Mezemir Girma
Sunday, July 22, 2018
As of 2015, I have been working with SAIDE’s African Storybook
Initiative (ASb), which has helping thousands of Ethiopian children to read
picture storybooks in their languages. Since it is crucial to reach an
increasing number of children, educators and authorities, I made a visit to
three regional states in Ethiopia and introduced ASb. This report summarizes
the activities I accomplished during my visits. Wherever I go, I gave the recently edited
storybooks and told the people I meet to devise a means by which they
disseminate the storybook to parent, schools and libraries in their respective regions.
Introducing the authorities and experts to the website was also a critical
activity that was undertaken. Please see the photos attached.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
On the wee hours of
this day I set off for Addis Ababa to visit Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar and Gondar
towns. On this first day, in Addis Ababa, which is the capital city of
Ethiopia with a population of more than 4 million, I had a successful
conversation with authorities and experts at the Addis Ababa Education Bureau.
These experts were in Debre Birhan the week before for a meeting and they liked
the storybooks I shared with them with flashdrives. I feel confident that we
will reach the schools in Addis Ababa, private and public alike, through these key
people. Previously, a few parents I know in Addis took the storybooks to the
schools where their children learn and they told me that the stories are being adorably
read in Amharic periods. This beginning will flourish with the help we get from
the Education Bureau. I thank my former dorm mate Mr Dereje Bishaw and his
colleagues for the warm welcome and interest in children's literacy! They also
linked our website, africanstorybook.org, to theirs. aacaebc.wordpress.com
In the afternoon of
this day, I had to meet the authorities concerned at the Addis Ababa Culture
and Tourism Bureau, which manages the libraries in the city. There, I met Dr.
Fitsum, who studied Documentary Linguistics and who has a good acquaintance
with children’s literature. I hope we will have a lasting working relationship
in the future.
Wednesday, July 11,
2018
I made a bus trip to
Bahir Dar. It was my first ever trip to the area and I was impressed with the
scenery. Bahir Dar is the source of the Blue Nile.
Thursday and Friday,
July 12 and 13, 2018
In Bahir Dar, which is
the capital of the Amhara National Regional State, the authorities I met will
help us reach schools in the region which has a population of about 20 million.
There, I contacted the Education Bureau, the Culture and Tourism Bureau and
Bahir Dar University. I also went to Aba Mengesha Geneme Library, which has an
American corner. They liked the storybooks and promised to work with us.
Saturday, July 14,
2018
I headed to Gondar,
where the University of Gondar is located. I chose them because they are famous
for community outreach. The community outreach director at Gondar
University was pleased to learn that we work on children’s literacy. He opened
his office on early Saturday morning and served me with a great hospitality.
Sunday and Monday, July 15, 2018
I went to Debark, a two hour drive from Gondar. There, I met
authorities who work in the North Gondar Administration and gave them copies of
the storybooks. In this northern most tip of the Amhara Region, kids have a
shortage of reading materials and they will find these storybooks of paramount
importance.
Tuesday, July 16 2018
I flew back to Addis Ababa in and met experts at the Oromia
Regional State Education Bureau. The experts took the storybooks in Afaan
Oromo, Amharic and English and promised to distribute them to schools. They
also promised to visit the website, which they didn’t access that day because
of Internet connectivity problems. For your information, Addis Ababa is the
capital city of both Ethiopia and the Oromia Regional State.
All in all, the visit I made was a successful one because the
storybooks reached key authorities, experts and decisive university officials. Not
only this, the people I made came to know the website. Therefore, they will
access storybooks in any language and levels they wish to. As to story
development workshops, the people I met are interested to host. Since
universities have resources to print and distribute storybooks, this is also a
key role they can play. Bahir Dar University has already contacted Dorcas, a
Partner Development Coordinator at SAIDE, on this issue.
ምንም አስተያየቶች የሉም:
አስተያየት ይለጥፉ