Queniborough Teachers visit Ethiopia.
Nothing quite prepared me for this undeniably exhausting, yet exhilarating trip of a
lifetime! Two teachers (Mrs Hardy and myself), four suitcases (as Mrs Hardy kept
saying – ‘Only one of them has my clothes in- the other has stationery and resources in!!’)
travelled approximately 4000 miles out to Ethiopia, on Friday 14th October, to continue
building on our friendship with our link school- The Yekatit 23 Elementary School in
Bahir Dar.
From the time we boarded our third plane to Gondar via Axum, I was intrigued by the
sights below. Luscious patchwork fields, mountains, rivers and mud huts. Ethiopia is truly
a beautiful place. Once we landed at Gondar airport, we were met by Mulugeta Birhane
from Link Ethiopia who escorted us to our hotel. Whilst travelling along the main road,
we passed people walking to and from the road to the Sudan, children exercising cattle,
street vendors selling anything from fruit to hairspray and taxis called ‘Bajaj’ (small
three-wheeled vehicles). In the fields, young children were sitting on raised platforms
with umbrellas over their heads guarding crops from predators.
Once we reached our hotel, Mrs Hardy was met with hugs and kisses from Fekersalem
her sponsored child through Link Ethiopia. This was a real joy to see, as you quickly
realise how little Ethiopian children have. After a quick change we took a Bajaj to a local
Elementary School where a meeting with local teachers and Link Ethiopia Coordinators
had been arranged. Two very tired teachers and an excited teenager with a balloon and
bouncy ball shared our aims and experience of our school links so far.
The link between our schools began in 2009 and through ‘Link Ethiopia’ and funding from
the ‘British Council’ we have been able to work closely together building friendships
between children, teachers and the wider community. This year our aims are to work on
Global Issues; sharing diversity and culture. We also want to strengthen the link
between children in our schools, not just through sending ‘pen-pal’ letters but to work on
a joint enterprise project and learning themes, including the Olympics.
During lunch, I got to meet more of the Link Ethiopia team and had my first encounter
with ‘injera’ – a traditional Ethiopian bread that I can only describe as eating pitta bread
dipped in vinegar, a taste of things to come! On Saturday afternoon we visited a local
orphanage called the ‘Kindu Trust’, in search of beads and embroidery threads for a
project we wanted to start and spent the evening at Belayneh’s house (Link Ethiopia
Coordinator). I experienced an Ethiopian power cut and my first of many coffee
ceremonies. Wherever you go in Ethiopia people are always very keen to stop and chat.
Children especially want to shake hands and constantly smile and wave.
The next morning was a very early start-4am to be precise! Ethiopia never seems to
sleep and the call to church and work starts very early on in the day. This gave me a
chance to watch the sunrise and the hustle and bustle of the Ethiopian way of life. We
were met by Elsa (Link Ethiopia Schools Coordinator) who was to escort us over the next
few days to Bahir Dar. As we only had a short time in Ethiopia, we wanted to experience
as much as possible so that we could share with children what life is really like. Sunday
was an incredible day, not only did we visit 17th Century Castles in Gondar, travel
precariously for three hours in a squashed minibus to Bahir Dar, but we also got to
experience a truly amazing sight - ‘The Blue Nile Falls’. The Blue Nile, known locally as
Abbay, flows from Ethiopia to meet the White Nile in Khartoum to form the great river
that gives life to Egypt and the Sudan. Wow! My first thought was I wish the class could
see this!
On Monday, the Yekatit 23 Elementary School greeted us with flowers, a coffee
ceremony and an Ethiopian welcome of; tribal dances, circus acts, singing and drama. We
got to meet Ato Mulugeta (the Head) and Abundeje (Teacher/Link Organiser) who made
us feel so welcome and showed us around the 1200 strong school, which operates in two
shifts to accommodate all the pupils and allow them to work outside of school hours.
Teaching is very different in Ethiopia. Classes are held in mud huts with little or no
resources, all classes have over fifty pupils! During my time I managed to share teaching
experiences with fellow teachers, from their style of ‘chalk and talk’ to our more
interactive approach. The one thing that really stood out was children’s aspirations. All
children take great care of their books and equipment. They also want to achieve and go
to university in the future – sadly, this is not the case as many cannot afford to continue
schooling.
Two families from Queniborough sponsor children in the school and we were able to
deliver packages from England personally. What a delight it was to see their excitement
at receiving photos and gifts from their English families.
At the end of the shift we presented the school with a banner. The banner which shows
pictures of hands from both schools and the school emblems was created and kindly
donated by one of our parents with help from her daughters. This is now displayed on
Yekatit 23’s main building and a similar themed mosaic will be unveiled shortly at
Queniborough School. St. Mary’s Church in Queniborough also donated money towards
equipment. With this we have purchased beads and threads and links are being created
to start an enterprise project between the two schools. Mrs Hardy has a passion for
working with Foundation Stage children and what better opportunity then setting up a
new Kindergarten. During the week we scoured markets for toys and paint – not as easy
as you might think. While Mrs Hardy discussed teaching methods, I was put to work with
a little help from some children (and under the watchful eyes of a lizard) painting and
designing a new child friendly room. With support from parents and an enthused
teacher, we slowly set about creating a learning environment that will enrich young
children’s lives and encourage them to learn through play-a new experience for them all!
Next door to the Kindergarten is a deaf unit. I have always had an enthusiasm for
working with hearing impaired children and this was no exception. Mrs Hardy and I
unfortunately couldn’t get some equipment through customs due to local tax implications
and paper work, however we did manage to bring one piece of equipment through which is
now being successfully used by staff to measure levels of deafness in the school and
Link Ethiopia have since delivered the final pieces of equipment to the unit. One memory
I will treasure, is seeing the sheer delight of excitement on children’s faces whilst
playing with glow bracelets, whizzing balloons and bouncing balls.
Ethiopia has undoubtedly changed my life. Hopefully, through our school’s partnership
children, parents, teachers and the wider community will be able to share and learn from
experiences, as both communities have such a lot to offer!
Tracey Lidgett. Year 6 Teacher. Queniborough CE Primary School.