Sintaro

There is a small village that is located about 200 miles (seven hours) southwest of Addis Ababa called Sintaro.  Sintaro is located just south of Awassa in SNNPR [region] of Ethiopia.  Each region is also broken down into zones.  Sintaro is located in the Sidame zone of SNNPR and the working language here is Sidaminia.  Many older youth and adults know at least some Amharic because that is the working language of the whole region.  The population of Sintaro is around 1,500 and primary religion is Protestant Christianity.  There is a Catholic church in town for the small Catholic population.

Sintaro is located in a very hilly area that is absolutely beautiful.  Almost every home is a large hut made of wood, mud, and straw.  Other buildings are often made of cement and/or cinder block.  Some buildings such as the health post are government owned and often are a little sturdier than private buildings such as homes.

The church my parents attend in the states fund the primary school being built in Sintaro through a non-governmental organization in Ethiopia called Hope Enterprises.  There is also the option of sponsoring young children in Sintaro through hope Enterprises so that they are able to go to school.  When the school first opened two years ago, sponsorship began with five year olds to go to kindergarten.  Each new school year, there is a new class of students to be sponsored.  The older kids continue to be sponsored throughout primary school by the same sponsors.  Each new year as new kids start school, new people sponsor them or others will choose to sponsor an additional child.  The school has been open for about two years now, so there are currently two kindergarten classes and a first grade class.

This is one view of the school.  It is still in the works.

One of the many huts in Sintaro that are common to what many families live in.

A few times each year, a group of people (generally a group made up of members from my parents church) come to Ethiopia to visit the village.  The first week of February of this year, I went to Sintaro with my parents and four other women from the states to serve the community as a medical team.  Our primary goal was to assess the health of sponsored students at the primary school. 

When doing the medical assessments of the students, we first began by measuring their height and weight.  The older kids had been assessed a year prior to this because this was their second year of school.  It was very interesting to see the changes over the past year.  This was the first year of school for the younger kids, so this was the first time they were being checked.  After having height and weight measured, the kids were sent into another room where the general medical assessment was taken. 

During this assessment, we did a general check to make sure things such as skin, hair, teeth, etc. were in good condition.  We also asked the kids about any pain they were feeling.  Common things we noticed included, very dry and/or dirty skin, bad teeth, and complaints or pain in the general area of the digestive system.  For the older kids who had been checked the previous year, it was nice to be able to compare their assessments and see if there were any repeating symptoms.  We also gave each kid de-worming medicine.  Despite the church sending a medical team only once a year, it has been very cool to see how what we are doing has brought more awareness.  What the medical team did last year as well as the team this year really helped the health worker at the health post as well as the nurse at the primary school.  What we did helped to expand their knowledge base and help them learn what to keep an eye out for when concerning the health of the children.

In addition to our medical assessment, we had sponsors from my parents’ church write letters for the kids they sponsor.  As each child finished up their assessment someone in our group would sit down with them (in addition to a translator) and would read their letter with them.  It was such a cool experience to see the big grins spread across these kids’ faces as they opened up their letters.  All of these kids are very young and don’t necessarily understand the concept of sponsorship.  So it was also very cool to see some of these kids gain some understanding of whom these letters were from and what it means to be sponsored.

Our last day in Sintaro, we did hut visits.  We did not have time to visit homes of every child, so we focused on the sponsored kids of those who were part of our team.  My family sponsors to little girls in Sintaro, so my parents and I visited their homes.  It is such an amazing experience visiting these kids and getting to know them.  I can’t even begin to explain how wonderful it was to see how excited these two girls were as they led us to their homes.  We were able to see the homes they live in, meet their families, and have normal conversations. 

Experiences like this happen rarely in a lifetime.  I have learned that when an experience like this comes along, you have to take full advantage of it.  You have to learn all that you can.  Despite being in Sintaro for only four or five days, those kids taught me so much and even changed me a little bit (for the better I think).  At the beginning of the week, many of us got really sick, but were back on our feet and able to get back to work within a day.  Despite such challenges, I would not have changed anything about that week.  I have been learning, especially over the past couple of years, that the most rewarding experiences that will also be the most life changing are often the most challenging as well.  Such experiences have taught me to not give up easily when something becomes difficult.  I have learned that when something becomes difficult, you’ve got to keep pushing further and harder.  It is usually worth it in the end!

Shybunna Break!

First, I would like to begin with a quick Amharic lesson.  Shy in Amharic is tea and bunna is coffee.  I remember my first introduction to shybunna during my first three months (Pre-service training) in Ethiopia.  Each day of training, we generally would have one shybunna break in the morning and one in the afternoon.  I became very accustomed to having shybunna breaks every day for three months.  I missed having that scheduled time for shybunna during the day when first moving to site.  But I have found that I will work shybunna into my schedule when I miss and/or need it the most.

Shybunna is actually a very important part of Ethiopian culture.  Bunna in itself is an important part of Ethiopian culture and is in part a huge part in what makes Ethiopia unique.  Not only was it a common and normal part of the very structured schedule that was the first three months of my life in this new country but it is also a very normal part of every Ethiopians life.  It is very normal for people to take multiple breaks though out their works days to go to their favorite shybunna bet (tea/coffee house) and to take a break from work.  It is very common to take these shybunna breaks through out the day, even outside of working hours.

I wanted to use this post as an introduction to my idea for a Shybunna Break post series.  What I would like to do is take Shybunna breaks from my normal posts every once in a while and take the opportunity to do a Q&A.  But this will require some work put in by all of you regular readers!  In order to make this series of posts possible, I really do need your input.  Please take the time when possible to send me any questions you have for me via comments on the bottom of my posts, sending me an email, or leaving me a comment and/or sending me a message via Facebook.  You can ask me questions about virtually anything.  You can ask me about anything about what life for me like in Ethiopia is, how it is affecting or will potentially effect my life when I go back to the states, about Ethiopian culture, or anything else that strikes your fancy that you would like to ask me.  I am open to any questions that you shoot my way.

PLEASE send questions!  They don’t necessarily have to be questions.  If you have any general thoughts, comments, or topics that you want me to discuss, send my way too.  I need your help in order for these posts to work.  Thanks in advance for your input!

This is a jebina.  Traditional Ethiopian coffee is made in one of these.

Finding Strength Part #2

Here's a response to my last post because I have heard that some people back in the states might be worried.  I want to begin by saying that the experience of being a Peace Corps volunteer is like a roller coaster.  It has its ups and downs, highs and lows.  Recently, I hit a quick dip in my roller coaster after having a month long high when my parents visited and going to Tanzania.

Sometimes when I find myself in at a low point, it can be a little more difficult to find my strength.  I am realizing though that when I am at my low points, that's really when I am using most of my strength.  I learn from each low and high moment and grow stronger with every experience.

To all those in the states that worry, PLEASE try not to worry too much.  From start to finish of my Peace Corps service, there will be many moments in which I struggle.  But I have found ways in which to cope and have amazing people supporting me (both from the states and in country).

I know that this is a short post, but I wanted everyone to know that overall, I am doing well, learning and growing, and gaining an experience that I would never trade for anything.

Another post to follow soon!