Tadiyass (Hello!)

About Me My name is Dawit. It is like the English name of

David. I am 10 years old and live in a village in Ethiopia.

There are 6 people in my family. My mother, father, big brother and younger sister all live together. My oldest brother has a home next door. A large fence surrounds both houses, as well as a big yard. We call this a gebi, or compound.

My home looks similar to this one.

My Family

Family Days

My father and brothers work in the fields. They grow food for our meals and coffee to sell.

My mother and sister help harvest, cook and clean. They gather water every day at the village well. It is hard work.

I care for our animals. We keep them in a pen that is close to the house. We have a cow, mule and chickens. I also help gather firewood and take care of my sister.

School

During the day, my sister, older brother and I attend school. We walk three miles to get there. At school, we study Amharic (our native language), science, math, social studies and reading. I am also learning a foreign language, English!

School Our school received laptop computers like these

from One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) last year. I love my new computer. It gets its power from the sun.

School

Our school building has many displays to teach us about Science and Geography.

Relaxation After school and work at home, we enjoy

relaxing with our family. We enjoy playing games with each other such as Gabeta. Gabetais like the game Mancala. Here is where you can practice Mancala.

My brother owns a tv in his home. I enjoy visiting and watching football to follow my favorite team.

Weekend The work does not stop on the weekend. We

still need to care for the animals and crops. After our chores, we sometimes visit the village market. We are able to sell some of our extra supplies and purchase items that we do not grow such as fruits and meat. It is very exciting. I love to watch my parents barter for a good price.

Market

Market

The Village

While we are at the market, my mother lets me spend some time in the village playing football on the local game tables.

Food Many of our meals include a bread called injera.

It is similar to a large pancake.

The injera is placed in a large pan or basket. Then, we add a stew (wot), vegetables and sauce. We take our right hands and tear off a piece of injera and scoop up bites of the foods on top of it.

If you came to visit, my mother would honor you with coffee after dinner.

Food

Community Many of our trees and forests have been lost to drought

and deforestation. My family helps to replant our area so that we will have a beautiful green land in the future.

Community

Chow (Goodbye!) Thank you for learning about my life in

Ethiopia. I can’t wait to learn about yours!

Disclaimer All information in this slideshow are not

representative of a real family but are a creation in developed to related details for educational purposes. Information has been gathered from the following resources.

Resources Carillet J. and Butler S. and Starnes D. (2009). Lonely Planet Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Singapore: Lonely Planet Publications.

Howard S. (2010) Culture Smart! Ethiopia. New York: Random House.

Kindersley B. and Kindersly A. (1995). Children Like Me. New York: D.K. Publishing Inc.

Websites:

• http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas_adsec/ethiopia_ed_profile.htm

• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Ethiopia

• http://laptop.org/en/index.shtml

Images gathered from:

• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Ethiopia

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/86793209@N00/408369145/sizes/m/in/photostream/(Home image slide 4)

• http://www.flickr.com