Lauren’s Stay at Selamta

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

I’m finally finishing up my seventh week here and it seems to have dragged on much longer than any of the others. Its interesting because I thought it would get easier to be so far away from home and to live on my own, but it has only proven to have gotten more difficult as time passes. I am so sad about leaving everyone here who I have grown to love so much, but I cannot WAIT to see my friends and family back home!

The past week has not been uneventful though. Last Sunday I spent the day at the “Sport the Bridge” program soccer tournament which was really fun. The Selamta girls and boys both played really well, and the younger boys got a chance to get in on the action when they played a team of other younger boys. There was a little boy who was probably about two that came running up to me almost right when we got there in the morning and he stuck around with the Selamta spectators throughout the day. His name was Abush and he was one of the cutest children I have ever seen, I immediately fell for him. His mother was sort of lurking in the background throughout the day, clearly a homeless woman who was also suffering from elephantitis. It was so hard to think about this adorable and loving boy having to live on the streets with a mother who let him run around among strangers. All of the Selamta kids became partially attached to Abush and when Abel came at the end of the day there was talk of whether or not we could try to have Abush come live in Selamta. Abel went to speak with the mother, who adamantly did not want to separate from her child, which of course makes sense. Then Seyfe told us that this woman had lived where he used to live and that she had tried to sell her son when he was younger and then had sued the person she had sold him to. I guess it was a good thing that we didn’t get involved with a person like that, but it really was heartbreaking to have to say goodbye to this little boy. Oh, he was so sweet.

On Wednesday, I took a much needed break and spent the day at the pool at the Ghion Hotel. It only cost 25 birr ($2.50!) and we could hang out there as long as we wanted. It was very relaxing, but unfortunately the sun was much stronger than I expected and I got a little sunburn that has really been a nuisance. It was nice to get into the city though, and I realized that I hadn’t seen any other forenge since John left almost two weeks ago! I think going home is going to be more than a major shock.

The week in school seemed to go by very quickly. Friday was my last day with my grade 7 students and it turned out to be extremely anticlimactic. I was kind of expecting some big inspirational thing to happen and then…. Nothing. Most of the children did pretty well on their quiz that I gave them which was a general review of everything we had studied together. The average grade was about an 80%. After spending a few hours grading all of the quizzes, I have a new found respect for teachers. Grading is a lot of work! Quite a few of the students brought in letters or small presents for me like jewelry and little trinkets like that. It was sad to say goodbye to some of my favorite students, but honestly I couldn’t really wrap my head around the idea that I would never see some of these kids ever again. I guess the fact that I’m leaving hasn’t really hit me yet.

So now I just have a few more days here, I have to finish up with my grade 6 students, do my last minute souvenir shopping and spend my last precious days with the kids and moms. I’ll write once more before I go!

Notes from Ambassador Lauren Argenti

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

 I’m about to finish my sixth week here at Selamta and I’m finally
 feeling like I have my routine down. Carol and the big group of
 volunteers were here about two weeks ago, and right after they left it
 was tough to keep the energy level up without the help of seven
 others. Especially after we got home from Bishangari, I was having a
 lot of trouble with homesickness and frustration in teaching. I’m
 teaching English grammar to grades 6 and 7 at the Alpha School (where
 all of Selamta’s kids go). My grade 6 kids especially seemed to be
 having so much trouble remembering what I had taught them in the class
 before, I felt like I was failing as a teacher and as a volunteer. It
 was nice to talk to my dad, who has been a professor for about thirty
 years, about this frustration, its good to know that I’m not alone in
 feeling like I’m not doing my job correctly! And of course he
 encouraged me not to get angry at the kids for not remembering, but to
 try and come up with a more creative way for them to learn the
 subject. Although anyone who can make conditional sentences
 interesting has got to be a genius… I did try my best and after
 another review in more of a game form, they seemed to understand a lot
 better. I realized it really isn’t fair to think that they’ll remember
 everything I teach them. I might review the lesson four times in the
 four different grade 6 classes, but they only learn it once, along
 with all of their other lessons of the day. So I’ve been trying to
 practice patience and teach more creatively, and I think it has really
 been working.

 On Carol’s last day here she picked up three new girls, Almas (15),
 Belaynesh(12), and Yezzina(8). They are sisters and they are just so
 sweet. The school won’t let them just start in the middle of the
 semester so they’re hanging out at Selamta during the day with me.
 They are really adjusting quickly and seeing their gorgeous smiling
 faces every morning makes me so happy. It’s pretty cool that they’re
 so loving and open with me, shows that the culture of Selamta is easy
 to get used to for them. The other girl who’s home every day is
 Mekedes (15). It’s been one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had
 here to get to know this girl. I know all of the things that happened
 with her in the past but she has clearly made a 100% turn around and
 its been so fun to spend time with her. Her English is also improving
 really rapidly so that’s exciting to see. Unfortunately, on the other
 side of things, Belay has not proven to be behaving any better since
 Carol left. I feel so bad for him, he’s run away about 15 times and
 just never listens to any authority whatsoever. Its clear that he has
 had major trauma and trusts no one. It’s really tough to see him
 struggling.
 John and I had a lot of fun finishing up the woodworking project. He
 did such a great job of getting as many kids as possible engaged, and
 it was especially exciting to see so many girls with so much skill in
 carpentry. I helped out as much as I could in the shop, although I was
 learning right along with the others. By the time he left on Tuesday,
 John and the kids had built a shoe cubby for all seven homes and an
 extra for the eighth home (opening in April) and eighteen “dooka” or
 stools for the mothers and aunties to sit on in their kitchens. Every
 piece that was completed was varnished a few times over and made to as
 close to perfection as possible. John worked hard to show the kids the
 difference between just doing something, and doing something well. He
 also spent at least a day and a half at each home fixing up all the
 loose/broken odds and ends that needed to be fixed. His “honey-do”
 list, as Carol called it, was very long, and whenever he showed up at
 a house they ended up thinking of four other things that needed fixing
 as well.. But he got almost everything accomplished and the mothers
 and children were so grateful for all that he did for them. The kids
 especially showed an amazing form of gratitude for John, two of the
 houses made him big pieces of art work to bring home. Wendimagegn
 (Lalibela House) actually drew a beautiful map of Ethiopia, with all
 of the important landmarks labeled, and put it in a frame that he had
 built with the help of John in the woodshop. I thought that was really
 touching because he had worked so hard to make this frame perfect and
 then felt so grateful for John’s help in teaching him that he wanted
 him to have it. That kind of generosity is definitely not seen in
 fourteen old boys everywhere!

 On John’s last Sunday here we spent the afternoon going around to the
 different houses to make sure everything was copasetic and for him to
 say his goodbyes. I have to admit, I was very glad I didn’t have to
 say goodbye to all the kids and moms yet. We probably drank one too
 many cups of buna, but we had a good time seeing all the shoe cubbies
 and dooka put to use. Since he left, the office has seemed extremely
 quiet. After Abel left on Tuesday night there was hardly any noise
 until Haile started his tasks at 7 in the morning. It really wasn’t
 fun to make or eat dinner alone! It has also been really great to just
 discuss day to day issues, and life issues, with John over instant
 noodles and a St. George’s. I was really sad to see him go. But
 luckily I can convince my buddy Tesfaye to stay and hang out with me
 pretty often!

 As I’ve started to realize that I really only have two weeks left, I’m
 already getting sentimental about leaving. I’m going to try to make
 the best of the time I have left here, and of course am already
 planning for when I’ll come back.

“Into Abyssinia” Film Trailer

The trailer for “Into Abyssinia”, a documentary set around the Human Capital Foundation’s first humanitarian visit to Ethiopia, and the inception of the Selamta project, has just been posted online a couple days ago. Three years in the making, the film focusing on four volunteers each with their own unique story as they travel in to the heart of the AIDS orphan crisis in Ethiopia. The film is due to be released this summer, so check it out!

For more information about the film check out The Into Abyssinia Facebook group

Teddy Afro on NPR

NPR has a great story on Teddy Afro, the Ethiopian musician whose songs have become the soundtrack of the Selamta project. It’s not long, but it’s definitely an interesting breakdown for us faringe admirers, and some good exposure for our favorite afropop star!

You can listen to the full story at NPR.com:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10819101

100% sponsorship!

We are pleased to announce that all 75 children at Selamta are now sponsored! For thirty dollars every month, each child’s school fees and extra curricular activities are completely taken care of, as well as a ten dollar investment into their personal savings bank! We’d like to thank all of the sponsors for helping these children lead healthy productive lives through their generosity and compassion!

Sponsorship is an ongoing process, and over the summer we will be bringing fifteen more children into the program that will all need sponsors. If you or anyone you now are interested in sponsoring a child or a sibling group, please contact Carol Foster at (802)299-2922 or carol@humancapitalfoundation.org.

More One Laptop Per Child info

If you were interested in the One Laptop per Child Program, you should check out their blog:

http://planet.laptop.org/

You can see the inner workings of another great foundation!

The Selamta Project

SUCCESS ON A SHOESTRING…

We have had an incredible year of growth because of YOUR ongoing support of the Selamta Project. We have 97 children in our care as I write this and have employed 18 women who have been marginalized by circumstance. Our kids are thriving…and I mean THRIVING! And happily, so are our mothers. All of our children are in private school, attending eight hours of classes a day. Each child has had a complete medical workup and has received all childhood vaccinations, including Hep B and C. We all should be proud of this accomplishment. Thank you for making it happen.

We have moved into a neighborhood that is an absolute a boom town on the edge of Addis. Every house, office and restaurant is not only new but is inexpensive to rent. We have SIX new family homes thanks to the Operation Day’s Work grant we were awarded in June…thank you ODW! In addition, we moved to a new Selamta Children’s Home to be within walking distance from the family homes…our kids can now leave their front door and visit not only their extended Selamta family, but the neighborhood kids as well. This is what we are shooting for…normal childhood stuff. Each home has two working bathrooms, (with hot water!), the girls rooms are inside the house and a boys wing outside the house. The moms are so proud of their new homes, loving their new kids and their place back in society. Our hopes and dreams for this model is working, again thanks to all of our volunteers.

It is our sponsorship dollars that support a quality education in addition to extra spending dollars for birthdays and after school programs. And don’t forget, 1/3 of all sponsorship dollars are tucked away in a savings account for the future.I think that is just so cool!

I will keep you posted…

Amaseganallo,
Carol

A Blog for Selamta!

Hi All;  Thanks to Dave Morin at HCI, we can now blog from Ethiopia   Let me know if you have a post about your experiences…amaseganallo!

Carol