Ethiopian Highlands!
This covers most of the territory of Ethiopia
and feeds the second largest population in Africa.
On this highland where most of the cities
lie 2000-2500 meters above the sea level,
are living culturally and linguistically colourful
and beautiful people, called Ethiopians.
LEARNING IN ETHIOPIA
Present Ethiopia, as we know it, founded in 1991,
has changed in many ways
and is changing, and in a good way.
The country worn by wars and famines
has found peace in herself and has a goal
to improve the standard of life of Ethiopians.
It is clear that education, and getting educated,
is important in Ethiopia.
It is believed that a well educated new generation
will take Ethiopia into new and better era.
But this task is not easy and the challenges are great.
This story is about a small group of Estonian volunteers
who went to Ethiopia to recondition a school
and to assess the situation of education in Ethiopia,
and thus also, about life in general.
They went to broaden their minds
and -most importantly -to learn from the experience.
Ethiopia is a very interesting country.
Probably many things have changed during the last decades.
20, 30, 50 years ago the country was quite closed.
It was something like in Soviet Union during the strictest years.
People were persecuted because of their beliefs.
People could not travel within the country,
not to mention travelling out of the country.
Even now, getting out of the country is quite difficult,
but at least travelling in the country is more free.
And I think that people feel that it is much easier
to live in Ethiopia than before.
It is weird that countries can be so different in the 21st century.
Sometimes I think: How is it possible?
Well, we live as we live in Estonia
and then you come here
and you go back in time for decades,
if not for centuries, in a way.
This is weird and I do not know how it is possible.
In Europe the countries interact so much
that their development is comparable,
how is it then that Africa is so underdeveloped...
Everything works so differently.
I had a bit of a shock when we came here from the Capital City:
people without legs crawled on streets
and some had a big tire around their legs
so that asphalt would not scratch the legs;
they were begging for money.
In the beginning it is quite difficult to see such a thing.
I have been to many places and what I see is
that they are completely different people,
but the life is still the same: they eat, sleep,
go to church, go to school, do other things.
This is different in different countries but life is life.
Of course, if we compare Estonians and Ethiopians,
the culture is very different.
They are brought up in a very different way from us,
with different possibilities.
I think that living in Soviet Union,
though we almost do not remember that life as we were too young,
has had its impact on us.
So we adapt more easily, not like those from Scandinavia,
like Norwegians, who can't get it the way we do.
People are very friendly, nice, helpful
- very helpful, even too helpful.
And everyone want to shake hands
and white people are always in the centre of attention.
And I like how they connect each other's shoulders when they greet.
This is nice, I like it.
Ethiopian culture reminds me the culture we had during Soviet Union.
Corruption. People are actually friendly and kind, very helpful
- like Russian people are.
I think we have a lot of Russian influence
and I like Russians very much, so I feel like at home.
If you live in Estonia you do not know what happens here.
You watch a bit from TV: oh, what a beautiful nature,
warm climate, some black people running around...
But poverty, the way how things really are
- I did not have any understanding of this.
I did not know what to think
- I did not do my homework, so I did not know what to expect.
Actually this reminds me the beginning of nineties in Estonia
- we had the same situation then. Now it has turned into euro-like.
Definitely one things which stands out
is that in Ethiopia life is acted out on streets.
As houses are very small
(if we can call those houses - by Estonian standards these are not houses),
nothing is hidden from others.
If you are crippled, you are crippled on the street,
if you are poor and begging, you are that on the street.
If you are a homeless child, you are that on the street.
If at first the multitude of people
and the cultural context can be frightening,
then quite soon we all understand that
everything seen on streets is a natural part of life,
which we are too much used to hide from others in Europe.
It is surprising though, that despite what we have experienced and seen,
good and beautiful memories still dominate.
Ethiopians are beautiful people - if we talk about outer appearance.
I think they are beautiful people.
They have beautiful features. Different.
They look like Europeans but the colour of the skin is different.
They are friendly, kind.
Completely strange person may greet you
- this does not happen in Estonia.
I think this is something we should learn from.
Everything is different here.
Let me think... people here are very religious.
Religion is very important here.
God is important here.
I think this is one of the reasons why people are the way they are:
despite of the poverty and all the diseases,
they are joyful and know how to enjoy life.
And the religious atmosphere is really noticeable.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all represented,
off which Christians form the majority:
more than 60% of the population of Ethiopia.
Most of them are members of a uniquely Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The massiveness and uniqueness of their sacred occasions
cannot be left unnoticed by anyone who happens to be nearby.
However, other peculiarities concerning Ethiopians are also there!
I like their attitude
- I mean the way how they communicate with us.
I do not mean the people who say „hello" and „tere" on the streets,
that's kind of shifty.
But I mean our friends here
- when they call us to visit their homes,
they are so hospitable.
They do everything for you and give everything for you.. it is..
This is not like in Estonia:
they give their maximum, which is very interesting.
And they do not have any self-pride.
They take our clothes and wash them...
If my friend would visit me,
I would not even think about cleaning his shoes.
I would give him a brush and he can do it himself.
For me it is a little humiliating to see how they work for me,
I actually would not like to let them do that.
I think the way Ethiopians see life
is healthier than that of Europeans.
For sure, religion has greatly contributed to this.
Here we should ask: what is the future of Ethiopia?
Often it is said that children are our future.
Therefore, by teaching our children we shape our future.
And there are plenty of children in Ethiopia,
all beautiful, standing out in every way.
Children are children.
Children are happy and with sparkling eyes.
I think they do not know anything better.
They have what they have, and they are happy.
They are dirty but their eyes shine and they are happy,
and they greet you when they meet you,
and they are also somewhat different. Unspoiled.
Very sincere.
Of course we should exclude the ones
who already know how to ask for money.
But the little ones are like children usually are.
The children are very cute.
Sometimes they can be bothersome:
this "money, money, money" they know well.
I love the children, they are very nice.
I think it does not matter if you are big or small
or black or white or whatever.
Children are children.
Children here are very nice.
I think that everyone thinks the same and everyone feels the same.
They are very sincere and always happy.
I am not sure...
it feels like if we compare with European or North-American children,
Ethiopian children are unspoiled.
They are very different.
In theory we all know that material things do not make anyone happy,
but here we see this in practice.
They do not have any material things
but they are much happier than Estonian children.
The children here are more energetic than in Estonia.
If you look at the children at classroom
or even here, outside.. they are playing.
They want and try more.
They are very active.
They do not have any material things but they are still happy and lively…
it is interesting to see how bigger children take care of smaller ones
and hierarchy is very fixed in families...
Our children stand for only themselves
and they call for mom or dad if something happens.
In Ethiopia they take care of themselves.
And they do it although they are very young.
This is very different from Estonia.
Two boys were carrying water from a spring.
They were walking up a steep slope and it was quite hard to do.
I was walking behind them and at one point I noticed
that one of the boys was limping a bit.
The other boy took his canister and carried both of them.
They were small boys, about eight years old.
So they are also mutually helpful, try to help each other.
The children, and a contribution to securing
a better future for the children, was the initial motivation
for the small group of volunteers to came to Ethiopia in the first place.
The goal was set for a modest renovation of a small school.
Approximately 350 students attend this school, recognised by the city council.
Oxnard Academy - this was not built as a school.
These houses are meant for living.
Some stain constructions have been added,
so that all classes could meet.
And the conditions here are below any standards.
The classrooms are dark.
Windows are very small.
No lights inside.
Benches are falling apart.
Three children are sitting at one bench.
They write, holding the workbooks upwards,
for otherwise they do not have enough space to sit.
When I arrived here on my first day, everything was gloomy somehow.
Or actually I did not consider this place as a school.
There was a yard and some rooms which were dark.
And I still do not know if there is any electricity or not.
It looks like there is but I do not know if they use it.
Of course, the electrical connections are awful.
Sometimes there are just two uncovered wires and that's it.
I do not want to comment how the electric systems are installed here.
Deficiencies are many.
Most worrying though is the lack of textbooks.
Basically all they have is desks and chairs.
And the board! And only few books.
Actually it is miserable to see that the students do not have books,
textbooks - none of these things.
They write everything into their notebooks from the board.
They do have some books in the library
- maybe 50 books all together for the whole school.
They have no personal textbooks, at least not here.
Similar issues also exist for those studying in larger schools.
Although a lack of books and textbooks is a problem,
perhaps schools themselves should be a priority.
Because there is not enough schools,
what suffers the most is the quality of education.
No wonder that governmental schools are generally not appreciated
- therefore Ethiopians debate, which is better:
governmental or private school?
Although among students and parents such sentiments
are generally common, the situation is not unambiguous:
private schools also have their shortcomings.
One of the issues also concerning the quality of education, is related to language.
Higher education in Ethiopia is based on English,
which meant that learning English is usually started in an early stage.
I remember when I came here for the first time
I thought that it is weird that everything is in English.
All subjects are taught in English:
science, social sciences - it is very good in itself.
This provides a good base.
Of course, it is debatable that some subjects should be in their mother tongue,
but I still think that it is good.
If children are small they can learn more and they remember things better.
I like it this way.
Although we might see this in a positive light,
I think there are not many pupils here,
in Estonia, who would like to study in English.
Same applies to the locals,
who say that studying in a foreign language is difficult.
But teachers consider speaking English very important:
It seems though, that they are trying to arrange things in such a way
that every child could study in their mother tongue:
In every way the challenge is real,
for more than 80 different languages are spoken in Ethiopia.
Therefore it is even more complicated to make the
basic education available in everyone's mother tongue.
Still, one of the objectives is to provide higher education
in ones native language.
As a conclusion it can be said that the people in Ethiopia
are eager to study and the government makes
an effort to afford education for everyone.
Presently Ethiopian people appreciate education very much,
as this is the only way to escape poverty.
The only way to move on.
And at the same time when talking to peole
I have not heard people saying that they want to
go to school in order to get many things.
Mostly children say that they want to go to school
to help Ethiopian people and their country.
It seems that Ethiopians have the will to study.
But in reality the opportunities set their own limitations:
There are many children in families
- 6-7, in countryside up to 12 and more.
Sometimes only one of the children from one family can go to school.
There are families in which no-one can go to school.
Although the school fees seem small to us,
the tuition fee can be 50 bir (about 3 euros) per month,
still for them it can be too much to pay.
Of course, there is a huge lack of textbooks and stationery,
but also clothes, which is secondary though.
But, for example, a notebook can be too expensive for many families.
It would be easy to arrange such resources here,
in the form of money, for example.
Also, distance of schools from homes,
and lack of transportation, is a continuous problem.
Who is right is difficult to tell. It looks like peole
do not want to accept the fact that there are peole
for whom education is still not available.
Or perhaps current efforts have not yet had the expected results.
It is also difficult to estimate the availability of education in the countryside,
where appreciably more than 80% of Ethiopians live.
Despite of the hardships related to studying it seems to be clear
that education is highly respected
and studying is considered extremely necessary.
I think that it is already good that the children go to school,
that they are not wandering at the streets, that they just do not hang around.
That's what we see here
- people just sit, do nothing.
So when children can go to school, at least they study,
at least they try to study - I consider this very positive.
It is good to see such an eagerness to get an education.
But of course it is not possible for everyone to get educated.
And so the small company of volunteers from Estonia
tried to answer the question about how
we could help to make this dream come true.
When I see a child coming to school and wanting to study
and I see that the results are good
- the marks are „excellent" or „good",
I see that he sits and studies...
I think that it is absolutely worth to try
if we can change the life of one person.
And often I think we can really do this
- I have never thought so much of education before.
I have started to think about teachers,
the learning system, all kinds of things
- earlier I took it all for granted,
but now I think how to improve the system,
how we can help the teachers,
how we can school someone or do something that motivates, inspires.
For I think we have basic knowledge they perhaps do not have.
So it's always possible to help somehow.
And as I said that if our knowledge is valuable for one person,
I think it has value for everyone.
I think it is very good that we can help others
- we are not the weak ones everyone has to help.
Now we are ourselves capable and we can help others.
Everyone has a chance to do something here
and I think that our first group shows clearly how different we all are.
I cannot imagine doing it all alone.
And so all those who came with us here
- all of them are skilled in different things
and everyone will decide, when they come back,
if they want to come back here to do something.
Actually they could manage it themselves
- to paint the walls and things.
But in addition we can notify the world,
to inform about the local situation.
Maybe we achieve even more like this than by simply rebuilding this school
- it is just a means by which we reach the goal.
For sure it would be splendid for anyone
willing enough to support the education of some of the children.
For only a very little money, to us,
a child here can go to a school and get a good education.
In a way I do not know what is there for us to teach them
- these people here do not need Europe.
They need something completely different.
Although it is clear that we can give a lot to Ethiopia,
we should not forget that we have also a lot to learn.
Sometimes it is unclear who is teaching whom.
None of the volunteers who have been here,
will leave this place unchanged.
We can go and teach others, but first and foremost we learn ourselves.
If you go to Ethiopia you see that life is more than,
for example, beautiful things. Life is much more than that.
The people whom I have met here, if I look at them,
I see that we have a lot to learn
- especially the part of being humble, and serving others,
how to consider the wellbeing of other peole
and leaving one's personal wishes somewhere behind.
This is exactly what we need to learn from here.
And what we should apply at home.
They have broadened my mind for sure
- understanding about life and people, different people in general.
For in the future when I live in Estonia or Norway,
the people are different - same here, but it is not the same.
I think it depends on where the person has grown up
and how he has been raised, it affects a lot.
All the living conditions, opportunities - it is all different.
For me it is a great lesson.
Yes, it is funny, but we do not see much of unhappiness.
They live, mostly live in poverty, but... they smile.
In Estonia we live very well compared to them,
but we look morose.
Somehow we are very burdened with everything.
And maybe we actually sometimes have some reason to be like that,
but I also think we have a lot to be grateful for.
Estonians should learn helpfulness, friendliness
and attention towards each other from Ethiopians.
I think that Estonians need help:
to realise and understand all the good things they have.
Estonians should value the fact that their children are fed at school,
their teeth are treated,
a car will be called in as soon as something happens to any of them.
We have so much that I would start crying
if I would continue telling about all this.
While being here, I feel that I have been happier
and have smiled more than I would do within some years in Estonia
- and I have been here for two weeks.
When thinking more of others we gain more to ourselves.
Why to go and help others?
Mostly, I would say, to help yourself.
And of course, the one who teaches others, learns the most.
We may ask why should we consider foreign problems as our own?
For because a truly great nation does not think only of herself,
but helps where possible, and learns where things are taught.
And I'd like to believe that Estonians know how to think big,
how to care, learn, and foremost - wants to help.
For sure I will leave Ethiopia with a good feeling.
This is a nice country with nice people.
The country tries to improve the situation herself
and for sure we have learnt much.
Especially the way of thinking
- it has been a very refreshing time.
I think that I personally will leave with good thoughts,
positive experiences and I would like that those experiences
would really stay with me.
For example, I do not want to whine in the future.
So that I could remind myself of everything I saw here,
and maybe I will return - who knows.
I would say that dreams may come true
- we should always try,
we should have the courage to always jump out of our ordinary environment
to see something new.
I want to encourage people to do this,
also those who sit at home and watch and hear this and maybe lack the courage
- I recommend them to try, to come here, watch, see, experience.
I think that what they see and what is here for them,
is something so special they cannot even imagine.
And I am completely sure that they feel positive about it.
I am absolutely sure of that.
Who is interested, can help in many ways,
we do not need to handle all with money...
If there were no such programmes, then things would never change.
We must do something and if everyone would do a little,
the world would be a better place.
I think that God is so big that
if I would not believe in this 100%, I would not be here.
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