March-April 2009
Dear Family, Friends and Supporters!
I am currently in Europe visiting my family and have recovered sufficiently from what I reckon to be Ethiopia’s biggest problem, Too Much Drama, to write a report.
Jony and the babysitter, Meskerem, have settled in, and I have got temporarily used to the idea of not having any privacy. Actually there is no word in Amharic for privacy, the closest to it is bitchanet and that means loneliness and is a bad thing. I’ve got workers around me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except when I escape to Addis Ababa or, as now, to Austria. The children as well as the babysitter come trooping into my bedroom at around 6:30 in the morning, and that was it for rest. I know this is nothing new for parents everywhere, and I am adjusting to it, but bear with me, I’m new at this.
A very generous anonymous donor has enabled us to buy a full set of Montessori materials of top quality from the proper Montessori school in Wolayta. The children are thrilled with the new, beautiful toys, and we are trying to encourage more discipline and faster progress. Much is left to do, but the new classroom looks somewhat bigger and less messy. We will need 3 more shelves for the rest of the toys, and then, urgently, bigger premises. The same donor also allowed us to order playground equipment – for now swings, a see-saw and a slide – which are not yet finished. I spend much time and energy trying to explain basic safety guidelines to the metal worker who is building these things, stressing that what may be good enough for some kindergartens in Ethiopia is not good enough for us. We have also bought 15 new quality balls, 5 jumping ropes, and 5 badminton sets. All of these are being used enthusiastically; let us hope that they will last for a while.
Although most of our children are doing well, some still get sick beyond the colds that no growing child escapes. Ingocha was vomiting for 2 weeks at least and we had to take her to the doctor’s 3 times with amoeba, giardia and lots of bacteria in her belly. After Easter, when even poor people eat lots of meat, 3 of our children were so full of tape worm that they were crawling out of their mouths and wriggling about on the dining tables, one of the most disgusting sights I’ve ever seen. In May we have had several cases of pneumonia; Abdurahim in particular was very sick. Although pneumonia is catching, it is nearly impossible to send the sick children home, as they get no care at all there and will not recover quickly. Our social worker, Misa, is now working full time and has the job to take all the sick children to the clinic and make sure they take their medication properly.
Just before Easter, heavy rainfalls to the east of Shashamane caused one of our rivers to swell and flood many houses alongside its banks, including that of Haymanot and her guardian/mother. When other parents who live in the neighbourhood called in panic, asking us not to send their children home yet as there was no way to cross the flooded roads, I remembered that Haymanot’s tiny mud house is right next to the river. When I reached there, the small front yard and the house, which is partly underground, were completely flooded, and Haymanot’s mother was standing knee-deep in water wailing. I offered to keep Haymanot with me for the next three days, after which we’d be able to assess the situation better and then decide what to do. When Tiringo finally showed up after five days, when I and the rest of the staff already thought that she had abandoned the child, she claimed that the government had provided her with a new house and bed. I thought that rather strange – in Ethiopia help does not usually arrive that quickly. And sure enough, when I went to look for Tiringo, I found out that she was living in an emergency tent together with 100 other displaced people. I argued with her that it would be better for Haymanot if she stayed with me until the situation had improved, even took her to the team leader of the Labour and Social Affairs Office in Shashamane, who advised the same, but Tiringo remained adamant: Haymanot had to move into the UNICEF tent because that way the mother would receive more emergency aid. I was very frustrated, as Haymanot’s traditionally difficult behaviour had improved greatly in the 10 days she was with me and I felt I could help this socially very underprivileged child, but could not keep her against her guardian’s will.
Finally, we have got one more student. Our social worker Misa had her strategy well worked out, when I came to her house she had Tesfanesh, a 6 year old girl who has lost her mother to AIDS and whose father left her with an old, very poor neighbour, right there. She begged me to give the malnourished child, if not an education, at least food. Well, of course we won’t do that; I had to accept her and she will learn and play with the rest of our children. What to do? When I return to Ethiopia, we will have to look for bigger premises to look after all these children properly. We hope that our supporters and donors will continue to help us.
I had completed the March and April financial report before leaving for Austria, but forgot to take it with me. I will have to ask for your patience and will add it to this report as soon as I return.
With heartical greetings,
Isheba Tafari
President
Positive Action Charity Organization
