS.After his parents died, Zemedkun started living with his uncle in Dire Dawa. Though Zemedkun is not forced to live on the streets, he lives in a situation of dire poverty. His uncles family earns very little money, and find it very hard to provide for their own children let alone their nephew. Currently he is attending grade 7 at the nearby secondary school. Zemedkun has been selected by the project to receive psycho social support. Like other target children he gets all the services provided by the project.  Zemedkun said that “since I am targeted by the project, my motivation to education has been improved significantly.  Now I am very happy to learn my education. I have good place to study and play' What more could we ask for?