Resources for the Enrichment of African Lives

We did it!

2011-11-06T08:53:00.003-06:00

REAL's web we have been waiting for is up. The development is still in progress, but we have a place to start.

A Very Special Thank You & Updates for our Sponsors and Friends of REAL...

On Saturday November 12, 2011 from 1:00 - 3:00pm at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (4801 France Avenue S. Minneapolis, MN 55410).

Please join us for a very special afternoon with a very special guest….our former In-Country Coordinator and current Burayu Kata Mentor will be visiting! She will share about the girls and the difference we are making together.

We are also very excited to bring you updates from other recent visitors and to introduce our new intern Sierra Asamoa-Tutu!

Please join us for all or any part of the event that works for you. We will be serviing coffee and baked goods.

We want to share and celebrate our progress this year, not only with our program but also to share our new Website and get your feedback!

We will also have letters for you and will be happy to receive your letters to go to Ethiopia - and will have some materials available if you would like to write a note while you are there.

As always, we are seeking new board members, volunteers and sponsors… your ideas about how to grow and expand are very welcome!

Please call 612-724-2096 with any questions.

Good News!

2011-09-19T16:38:00.007-05:00

Few new exciting news!

1. Sierra, Masters of Social Work student at St. Catherin and St. Thomas, is doing her internship with REAL. She will be the REAL's Programs Coordinator. She started her internship on September 12 and will be with REAL until the end of May.

2. The REAL website we have been waiting for, for sure will be up next week still under construction. We look forward to share!

3. Reports form the nine locations are in. Several girls are graduating and some are joining different universities.

Update

2011-07-20T11:01:00.002-05:00

Good News! REAL's New Website is under construction. We will send you the information as soon as it is ready for public use.

We are busy sending out letters for sponsorship & mentor renewals. In spite of the economy, we are pleased with the response we are getting, however, we need more response and new sponsors to join. We are about $6,000 short for this year. The help is needed more than ever before to send more girls to school.

We are expecting end of the school year progress. The In Country Coordinator to visits all the sites to send us update by the end of September. Stay tuned to hear success and progress from all the sites.

Thank you!

Six Annual Spring Celebration

2011-04-13T12:06:00.008-05:00

We invite you to join us for REAL's Six Annual Spring Celebration with a motto to Educate a Girl & Transform a Nation. The event will be held on Saturday May 14, 2011 from 5:30-9pm at Augsburg College Christensen Center Dining Hall located at 720 22ndAve So. Minneapolis, MN, 55454. Experience an uplifting of evening of silent & live auction, dancing, music, food and moving stories of girls whose lives is being touched by people who make a difference. Individual reservation $30.00, group of 8 $240.00. Proceeds to Support the Education & Empowerment of Girls in Ethiopia. For reservations/Questions or Donations contact; Ann Jensen-email annjonjenen@yahoo.com, phone 612-825-3287 or Tsehai Wodajo -email twdf2a@yahoo.com phone 612-724-2096 or . Please make check payable to REAL and send it to 1400 East 24th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55404. Looking forward for your response. Sponsored by Augsburg College-Pan African Student Center

Coming up Soon!

2011-02-19T12:45:00.004-06:00

I have two exciting news! We are in the process to develop a new website, thanks to the generosity of Nikomis Heights Lutheran Church who has been our big supporter from the beginning. The church gave REAL $10,000 in girls and mentor sponsorship. We say may God continue to bless them.

Our May Spring Celebration is around the coroner. It will be on May 14, 2011 from 5:30-9pm at Augsburg College. Watch for new developments.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-22T10:31:00.003-06:00

It is time of the year to express, LOVE, PEACE & Joy and much more. May you enjoy the season! We at REAL, thank you so much for being part of our initiative to make a difference for one girl or one woman at a time!

I am so overjoyed when I share with you that this week we had our youngest contributer. She came to my house with her mom and dad and her two siblings. Her name is Lottie(Charlotte) just six years old and in 1st grade. I admire her parents for teaching their children the value of making a difference for someone thousands of miles away. She gave $25 which will feed a family of five for a month. Jack is 13, in 8th grade; Lyla is 10, in 4th. The family is sponsoring one girl.

I was also fortunate to meet with few women in a Women Giving Circle to share about REAL and what it does. They are very excited and looking forward to be part of this exciting movement. Be reminded the difference one dollar a day makes.

We have 135 girls, nine mentors and nine locations in Ethiopia. There are six girls who are now attending universities and pursuing their dreams! Please spread the word continue with your support.

You can send your tax deductible gift and support to: REAL, 1400 East 24th Street, Minneapolis, MN. Together we can empower one girl, one woman at a time to dream and have her dream come true. Thank you

Tsehai Wodajo

REAL Executive Director

2010 REAL Site Visit

2010-10-24T22:52:00.005-05:00

My visit this year was from September, 19-October 7/2010. It is very exciting to have five girls in University, Most of the girls are doing well in their education, leadership development and self sufficiency. The following are few pictures from my visit. Activity at each site to come soon!

PAGEI-Pan African Girls Empowerment Institute -STARTING

2010-09-06T09:24:00.003-05:00

The day we have been waiting for is fast and approaching! We will start the sessions for Pan African Girls Institute on September 18, 2010.

Time: 2-5pm

Place: Cultural Wellness Center-1527 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55407

We invite you to be part of this exciting opportunity. Here are some information from coordinators of the Institute.

About the Institute:

Who are we?

Pan African Girls Empowerment Institute is an extension of Resources for the Enrichment of African lives. Founded in February 2010, the institute was organized under the watch full eyes of an elder, the CEO of Resources for the

Enrichment of African Lives (REAL), and with the help of young women who are committed to the vision and

mission of the institute. The curriculum was established based on the analysis of the needs of girls of African Ances-

try in America. The sessions offered by the institute will be taught by committee members who have wide range of educational back ground and different areas of expertise.

Mission

“Create partnership built on Mutual interest for the growth and advancement of girls of African ancestry in the United States and REAL girls (resources for Enrichment of African lives), to address issues important to these young girls,

their families and communities”

What do we do?

We aim to foster the growth and development of girls and young women by offering a broad curriculum, hands

on experience with professionals in their fields of interest, as well as an opportunity to be involved with local,

national and international communities while developing future leaders.

The curriculum offers :

**Cultural self-awareness

**Healthy relationships

**Community involvement

**Home life

**Personal finance

**School success and career

exploration

The program will start on September 2010 to May 2011. The winter session of the program goes from September 18th

2010 to December 4th 2010 with a break from December to January and the spring session will start February 5th 2011 to April 16th 2011. The sessions will take place twice a month on Saturdays from 2pm to 5pm at the Cultural Wellness Center located at 1527 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55407. Each subject will be instructed by qualified individuals and elders.

What will you gain from the

institute?

Our goal is for girls and young women who have completed the program to re- connect with traditional African values,

while strengthening their capacity to achieve success in all walks of life. The experiences gained through

participation in the program will allow them to give back to community locally and internationally.

Vision

To create a ladder of diverse knowledge that will allow young girls of African ancestry to be self-aware; accomplished

and involved women who have the capacity to become great leaders.

Who is Eligible?

The institute is looking for 25-30 girls between the ages of 12 to 18 years with African ancestry who are motivated to

learn and share. Each girl must currently be enrolled in school. Parental permission and commitment is an important part of the program.

Letter for new and former recruits from the co-chairs:

Pan African Girls

Empowerment Institute

(PAGE Institute)

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Dear Participant and Parent,

Congratulations on your recent selection to attend the Pan-African Girls Empowerment Institute (PAGE-Institute).

The institute will commence on Saturday, September 18^th 2010 at the Cultural Wellness Center in Minneapolis at 2.00 p.m. Enclosed, please find a copy of the curriculum schedule and the institute’s brochure as well as an application.

If you have not done so, please complete the enclosed application and bring it with you on the September 18^th2010. You will not be able to participate without an application signed by a parent or legal guardian.

We are excited that you will be joining PAGE Institute and we look forward to seeing and getting to know you more.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at the numbers listed below.

Sincerely,

Co-chairs

Derartu Abera Esthella Thorpe

612-840-1562 763-442-2589

Registration form ( fill out the form and bring it to the first session)

Name: ____________________________________________________________________________

Last First MI

Address:___________________________________________________________________________

City State Zip

Age:

Grade Complete:

Middle School______

High School________

College Level_______

Name and address of school attending___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

In case of emergency contact

Name________________________________________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________________________________

Phone _____________________ Relationship___________________________

Applicant's Parent/Guardian Signature___________________________ Date_______________

If you have questions please contact

Co-chair Co-chair

Derartu Abera Estella Thorpe

612-840-1562 763-442-2589

doriabera@yahoo.com estella.thorpe@gmail.com

We Look forward to see you at the event.

PAGEI

2010-07-18T16:31:00.003-05:00

We had our Pan African Girls Empowerment Institute kick off celebration on July 17, at the Cultural Wellness Center. The institute will start in September. The Institute topics are: Cultural self-awareness, healthy Relationships, personal finances, community involvement, school success and career exploration.

Girls who attended the kick off gave their input to help us prioritize the topics. The girls are looking forward to being in the institute. We are planning to connect them to REAL girls and use the same curriculum for REAL girls, and others.

We will keep you posted of new development and report from young adult women who are leading and teaching at the institute.

A great evening together

2010-05-17T10:28:00.005-05:00

A very big "thank you" to everyone who attended our 5th Spring Celebration Event last Saturday evening. We appreciate your presence, your participation in our Silent Auction, and your ongoing commitment to the girls in Ethiopia we serve - 15 girls at nine sites so far!

We'd like to keep you informed of REAL's plans and progress so we'll be starting an e-newsletter soon. If you'd like to receive these updates, please email your address to Tshehai Wodajo.

Also, there are many opportunities to get involved with REAL and we would love to speak with you about these, so send Tsehai a note about how you might participate or call her at 612-724-2096.

May event includes Silent Auction for everyone

2010-05-03T20:22:00.003-05:00

We're pleased to have more than 20 items from Kenya, including carvings and wall hangings. You can also bid on a year's worth of cereal from General Mills, Twins tickets, Swedish embroidery, crib quilts, jewelry and many gift cards.

Bring your enthusiasm and checkbook. See you on May 15th!

Reminder! REAL 5th Annual Spring Celebration

2010-05-02T08:11:00.003-05:00

Greetings!

We are very excited to have you at REAL's 5th Annual Spring Celebration. Thank you to those of you who confirmed! Please send in your payment to help us mange registration ahead of time.

Those of you "Maybes" we would love to hear from you if you are indeed coming. Please confirm to help make the necessary arrangements.

We would love to hear from those of you who did not respond yet. Do not miss out on the opportunity to make a difference for Ethiopian/Oromo girls! They need you!

Why do we want to you to join us in the movement of the education and empowerment of girls and women starting in Ethiopia. According to data from Global Map of Adolescent Girls, there are 4.9 million girls aged 10-14 in Ethiopia. They grow up in where 81.1% of women who consider a husband justified in beating his wife...where 74% of girls/women age 15-49 experienced female genital cutting, where 49% get married before age 18, where in rural areas only 2.6% proportion of rural birth attended by skilled birth professionals! We will share with you more at the event, what we are doing the outcome of our work, the difference supporters and sponsors are making. Come let us celebrate making a difference for one girl, one family and one country at a time. Come help us to renew our commitment.

Please send your pre registration payment to:
Resources for the Enrichment of African Lives
1400 East 24th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55404

Call Tsehai at 612-724-2096 or email at twdf2a@yahoo.com for questions.

Hope to see you there, thanks!

Tsehai Wodajo

Executive Director

REAL 5th Annual Spring Celebration

2010-03-25T21:04:00.004-05:00

Date: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Time: 5:30pm - 9:00pm
Location: Augsburg College, Christensen Center Dining Hall
Street: 720 22nd Avenue South
City/Town: Minneapolis, MN

Slient Auction and Dinner:

May 15, 2010 5th Annual REAL Celebration
Location: Augsburg College
Christensen Center Dining Hall
720 22nd Ave So,
Minneapolis, MN, 55454

Time: 5:30PM-9:00PM
To Reserve Group or Individual Tickets, Please Call 612-724-2096
Individual Tickets: $25.00 after May 1 $30
Group Tickets( A Group of 8 per Table) : $200.00 after May 1st $240
Event Include but not Limited :
Silent Auction
Ethiopian/Oromo Traditional Food
Traditional Coffee Ceremony and much much more!
Goal of the Event is to Support the Education of Girls in Ethiopia/Oromia!

To reserve your seat, make your payment out to REAL and send it to 1400 East 24th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55404, for questions call Tsehai Wodajo @612-724-2096 or
email her.

Sponsored by Augsburg College Pan Afrikan Center

REAL Girl's on Youtube

2010-03-05T12:02:00.003-06:00

Hello Everyone!

Now you can hear the first series of greetings from the girls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gesL060__3U

Enjoy!

More to come...

You are invited

2010-02-23T22:41:00.005-06:00

Do you believe that ordinary women and girls have the power to change our world?

At REAL - Resources for the Enrichment of African Lives - we know you do! That is why - in honor of International Women's Day - we are inviting you join us on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. for CARE’s presentation of Half the Sky LIVE, a one-night only event in movie theatres nationwide. We have been asked to introduce the evening and share what REAL is doing to support girls and young women in Ethiopia.

Inspired by the bestselling book "Half the Sky" by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, this will be an exciting night of musical performances, celebrity commentary and uplifting stories about women and girls overcoming tremendous obstacles. Watch as the pages of the book come to life in “Woineshet,” a powerful short film by Academy Award® Winner Marisa Tomei and Lisa Leone that chronicles the struggles of an Ethiopian woman who ultimately triumphs over sexual violence and discrimination.

Half the Sky LIVE is much more than a night at the movies. With appearances by Marisa Tomei, musicians India.Arie, Michael Franti and Angelique Kidjo, Nicholas Kristof, Dr. Helene Gayle (CARE) and others, this event will empower us to support women and girls around the world - to turn oppression into opportunity.

Please join us at the Rosedale 14 Theater (850 Rosedale Center, St. Paul MN 55113). Together, we can support girls and women around the world to "hold up half the sky"... to reach their full potential, not only for themselves but for all of us as part of our global society.

Don't miss this one night only event... Half the Sky LIVE! Buy tickets at halftheskylive.com or at the theater (regular theater admission prices apply).

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Cheryl Kyle; President of REAL Board
Tsehai Wodajo; Executive Director REAL

2010-02-13T12:54:00.003-06:00

The Girl Effect

Background of REAL Founder, Tsehai Wodajo

2009-12-26T10:56:00.007-06:00

Habitat home provides a springboard for local, global educational opportunities

As a child in Ethiopia, education was a value that was instilled in Tsehai Wodajo. She and her sisters had to travel great distances to get to high school because there was not one in their area. “Even though my father had four girls, he still wanted us to be educated,” Tsehai recalls. “Education is something that I take great pride in.”

As Tsehai started her own family, she applied the values that she learned at a young age to her own children. “I was determined to provide all of the necessary opportunities for my children to succeed in their education,” Tsehai said. One of those necessities was a stable home.

In the early nineties, Tsehai was living in a cramped two bedroom apartment with her mom, dad and three children while she attended college. Even though she was an extremely busy woman, Tsehai took the time to apply to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. She was accepted into the program and in 1995, Tsehai’s family moved into their new home.

Since the move, her family has been extremely successful. Tsehai was able to complete her master’s degree at Augsburg College. Her daughter, Derartu, completed high school, graduated from St. Cloud State University and went on to receive a master’s degree in International Business and Project Management from St. Mary’s. She now works at State Farm Insurance.

Tsehai’s next oldest, Fufa, is in the process of going back to school, working and is also getting married in August 2010. The youngest, Fedha-Waaq, is a junior in high school.

Currently, Tsehai works full time for Hennepin County, out of the Hopkins Police Department on a program called the Joint Community Police Partnership. The program’s goal is to facilitate understanding and communication between the multicultural residents of the city of Hopkins and the police.

With her educational background and willpower, Tsehai was able to start her own nonprofit organization, Resources for the Enrichment of African Lives (REAL), with eight different sites and 120 girls currently in the program in Ethiopia. An additional site will be added in January.

REAL’s mission is to educate and empower African people, living in the United States and in their native countries, to lead productive and satisfying lives, building strong communities. “If we can reach out to these people, we can make a difference,” Tsehai said with excitement in her voice. “There are many people that are passionate in making a difference. That’s why I decided to start this organization. Education is something that no one can take away from you; and women and girls need education the most.”

Tsehai hopes that by teaching the girls in the program about education, they will become self-sufficient and have the tools to break out of poverty and oppression.

Besides helping her native country, Tsehai has also given many hours to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. “Habitat is so, so dear to me,” Tsehai stated. “I have referred several people to the program.”

Of all of the people that Tsehai has referred, at least ten of them are now living in Twin Cities Habitat homes.

In ten years, Tsehai hopes that, “My kids will be married and have their own children. They will come back to the house that they once called ‘home’ and visit.” She also hopes that her youngest will pursue a master’s degree and beyond.

For herself, Tsehai hopes to expand her organization within Ethiopia by reaching out to more families and communities. With all of her previous successes and determination to empower girls and communities, this dream definitely seems within reach.

Contributor: Laurie Krinke
Reprinted with permission of Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota

Thank you & Happy Holidays Wish from Cheryl Kyle

2009-12-26T08:54:00.002-06:00

Resources for the Enrichment of African Lives (REAL)

Our Mission: To educate and empower African people, living in the United States and in their native countries, to lead productive and satisfying lives, building strong communities.
Dear REAL Sponsors, Volunteers and Supporters,

On behalf of the REAL Board of Directors, along with our girls and young women that we support, their families and their communities, I would like to extend a deep and heart felt "Thank You!" for all your support, generosity and good will.

Currently we sponsor 120 girls and young women at 8 sites in Ethiopia, in over 30 schools. We are adding a new site in January 2010 - this means that an another 15 girls will have the opportunity to continue their education and reach for their dreams, while their families receive additional support and their communities continue to benefit as well.

We know what a difference this is making in all of their lives... These are girls and young women who are committed to becoming self-sufficient and to giving back to their communities. We know that education shifts the cycle of poverty for these families and their communities. We also know that we gain much as well - as we share our time, our thoughts and prayers and what we can monetarily.

These young women and girls are truly the future... just as our young ones here are as well. We can only begin to fathom what our world will look like in 10 - 20 - or even 30 years. We do know that by giving these young people a chance... we are giving that future a better chance for all of us!

Thank you for walking with us and being our partners as we continue to support the sites we have, as we grow our programs and our commitments... as we celebrate all that we have accomplished together this past year and as we look toward next year.

We could not have done it without you...
Thank you!

Cheryl Kyle: President REAL Board of Directors

REAL Board Members: Tsehai Wodajo-Founder and Executive Director; Cheryl Kyle-President; Christine Hurney-Member; Randy Hoversten-Treasurer; Ann Jensen-Sponsorship Coordinator; Erik Kaaya-Member; Carla Sykora-Secretary

Speaking at Concordia University, Austin, Texas

2009-11-04T14:00:00.005-06:00

Two Concordia University students went to Ethiopia in May of this year with The Water2Thrive staff. They had an opportunity to meet with some of REAL girls and became impressed with what REAL is doing to make a difference for the girls. They were so moved by hearing from the girls about the changes that are happening for them and their families.

Upon returning to Minnesota, the students shared their experience with Concordia's service learning program, and I was invited to be a guest speaker at their service learning week to share stories about the girls been sponsored through REAL. The students and faculty were very engaged in the conversation. I have two more opportunities to speak there and am looking forward to it.

Tsehai Wodajo, REAL executive director

2009-10-13T14:06:00.003-05:00

I am back with couple of things to report.

We had a very good sponsor appreciation luncheon on October 3rd. Small group, yet very interactive and enjoyable time. The timing is not that good for so many people, it was homecoming week for those who have kids in school. We are planing to have this event next year the beginning of November. We are in the process to conduct a survey to get sponsors feedback on what is working and not working.

We are planning to giving an opportunity for our sponsors and interested individuals to meet with some of REAL board members this Saturday October 17, from 10-noon. The intention is to get their input on current activities and also to enquire if they may be interested to be involved more. The meeting will take place the Powderhorn Phillips Cultural Wellness Center located at 1527 East Lake Street (corner of Lake Street and Bloomington). Please come if you can.

All the mentors are attending workshop at Hossana (one of the site). Kathleen, REAL volunteer is conducting the workshop.

Stay tuned for more!

Tsehai Wodajo, Execuitve Director

Sponsor appreciation lunch on October 3

2009-09-18T15:19:00.007-05:00

I have lots of news!!

We are looking forward to the Sponsors Appreciation Luncheon set for October 3rd at Lutheran Social Services. We have a lot of stories and reports about the girls to share. I was able to talk to all of the mentors recently! Most of our girls are doing extremely well. One girl got accepted to join a university. A lot of them are attending vocational training. The bi-yearly report we got so far is very encouraging.

All the mentors in Ethiopia will be attending a two-week workshop that our volunteer, Kathleen Moore, is conducting the first week of October. She will focus on record-keeping, letter writing, English, communication, planning, and how to support the girls who are having difficulties.

If you are interested in being more involved in this life-transforming work, please attend an upcoming coffee meeting with REAL Board members on October 17 (the exact time and location is yet to be determined). Sponsors are particularly encouraged to attend.

Finally, the REAL Board members are holding a strategic planning retreat on November 21.

All in all, the organization is alive and moving forward and best of all, the future is bright for REAL girls/young women.

Tsehai Wodajo, REAL Executive Director

Unforgettable Moment

2009-08-13T13:04:00.008-05:00

It was midnight, one evening in June 1990. I sat at my regular place of prayer. There was a clear sky with stars warming my heart and I thought, “This is the only comfort I think I have available to me” after long days of work or after beatings I received from someone I thought would be my soul mate and friend for life. I had experienced this for over twelve years. All of a sudden I started to question why I had to put up with this. I asked God to show me a way out.

My mom once told me how she asked God to send her a rope that could pull her out of a similar experience. And then to her surprise, God heard her prayers and got her out of the situation.

My prayer this particular night was for God to reveal something to me. And then I remembered that I had a health condition that I had forgotten about for a couple of years. The voice in my head said, “What if this condition is a way out for you?” Listening to the voice, I went to a doctor the next day and was told that I had to go abroad to deal with my health. And this is how I ended up in the United States. I will always remember that day I asked God to give me solution to my problem.

God gave me an answer to an abusive relationship and also the courage and desire to stand for other girls and young women so they would not have to tolerate humiliation or mistreatment. REAL grew out of my experience and sacrifice. I am forever grateful for those who also are standing to make this world a better place for girls, women, men and humanity. Because of those who stand with us, we are improving the situations and life experiences of many girls and their families.

This past week I spoke to five of the eight mentors that work with REAL girls. Most of the girls are doing well in school, home and community.

Tsehai Wodajo, REAL Founder and Executive Director

Our last day in Hosanna

2009-07-22T17:59:00.000-05:00

It’s our last day here and Workenesh insisted Sosi and I come to her house for breakfast. She had more food than most people have at a feast! Roasted corn and ferengi-style bread and meat in a spicy sauce, lentil stew (because she knows that’s my favorite) and Coca-Cola. We had to eat more than we could possibly hold or she would have been offended. Her oldest daughter made the coffee and we topped it all off with bananas. Workenesh was called away to be interviewed by two men who had come to the Synod from Kenya to start a radio Bible station in Hosanna’s native language, Hadiya. She will be excellent, I know, and I hope she gets the job.

In the afternoon, our last day party was wonderful. The girls all wore their best clothes and had their hair done beautifully. I presented diplomas to them and each one received one of the scarves that my friends at home had donated to my gift collection. They gave me a “lunch box,” which is a basket covered with sheep skin, has a pointed top held on by strips of leather and a long strap to carry it on my back when I go to the fields to mind the cows at lunch time. I love it.

After the festivities, Sosi ran off with the girls for one more romp and photo shoot. Belianesh left and, to my dismay, I discovered she had not left any supper for me. I had mentioned something about Workenesh’s huge breakfast for us being enough to last me all day and I guess Belianesh took that seriously. There’s no electricity so I can’t read or watch TV. I guess I’ll go to bed at 6:30!

A boy speaks perfect English in Hosanna

2009-07-20T17:58:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was in Ato David’s office (the hostel director), using his computer to write e-mails, when his eleven year old son came in and asked, “Where’s my father?” in perfect English. “Do you know when he’ll return? Will you leave the office door unlocked for me?” I’m having to simplify the lessons I teach here in Hosanna and even then I see the girls don’t understand very much of what I say. So how is it this boy speaks such English so well while my girls, some as old as 17, don’t? Because his father went to university and studied abroad and has taught his children. Too bad Ato David doesn’t have a daughter to teach! Then there is Workenesh who has not completed four years of college nor studied abroad but has excellent language ability. How did she do it? No father or mother to help her; married at age 15; five children; her husband lives and works in their home town while she rents a house in Hosanna so she can have this job as REAL mentor. And, of course, the children are all with her. And she wants more-more education, a better job, opportunities for her four girls as well as her son. What accounts for her intellect, her motivation, aspirations and hopefulness?

Again, Bingo saves the day. The Hosanna girls find it as much fun as they did in Nekemt – even Workenesh plays and wants to win a prize. At least everyone will know the numbers from 1 to 75 and the letters b-i-n-g-o. I had to resort to Bingo because we were chased out of our classroom by a very loud generator right out side the door. (When the electricity goes off, Ato David uses a generator so he can use his computer) The room we moved to is on the other side of the campus and the church choir is practicing in the room next door. They have strong lungs but with Bingo, we can shout, too.

Sosi and Belianesh and I are planning to have our last day party at the guest house instead of in the classroom. The house is so lovely and I don’t think any of the girls have seen it. We can’t tell Workenesh, thought, because she will feel obliged to ask permission and I don’t want to get a negative response. We’ll invite the head honchos at the last minute so they can’t say no. The flower garden is perfect for photo ops and we can serve tea and cake on the nice dishes.

Hosanna and Camelot

2009-07-18T17:57:00.000-05:00

Hosanna is like Camelot: “the rain may never fall till after sundown.” I had expected more because the big rains should have started by now. It poured down, though, without stopping on Saturday, the only open market day in Hosanna and Workenesh promised to take me. I have to leave next Saturday so it’s now or never, rain or no rain.

This market is bigger than I remember from years ago and the goods for sale have changed. At least half of the space is taken up by modern clothes; only a few tables with traditional dresses and blankets and shawls. Only two people are selling pottery dishes and coffee pots and there are very few baskets. They do have all the food staples, though: tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, salt and sugar, oil and butter, and freshly made soft cheese. We arrived late in the afternoon, foolishly waiting for the rain to stop, which it didn’t, so the bananas and oranges have been picked over. I am the only ferengi (foreigner) here so everyone watches me, thinking I will surely slip in the ankle-deep mud and fall. I, too, am afraid I will so I move very slowly, clinging to the branches when available or leaning on a passing do0nkey’s back. They laugh at the scowl on my face as I try to find foothold. One very old woman takes my hand as we cross a miniature flowing stream, both of us trying not to slide down its side. I’m embarrassed but she smiles and calls me “gobuz,” (brave) and the by-standers applaud.

I also gained favor and fame when we bought tomatoes. I figured out that the seller over charged us four birr (40 cents). I was able to explain the calculation in Amharic and convinced all the women customers that I was correct. The seller was surprised that I could do math in Amharic so I told them, “Astamari neyn.” (I am a teacher.) Ah, that explains it. Lots of smiles from the women. Workenesh was proud of me.

Paying for an operation

2009-07-17T20:50:00.002-05:00

Workenesh recruited her friend, Belianesh, to cook for Sosi and me. Belianesh used to cook for Swedish and German missionary families who lived at the Synod here years ago. They are gone now and Belianesh needs the job as much as we need her fabulous culinary skills. She cooks better than me or my mother or even my German grandmother! She can make a salad from shredded carrots and lime juice that’s better than a dessert. Her fried meat, potatoes baked with cheese and cream, red beets and onions – everything she touches magically becomes the best meal I’ve ever eaten. We hired her only to make supper, thinking we could make our own breakfast and eat lunch at the Synod tea house. After our first day of not so wonderful shiro (sort of a porridge) at the tea house, we asked Belianesh to add lunch to our menu at the guest house.

She comes early each morning, before we are up, makes my coffee, starts scrambled eggs and toast for Sosi and oatmeal for me. She buys the groceries and carries them the long distance to the guest house, although I’ve given her money for a taxi. She and Sosi have fallen in love with each other. They talk all morning and afternoon when we’re not in class. She leaves our supper in the oven or on the stove topand we miss her presence with us at that meal.

I was trying to figure out how much more I should pay her over our previously agreed upon amount, which is not nearly enough for all she is doing for us, when Sosi told me that Belianesh needs an operation. She brought her X-rays for us to see and I’m pretty sure it’s kidney stones. There’s no hospital in Hosanna that can handle this. She told us she went to three hospitals in Addis Ababa before she found the least expensive one. She has saved 3500 birr and needs 1500 more. When I told her I could pay her that much, she cried and “God blessed” me until I was embarrassed. I am embarrassed that I can afford to give her this amount of money while she has had to work and worry about money all her life. She says she will pay me back and I have to convince her she has earned it.

I am frequently asked to help someone who needs money. Most of the people I meet, adults and children, are in need. At Nekemt and here at Hosanna, the Directors of the youth hostels where hundreds of orphans are housed and educated, I was asked if I could find a sponsor in America to fund the hostels because their German sponsor is quitting next June. They gave me a copy of their proposals which read like so many others I have seen. Somewhere on the internet there must a “boiler plate” proposal form that all NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) follow to request money. They are so similar, I could write one for them: statistics on poverty, lack of resources, need for food, housing, education, employment, women’s rights, medical care, transportation. Just fill in the blanks with your needs, desires, and dollar amount requested. Surely Americans can fund these, they all think; Americans have more than enough money. No one believes me when I tell them millions of Americans are poor; ten percent are unemployed, churches shelter the homeless, and food is given out to families. No one believes me. At our going away dinner in Hosanna, an elder who had just returned from studying in England, gave a long after-dinner speech, directed only at me, saying how Europeans and Americans should all contribute $500 to help a poor family in Ethiopia. $500 would purchase a donkey and a cart so the man or woman could earn a living transporting heavy loads for others. It sounds so simple and reasonable to him. Yet how many people do I know who could or would send $500 to an unknown family in a far away country? I think about all the hours and effort and emotional strain Tsehai Wodajo puts into recruiting REAL sponsors and administering this program with the help of her Board. She is one of that rare breed of men and women who care so deeply for others that she will give her life to help them. But who else is like her? I don’t believe I will be able to help this man buy donkeys and carts, or find a foundation to fund the hostels, or pay the college tuition of a bright young man who has no family or money, or send a very ill girl to America for the special medical care she needs. And even if I fulfilled all the requests that are made of me, there would be hundreds more waiting.

Concern for Sosi

2009-07-15T20:48:00.002-05:00

The girls adore Sosi. As soon as class ends, they are out the door together, Sosi with my camera, and I don’t see her ‘til supper time back at the guest house. I could go with them but I know they are running and playing and talking in Amharic and telling each other teen-age girl secrets. They need Sosi now, not me. Sosi has found a place and a purpose for herself here. She is the older sister, the worldly-wise one from the big city who gives advice: “Don’t go out with boys. Stay in school, graduate, go to university, have a career, have a life. Don’t marry and have children too soon.” She also shows them the latest hair styles and how to dress the way sophisticated Addis girls do, and tells them what to say to boys who flirt with them! If I did nothing else worth while on this trip, bringing Sosi and the REAL girls together is worth it all.

This evening, though, I’m as worried as any mother because it’s dark and Sosi isn’t back yet. It gets dark exactly at 6:30 so it’s not late, but she doesn’t have a flashlight and she’s never been this late before. The girls don’t have phones so there’s no one to call. I walked the long path to the main road and stood at the Synod gate looking anxious, hoping someone would come and ask me, “Are you looking for Sosi? I will get her for you.” But no one did so I came back, afraid to stay out alone in the dark because I know there are hyenas out there in the woods and I am as terrified of them as I was forty years ago. I tell myself she’s O.K.; she’s one of them, speaks the language, has relatives here, everyone knows who she is. Still I worry and pray. It’s 8:00 p.m. when she finally gets home. I hug her close while trying to be angry. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!” She laughs but apologizes. “Berhane’s mother wanted me to stay and eat supper with them.” Sosi knew that to refuse would have been unpardonably rude so she had to stay – besides, she wanted to. She would have liked to stay over night but had no way to call and ask me. I realized how lonely she must be with only me in the house. She’s used to her big family, her friends and neighbors popping in at any time, the store across from her house where everyone shops and gossips. I know she loves me but, let’s face it, I’m not as much fun as another teen-age girl.

Animals in English

2009-07-14T20:44:00.001-05:00

Our first lesson was about animals. I hoped that would be easy for them. I spread out pictures of wild animals and labeled that table “zoo” and of domestic animals for “farm.” These were animals they should be familiar with; they see cows, donkeys, goats and sheep in the road every day and maybe their family even has one or another. But the English words are not familiar. I know their school classes are conducted in English from 7th grade on. How are these girls succeeding if they don’t understand? Workenesh says their teachers write on the black board in English and the students copy it and memorize. If they hear English pronounced out loud, it is with an Ethiopian accent. My voice is like nothing they’ve ever heard before. I have to remember to speak slowly, repeat, write it down, and let them copy.

I brought children’s songs on my MP3 player and we sang Farmer in the Dell. Each girl got a picture for one line in the song: “the farmer takes a wife,” “the child takes a nurse,” etc., and when we sang their line, I pulled that girl into the center of the circle. “The cheese stands alone” brought gales of laughter, although neither I nor the girls have no idea what that line means. We sang that song over and over. Tomorrow we’ll do Old MacDonald and see if that one is fun, too.

I teach every thing twice because two girls can only come in the morning while the rest can only come in the afternoon. They are all going to half-day summer school as well as coming to my class at the Synod. They will do anything to succeed in school. They know it’s their chance to have a better life than their mothers and sisters and aunts. How did these fifteen girls get chosen out of the hundreds in Hosanna? Who decides which ones get this chance and what happens to all the others? And how is my being here going to help them at all? I came with the intention of helping them speak English, not to read and write it which they already learn in school. But this will take much more than a couple hours a day for two weeks. I am depressed thinking this whole effort is useless. While Sosi listens to her MP3 player tonight, I cry and wish I’d never come or that I was a much better teacher.

We begin in Hosanna

2009-07-13T20:41:00.001-05:00

First days are exciting, meeting the girls, trying to pronounce their names, doing the introductory dialogs to assess their English-speaking ability.

What grade are you in?
What’s the name of your school?
Who is your favorite teacher?
What is your favorite subject?

To my delight, most favor science rather than “soft” subjects like literature or social studies. But to my dismay, their English-speaking ability is minimal, not as good as the Nekemt girls. Hosanna girls are younger, in lower grades, are new to REAL, live in a smaller city where they never hear English spoken. Even though Sosi and I modeled the introductory questions and answers, they still have trouble. One girl stammered and stuttered, trying so hard and then burst into tears. I hugged her and said, minem idelem, (it doesn’t matter) but she cried for most of the hour. What can I do for her? Private lessons with just me and Sosi? No, I cannot separate her from the group. That would be too embarrassing for her. Being with the others will help her and I’ll find ways to give her extra attention.

REAL July 2009 Newsletter

2009-07-12T20:30:00.006-05:00

We're pleased to share here our latest newsletter. To view a larger image, click on the box in the upper right corner of the Scrib box. To save, print or email the newsletter, click on the "More" arrow and select your choice from the menu that pops up.

News July 2009-3.Doc

Going to Hosanna

2009-07-11T20:37:00.004-05:00

Beth had to return to Minneapolis to get her fall school schedule set up and find a job to pay the tuition, but Sosi came with me to Hosanna for the next two weeks. Her father was born here and she has aunts and cousins living here. Hosanna is 100 kilometers from the village of Emdeber, where I taught as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966.

Soso’s father was one of the boys who walked from Hosanna to Emdeber to continue in school because Hosanna had no secondary school at that time. The Hosanna boys needed a place to live in Emdeber so each Peace Corps volunteer hired three of them to do chores for us and in return we gave them room and board and 10 birr per month. My three students, including Sosi’s future father who was sixteen years old then, shopped in the local outdoor market, cooked my food, washed dishes, made coffee, even brought me an orphan puppy so I would have a dog as the other volunteers had. After I left Ethiopia, Sosi’s father had gone on to university and became an English teacher in an Addis Ababa secondary school, married and had five children. I had visited his family in 1993, a month after Sosi was born and so they called her y,Katy lege (Kathy’s child). But when Sosi was nine years old, her father died and the family has never recovered from their loss. I’m hoping that by connecting with her father’s birth place, his relatives and the beauty and friendliness of Hosanna will give her happy thoughts of the father she still mourns.

We went by bus,of course, even though I had vowed never to travel on one again. I had no choice. I’d promised the REAL girls in Hosanna that I’d start teaching tomorrow and we couldn’t find any one driving that way in a comfortable vehicle. This bus had only one mishap but it was a big one. The right front tire went bad and we had to stop and get a new one put on. After waiting hours in a small town, I began negotiating with a mini-van driver to take us the rest of the way to Hosanna but our fellow bus passengers pleaded with me to wait. The vans were dangerous, they said, easily stopped by thieves who wouldn’t hesitate to rob even a fereng so we waited with the others and finally got to Hosanna in the evening.

The REAL mentor, Workenesh, was anxiously waiting for us. She speaks English very well, introduced us to everyone at the Synod, and hurried us to the guest house to settle in. What a beautiful house with its blooming flower gardens on all sides and tiny blue birds flitting from blossom to blossom. The house is huge: five bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen with all functioning appliances, a dining room and living room with a TV! We hardly had time to take it all in before we were whisked away to supper with all the Synod elders. Six men, Workenesh, Sosi and I sat around the table introducing ourselves, trying to get acquainted. Obvious to all of us, the youngest “elder,” Abel, head of the church’s youth program, was smitten with beautiful Sosi and I wondereded what these next two weeks will bring.

They asked what we wanted to eat and I said I could eat whatever they were having. After all, I proudly said, showing off, I’d been here before and was accustomed to spicy Ethiopian food. It turned out this restaurant had only one dish – kitfo - raw meat with spiced butter. Oops, I had forgotten that is Ethiopians’ favorite food. Surely they had something else for me? Oh, yes, cooked meat, tibs. Assuming that was the kind of fried beef with peppers I was used to in Minneapolis’ Ethiopian restaurants, I was reassured. It wasn’t. This tibs was the same raw ground beef as kitfo only lightly cooked to a pale gray color. Having no choice, I ate small bits in large pieces of enjera (bread) so as to fill up with the least amount of meat.

Without Beth, Sosi and I shared one bedroom. She still doesn’t talk to me much except to answer my questions. Now she has put in the earphones to the MP3 player I brought her and holds tightly to the cell phone, waiting for a call, probably from Abel.

The 7/5/09 Saga Continues

2009-07-05T20:35:00.001-05:00

I wallowed in despair for half an hour and then - a miracle! Far across the hills we saw something (someone?) moving with a yellow dot at its top. What could it be? Some kind of vehicle, we supposed, but as it slowly came closer, we saw the figure of a person with a yellow jerry can on his shoulder. Full of gas, we hoped. Where he came from and where the gas came from, we had no idea. The Ethiopians didn't seem amazed, as Beth and I were. They waited patiently, watched this very young and very thin boy, who had carried this precious liquid over hill and dale, while he siphoned it into the bus's gas tank. I couldn't believe my eyes. This had to be an apparition. He was either an angel or a figment of our collective imagination. As if it was nothing out of the ordinary, we squeezed ourselves back onto the bus and into our seats and the driver returned from his yoga-like meditation, started the engine and off we went.

We arrived in Addis four hours later than scheduled. Our pick-up driver was waiting, however, and delivered us back to Beth's Aunt Almaz's house where, once again, we were treated to a hot (well, warm) shower and soft beds and no monkeys at the windows. I am grateful for the rest time to recoup before I leave for my next REAL site, Hosanna. I actually prefer the alternate days when there is no electricity in Addis. Beth and I walk to a modern commercial area, shop for souvenirs, have a frappachino at a Starbucks-clone coffee shop and visit book stores looking for more teaching materials. When the electricity is working, Beth and her cousin sit for hours transfixed by the movies shown on Arab TV stations. I was surprised that movies with "sexy" scenes would be so common in the Middle East. These two sophisticated girls didn't seem surprised or embarrassed but at Sosi's house, she and her sisters fast-forward past the sexy stuff on their rented DVDs. I wondered if they only did that while I was in the room, to protect my ancient modesty but I think they are truly embarrassed by it. The DVDs are in English and they have no idea what the movie is like until they play it, and then they don't understand the language. They must think America is all sex and violence and romance and beautiful women and handsome men. There is no way I can explain this is all fiction.

Back on the bus ad to Addis

2009-07-05T13:57:00.002-05:00

Again we rose at 4:30 a.m. to get to the bus station in Nekemt by 5:00. The vice president of the Synod was kind enough to get our tickets yesterday and arrange for a driver to pick us and my suit cases up at the guest house. He also had a boy sit on a three-person seat close to the front so we wouldn’t have to fight for seats as everyone squeezed into the tiny bus door at the same time.

A mother with her toddler was sitting just in front of us while her husband brought sacks and boxes and baskets full of – what? Stuff to sell in Addis? Food to give their urban relatives? Finally, the wife brought on board a live rooster and stuffed it under the seat right at Sosi’s feet. Sosi is no stranger to live stock. Chickens strut in the compound of her house the day before a big holiday meal is cooked and even wander into the house before it’s shooed outside. But this rooster was sitting on her new shoes and she didn’t like it. She politely asked the woman to move the rooster. “It will soon fall asleep and won’t bother you,” the woman answered curtly.

Everyone knows that live animals are no longer allowed on passenger buses as they were 40 years ago when I always traveled with as many animals as there were humans. But no one said anything to the woman or her husband. The bus ride was not smooth and at every bump in the road, the rooster flapped its wings, crowed and tried to get closer to Sosi. Each time, Sosi emitted a girlish scream and tried to pull her feet closer in but it wasn’t possible with the seats so close together. Beth and I laughed. Then others around us laughed, too. But the rooster and Sosi got louder each time until the bus driver’s assistant asked whose rooster it was. We all three pointed to the woman in front of us. He told her husband he had to put the rooster off the bus. The woman was irate but the driver stopped while the husband and rooster left the bus for a minute. He returned sans rooster, the wife scowled at him and said something rude to Sosi which she wouldn’t translate for me but Beth laughed.

We proceeded with only the normal bus break downs the rest of the journey. The first came only 30 minutes after the rooster episode. The bus stopped and smoke was coming from under the hood. Radiator needs water, I thought. Driver and assistant got out, opened the hood and stared. Half of the male passengers got out, stood near the hood and stared. The other half of the males disembarked to “use the facilities,” i.e. trees and bushes. The women waited. I was just about to take our water bottles out to the driver and tell him to pour it in the radiator when he suddenly got the same idea himself and solved the problem. That was good timing because mechanical advice from a woman would not have been welcome.

Not an hour later, the bus slowly glided to the side of the road and gently stopped – dead – completely silent. We knew something was seriously wrong because drivers never, ever turn off their engines (for fear they won’t start up again). No one moved. We were in the middle of nowhere. Terraced hills and valleys stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions, newly planted with corn. There were no buildings in sight, no people, not even a cow grazing. No children running to the bus selling oranges or gum. Silence and stillness all around. The driver got out, crossed to the other side of the road and sat down, staring out at nothing. We all got off the bus this time, even the women, except for Sosi who took this opportunity to stretch out and nap. Lots of grumbling but no one giving a clue as to why we stopped here. Beth asked around and told me someone thought we were out of gas. Out of gas!!! In the middle of nowhere!!! We hadn’t passed a town or even a house in a very long time, and even if we had, there wouldn’t have been any gas there. Rarely, another vehicle came along the road but none stopped to see what was wrong and no one tried to flag them down. I knew we were doomed. It was hopeless. There was no way to get gas out here. Where would we sleep, what would we eat and how would we ever get back to Addis? Sosi continued her nap while Beth and I formulated various methods of torturing the driver who had gotten us into this mess… (to be continued)

Saying goodbye to the Nekemte girls

2009-07-03T22:04:00.002-05:00

We’re leaving tomorrow to return to Addis. The REAL girls gave us a going-away party with speeches, food and gifts. They did the coffee ceremony and made spiced tea. We brought cakes and Merinda from the tea shop. Marge (pronounced Mar-gay) made popcorn with sugar and passed it around. She was the only one who wore a traditional Ethiopian dress. Marge is an eighth grader and on the first day I met her, I thought she didn’t speak English at all because she had such a hard time doing the introduction dialogue; she was unable to say her grade or the name of her school. She sat next to Fenon who told her the words to say. But each day, she forced the English sounds from her lips, visibly struggling but always eager, raising her hand to answer, getting to take a book home every evening because she always arrived first (even before me). By this last day, Marge was speaking English with the best of them.

Her life story, like others, was one of difficulty and pain. Her mother was sick; her father had died. Like, me she had had appendicitis and we compared our tummy scars, both agreeing that it had been a very frightening experience. Now she had difficulty walking and she lived a good distance from her school. I talked to the new mentor, Amame, about it and she will find a school closer to Marge’s home for the coming year.

I want to adopt all the girls, give them every thing I have, because they need so much and they try so hard and they’re so optimistic about their future. But if I could take only one, it would be Marge with her energy and enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. Of course, I can’t tell her that. They all want to come to America; it is the “promised land” in their imagination. Every since I was in the Peace Corps, I have decried the fact that those who emigrate to America seem to be the best and the brightest and rarely go back to their home country – a benefit to America but what a loss to Ethiopia. REAL is doing it right, educating them where they live, setting an example for the community to send girls to school, teaching them to save and to share. They would all do well in America but if they can succeed in their homeland, how much better that will be. But, oh, it is hard to leave them.

Bingo and books

2009-06-30T22:02:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I had to leave the class and go back to bed. I’ve got a cold or sinus infection – something that feels a lot like flu. I can barely stand up and can’t talk above a whisper. Thank God for Beth and Sosi. They got the bingo set out and packed up new notebooks and pens for prizes and spent the afternoon session turning our classroom into a church basement with Sosi calling out the numbers and Beth showing the girls how to cover the numbers on their card and shout BINGO at the appropriate time. They all loved it. That was a hard act to follow this morning when I returned.

Every day, we read one of the books I brought, bought with money generously donated by my friends at my going-away party; I have enough to leave one book with each girl at each site where I teach. I read a page then have a student read the same page again to the class. They’re very good at reading and can sound out words I thought they wouldn’t know. Of course, English isn’t always spelled the way it sounds so that creates confusion. Sosi wanted to read the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. but halfway through I could see they didn’t know who he was. Explaining racism and segregation in America was more difficult and painful than I thought. I dreaded reading the end about his assassination. We switched to Dr. Seuss’ One Fish, Two Fish and that was a wonderful success. It’s easier to teach laughter than sorrow.

Monkey business at our restaurant

2009-06-28T21:56:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, Beth and Sosi found a taxi driver who offered to take us to another new restaurant that was “very beautiful and food like America.” Why not? We had eaten everything the another restaurant had last weekend. The “taxi” was a three-wheel affair, sort of like a golf cart, with a roof and plastic sheeting on the sides which did a poor job of keeping out the rain. Even Sosi had never been in such a vehicle so she sat in the front seat next to the driver to get the full, windy experience. I felt like I was in one of those child carriages that hook on behind a bicycle and you worry about it’s safety whenever you see one on the street. It was fun, though, going slowly, waving back at young people on the road, seeing a different part of Nekemt with colleges and clinics and churches.

We arrived at the new restaurant just in time to duck out of the rain into an alcove with an awning, close to an outdoor fire place to which two little monkeys were tied on a long rope. They leaped and squeaked and we thought they were, oh, so cute. Not like the big monkeys that infested the trees behind our guest house, eating green fruits while staring through our dining room window watching us eat oranges and bananas. Beth and Sosi took endless photos of them everyday, laughing at them while safe inside the house. Until one day, Beth came back alone and found our compound filled with monkeys dancing on the roof, playing hide and seek and tipping over the water buckets on the ground, wriggling the door and window handles trying to get in. She hid in the toilet room until Sosi and I came home and chased them away by screaming and throwing stones. After that, we kept the curtains closed and made sure every opening was securely locked.

The two restaurant monkeys were tiny like an organ grinder’s pet on a rope so we didn’t mind them as we waiting for our dinner. Suddenly they got loose, jumped from table to table, scattering food and scaring all the customers, Ethiopians and ferengis alike. Once they were caught, a skinny grey cat came to my feet whining for my “roasted chicken dinner,” which was about the size of a starving chickadee, and which I gladly gave it to keep the cat from sitting on our table. The rest of the week end, we stayed near home and went back to our favorite hotel/restaurant for meals, dodging monkeys on the way.

REAL report: Kathleen Moore in Nekemte

2009-06-28T16:29:00.012-05:00

I heard from Kathleen, who is teaching REAL girls English and also how to write letters. She is at the Nekemte site with Bethlehem, who went with her from here and is her former student's daughter. She informed me that everything is going well; REAL girls are amazing. But no running water for three days. They are using rain water.

Tsehai Wodajo, REAL executive director

Nekemt girls start to share their stories

2009-06-21T19:20:00.003-05:00

Last week the girls wrote letters to their sponsors and I asked them to read the letters into my MP3 recorder so sponsors will hear their voices. They must have practiced over the week end because their reading was almost flawless. I know they wrote their letters together because they are all so similar:
"You are my mother...."
"I am very appreciate you....."
"If the God says, I am next year turn to ninth grade...."
All of them thanked me and Beth and Sosi profusely for teaching them English.

During the week end, we had talked to Obse and she told us all about her personal life. I heard a story that broke my heart:

"I was born in Siree. When I was baby, one uncle took me to Nekemt. I don't know my family. After five years he married and his wife make me like her servant, only working, no learning or time to study. Then I sit at my aunt's house, but after two years, she married. It was not good; her husband don't want me. I sit another aunt up to tenth grade, but she married and he don't want me. Then I rent a house for 70 birr ($7 US) and school is 145 birr ($14 US). I not stop my school. I want to be good journalist."

When I asked her if she ever sees her family, she said, " My mother and father, they don't know me. My brother and sisters, they don't know me so they don't like me."

Kathleen Moore, REAL teacher

First Nekemte English class

2009-06-16T10:48:00.003-05:00

The girls decided to meet for English class from 10-12 each morning. I asked if they wanted to meet after lunch also. "That would be too hard work for you, Katlin," Obse and Fenon (the students best in English) said and the others nodded agreement. I assured them that I was strong and healthy for my age. After verifying that with Beth and Sosi, they admitted that they did want to meet in the afternoon. We decided on a one-hour lunch break at 12:00 and then to go back in our classroom from 1-3 p.m.

Our first lesson after the introductions and some dialogs among the girls so they could get to know each other (since they go to seven different schools, most don't see much of each other) was "Let's Take A Trip." I wasn't at all sure if any of the lessons I had prepared would work with the girls but all I could do now was try....

Kathleen Moore, REAL teacher

Let's Take a Trip first lesson

2009-06-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

I had spent hours at the hospital during my cancer treatments earlier in the year tearing pictures out of magazines to illustrate my lessons. Now I spread out the glamorous cities of the world before them: New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Cairo, Buenos Aires and Minneapolis and Addis Ababa! Each girl chose one picture and then located that city on the map I'd brought. Finding their chosen country and city was not easy. I wondered if they could envision this gigantic world with all its mystery and majesty when most had never left Nekemt and those who had only went the 30 kilometers to Siree, where they had been born.

I underestimated their imagination and curiosity, however. We were soon visiting the four corners of the world using the pictures of airplanes and trains and buses and even a horse to get to each destination. Even more fun was choosing pictures of what they would take on their trip. They all loved the shoes with the highest heels or, better yet, boots, and the chic fashion skirts. Pictures of underwear brought laughter and blushes while cell phones, cameras and MP3 players were snatched up quickly. Watches held little appeal and Beth had to explain why they needed money as she handed out pictures of dollars and silver.

These young girls know the value of money. Every month they eagerly await their stipend from REAL and, after saving a portion in their bank account for their future, they hurry home to help feed their family as well as pay school fees and buy exercise books. But they didn't realize how necessary money is for travel. For the few who had left Nekemt, it was only to visit family members who housed and fed them. Hotels, taxis, restaurants were not things they had used.

We barely finished talking about our trips when it was time for them to leave. Most had a ways to walk and wanted to get home before the rain began.

Kathleen Moore, REAL teacher

Hello: An earnest first meeting with REAL girls

2009-06-15T10:26:00.004-05:00

There are 15 Ethiopian girls sitting on benches looking at me with totally blank expressions on their faces. I am saying, “Hello. My name is Kathleen.” They don’t speak. I realize that they don’t understand me at all. They range in age from 7 to 17 (one of the girls has brought her little sister who is too young to be in REAL but came along to see the “ferengi” (foreign) teacher.

“Another fine mess you’ve gotten yourself into,” my inner voice says to me. Now what do I do? Then the rain begins as it will every day for the next three months. Since all the roofs on all the buildings are made of tin, it sounds like we’re on a battle field in the heavy rainfall. “Oh, good,” I think. "Not only can’t they understand me, they can’t hear me either."

But this is what I’ve been waiting for for the last 44 years. Ever since I left Ethiopia in 1966, where I had been a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in a small village, I have wanted to return. Now I’m retired, my son is grown and gone, and my friend, Tsehai, has offered to let me teach the hundred-plus girls in the REAL program. What a wonderful gift!

Kathleen Moore, REAL teacher

So I begin again. “Hello.” I motion with my hands for them to repeat and the two oldest girls, Fenan and Obse, do. Then the others follow. And we go on from there……

Kathleen Moore

Arriving in Nekemte

2009-06-14T10:40:00.001-05:00

We arrived in Nekempte late in the afternoon. The REAL mentor, Abebech, was waiting for us and treated us to a late lunch at Classic Café where I had, much to my amazement, pizza! (A lot had changed in Ethiopia in 44 years but I would find out soon enough that a lot remained the same, too.) A car from the Synod, where we would be staying at their guest house, took us to the Synod compound about three miles from town. Our accommodations looked good: a large room for me to spread out my teaching materials, a small bedroom for Beth and Sosi, a dining room in between. The toilet room was part of the building but we had to walk outside and around to another door to get to it. That was all right. At least there was a flush toilet and sink with running water. Another room around another corner had a shower with a hot water tank!

Meals turned out to be problematic. There was no place on the Synod compound to get food. We would have to walk the three miles to town, Abebech said. I knew I couldn’t do that twice a day and asked if there wasn’t someone living near-by who could cook for us. Finally, Abebech talked two women, who worked in tea house near-by, into cooking for us. We worked out the price per meal and signed a “contract” for Monday through Friday of our two-week stay.

Kathleen Moore, REAL teacher

Kathleen Moore, Real teacher

Beth and Sosi went back to town to explore while I prepared my first lessons for the next day. Everything was turning out just fine until the next morning.

The long journey

2009-06-13T10:29:00.000-05:00

Getting here to Nekemte, the first REAL site where I will teach, was not easy. I left Minneapolis on June 4, arrived in time at Dulles airport at 3:00 p.m., only to be told that the Ethiopian Airlines plane was still in Rome and would be 11 hours late. There were hundreds of Ethiopians and Somalis, most with small children, waiting with me and none of them complained. I was traveling with a young Ethiopian woman, Bethlehem (Beth from now on), who left Ethiopia when she was 11; she was going back for the first time to see her native country and her relatives. Beth is now 22, very pretty and she speaks Amharic (the national language of Ethiopia) and I was lucky to have her with me. We ate dinner, walked all over the airport, tried to sleep on those plastic airport seats, and finally, at exactly 3:00 am, boarded our plane for the 17-hour trip to Addis Ababa.

Of course, since we arrived 11 hours later than scheduled, all of my friends and Beth’s relatives who had been waiting for us with flowers and smiles, had gone home to bed. Except for Almaz, Beth’s aunt. That wonderful, beautiful, generous, intelligent woman had found out what time our flight would arrive and returned to the airport to take us to her home, feed us and put us to bed. An angel if ever there was one.

While Beth was getting reacquainted with her aunts, uncles and cousins, I met with Elfnesh, the REAL mentor at the Burayu site, and her girls. They had prepared a lovely greeting for me, with popcorn and candy and the famous coffee ceremony. I told them all about myself (they were amazed that I was 66 years old, and so am I) and how happy I was to be there with them. Each of them had prepared a few words to say - her grade in school, what she wanted to be when she completed college and, always, her gratitude to me for coming to Ethiopia. I would hear this over and over from every girl and mentor and parent, their appreciation was overwhelming, yet I felt I was the one privileged to be a part of their lives for a short time.

I was told repeatedly, however, that if I wanted to go to Nekemt, quite a distance northeast of Addis, I better go before the rains started as the road wasn’t so good. So, against Elfnesh’s advice, Beth and I and Sosi, (the sixteen-year old daughter of my long-ago student from that small village) decided to take the bus to Nekemt while the sun shone. We were advised to hire a young man to get on our bus very early the next morning and save the front three seats for us. Thank goodness we did because, even though we left the house at 5:00 a.m. and got to the bus station by 6:00, most of the seats were already taken. Our young seat-sitter must have been there all night and, indeed, earned his 10 birr (Ethiopian dollars).

The bus was old; the ride was long and bumpy; the bus broke down; the seats were very tiny and cramped with 3 people in a seat made for two; the bus broke down again; the driver only stopped when the male passengers demanded it so they could pee at the side of the road. (The women never got off the bus; we just turned our heads and pretended we didn’t see what they were doing.) To my surprise and chagrin, the road was fine. It had recently been paved but my friends in Addis hadn’t known that because none of them ever went to Nekemt! And it didn’t rain at all.

The scenery was beautiful, hills and green forests around every bend, farmers walking behind their old-fashioned wooden plows pulled by an ox , children along the road waving to us, even a baboon came out to stare as we went by.

Tigist-Kotobe 2007

2009-06-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

Mulu-Kotobe 2007

2009-06-02T15:21:00.001-05:00

Kidist-Kotobe 2007

2009-06-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

Sayitu -Kotobe - 2007

2009-06-02T15:03:00.005-05:00

The Kotobe Girls 2007

2009-06-02T15:00:00.003-05:00

Kathleen Moore's trip to Ethiopia with REAL girls

2009-06-01T20:40:00.008-05:00

After 45 years, I am returning to Ethiopia. My friend, Betelham Benti, is accompanying me and will stay until August 15 when she returns to the US to continue her college education. I will stay for about a year, going to all eight REAL sites to tutor the girls in English and work with the Mentors.

We arrive in Addis Ababa the evening of June 4 and will visit friends and family before starting for the 1st site, Hosanna, to meet the girls and mentor, Worknesh. This is an especially exciting start for me as I visited Hosanna years ago when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the little village of Endeber which is on the way to Hosanna. In 1966, I walked the 100 kilometers from Endeber to Hosanna with another Peace Corps Volunteer and some of our students. This time we'll ride in a vehicle as my legs are no longer 21 years old.

Every chance I get, I'll post a blog about the girls and, hopefully, get them to blog here as well.

Katherine Moore

Weyinshet-Kotobe 2007

2009-06-01T15:24:00.000-05:00

Sirgut-Kotobe 2007

2009-06-01T15:23:00.000-05:00

Bethelhem (Tewelde)-Kotobe 2007

2009-06-01T15:13:00.000-05:00

Bethelhem (Getu)-Kotobe 2007

2009-06-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

Alem - Kotobe girl 2007

2009-06-01T15:03:00.004-05:00

Bahiruwa-Kotobe 2007

2009-06-01T15:02:00.004-05:00

Kotobe mentor, 2007

2009-06-01T15:02:00.003-05:00

Asnakech - Kotobe 2007

2009-06-01T14:27:00.002-05:00

Ayra Guliso Girls

2009-05-30T14:23:00.001-05:00

Wandibine - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:50:00.001-05:00

Tsehay - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:49:00.002-05:00

Tigist - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

Tabote - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

Sanaye - Ayre Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:46:00.000-05:00

Obse - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:45:00.000-05:00

Mitike - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:44:00.000-05:00

Lalise - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:42:00.000-05:00

Kitinash - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

Kababush - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:40:00.000-05:00

Diribe - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:39:00.001-05:00

Bakitu - Ayra Guliso girls

2009-05-29T14:38:00.001-05:00

Ayantu- Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:37:00.001-05:00

Alami - Ayra Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:36:00.001-05:00

Abune - Ayre Guliso girl

2009-05-29T14:35:00.001-05:00

Tsehay - Ayra Guliso mentor

2009-05-29T14:27:00.001-05:00

Farhan Abdullahi Agency, a new REAL friend

2009-05-25T11:12:00.010-05:00

Appreciative of REAL's work, Farhan Abdullahi come to REAL's recent 4th Annual Spring Celebration. After being at the event and moved by what REAL's doing to educate and empower Ethiopian girls he sent us this comment:

"Dear REAL:

It is with humility I have enclosed a small donation to your organization. My wife and I are from Ethiopia and my wife was fortunate enough to be educated in our country. We have three beautiful and healthy children, two are girls. I am blessed knowing that my daughters will never experience what girls in Ethiopia and the pain and the daily struggles they go through. I am very impressed with the great work that REAL is doing. Education is very important and I believe, this is something that can free a person and also free a country.

"Keep up the great work you are doing, and the dream of helping to educate the girls and women in Ethiopia."

Sincerely,

Farhan Abdullahi
Farahan Abdullahi Agency
American fAmily Ensurance"

Hosanna Girls 2007

2009-05-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

Yenenesh Gezu-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:15:00.001-05:00

Yenenesh-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:14:00.001-05:00

Tsehay-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:14:00.000-05:00

Teshalech-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:13:00.000-05:00

Sitota-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:12:00.000-05:00

Ramete-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:11:00.000-05:00

Mehalet-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:10:00.001-05:00

Martha-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:10:00.000-05:00

Hirut-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:09:00.000-05:00

Habatamuwa-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

Emebet-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:07:00.000-05:00

Dagimawit-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:06:00.000-05:00

Bezuayehu-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:05:00.001-05:00

Berhane-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:04:00.000-05:00

Aynalem-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T12:03:00.000-05:00

Mentor-Hosanna 2007

2009-05-24T11:54:00.001-05:00

Ghimbi girls 2007

2009-05-24T11:49:00.000-05:00

Tafasech-Ghimbi 2007

2009-05-23T11:47:00.000-05:00

Sena-Ghimbi 2007

2009-05-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

Obse-Ghimbi 2007

2009-05-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Lensa-Ghimbi 2007

2009-05-23T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hage-Ghimbi 2007

2009-05-23T11:42:00.000-05:00

Dinkinesh-Ghimbi 2007

2009-05-23T11:41:00.001-05:00

Chaltu-Ghimbi 2007

2009-05-23T11:39:00.001-05:00