Tag Archives: The Selamta Family Project

All Fun and Games in Ethiopia and Kenya

The endless talents of the students at the Kibera School for Girls!

The endless talents of the students at the Kibera School for Girls!

As summer approaches and finals are behind us, it’s time to close the books for a bit and think about fun! I wrote to the Kibera School for Girls in Kenya and the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia to learn more about playtime halfway across the world. In elementary school, my recess usually consisted of hopscotch, foursquare (the kind with a ball and chalk boxes – not a cell phone check-in!), and funnel ball. However, after learning about the schools’ playtime activities like Circus Camp, yoga classes, Ethiopian and hip hop dancing, I’m blown away by incredible ways these girls fill their day.

At the Kibera School, the girls play outside for 30-40 minutes every day after lunch. Typically, the younger girls dance their way through recess, while the older girls jump rope, read, or talk with friends. However, for two weeks recently, the young girls were entertained by the Africa Yoga Project, a performing arts organization that led the girls in yoga, drumming, singing, sign language, face paint, and hula hooping classes! The girls rotated through the different sessions the first week, and then chose their favorite activities to do the second week. At the culmination of Circus Camp, the girls hosted an incredible show for all of the KSG families.

In Ethiopia, the students at the Selamta Family Project also have time each day to relax and play. Though all of the students have break-time during the school day, they usually also play after school before helping out at home or starting homework. Like the girls at Kibera, the students enjoy jumping rope, painting and drawing, and doing gymnastics, but they also love to play card games (especially Uno!) and futbol, or practice their hip hop or traditional Ethiopian dance moves. Some girls spend their recess trying out new hair braiding styles. One of their favorite special events is Selamta Idol!

Both the Kibera School for Girls and the Selamta Family Project believe that all children have the right to play. In writing this blog, I learned that playtime is more than just a fun break in the day, it’s actually a right protected by the United Nations. Article 31 of the UN Convention asserts, “every child has the right to rest an leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities . . .and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.” Whether they’re working hard at reading new books or solving math problems, it’s clear the girls at the She’s the First partner schools fill their day with lots of learning and lots of joy!

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Poetry Anthology Sponsors Girls Like Sophia, Karen, & Kalkidan

By purchasing the If the World Were My Classroom anthology, you make a $15 direct donation to sponsor girls! Order your copy here.

Sophia Paulo

Meet Sophia Paolo, a 17 year old in AfricAid’s Kisa Project and one of the girls you’ll help sponsor when you purchase the If the World Were My Classroom anthology. She is one of the first girls from her village to get both a primary and secondary education and wants to be a politician so she can empower other girls and women in Tanzania. Sophia loves that the Kisa Project has given her the chance to learn more about women and improve her public speaking.

Karen

 

 

Karen, a 16 year old from Guatemala, is dreaming of going to college to be a forensic doctor. She lives with her mom and her two sisters in Santiago. Karen is excelling in English in our partner program, Starfish One by One, is extremely outgoing and also loves playing basketball!

 

 

Kalkidan

Kalkidan Girma is a 10 year old in the 3rd grade at the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia. Her name means “promise” in Amharic. Kalkidan came to Selamta when she was four years old. Now she is thriving with an excellent report card, and finished third in her second grade class last year. She already knows she wants to be a teacher when she grows up!

 

 

 

Proceeds from our anthology will benefit the education of girls like these who are from Tanzania, India, Uganda, Kenya, Guatemala, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Nepal. These girls who wouldn’t be able to afford school otherwise will now have an opportunity to be the First!

Happy Poetry Month everyone!

Want to play your part in helping make sure girls across the world have the change to go to school and learn how to make sweet poetry out of their own lives? Order the anthology today.

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What Can a Cupcake Do? Let Us Tell You!

Fun with Footprints at the Kibera School for Girls

Fun with footprints at the Kibera School for Girls!

This week, the famous She’s the First cupcakes will be tasted ‘round the nation. As many of us, myself included (!) prepared for a week of colorful cupcakes, maybe you found yourself being asked by your peers, “Why cupcakes? Why girls’ education?” As a researcher for She’s the First, I hope to show you just how much your cupcakes can do by sharing with you some updates from our partner schools.

At the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia, the ten girls that started a small business have closed up shop temporarily for the school year. However, they had a booming hair braiding business throughout the summer and plan on reopening during summer break! The students began the school year by celebrating the Ethiopian New Year and are now in the full swing of school. A week ago, She’s the First*{Pitt} hosted a fashion show and raised enough to sponsor a girl at Selamta. Congrats Pitt!

Between a morning adventure to Kahkre Vihar, visits from Maggie’s uncle and cousin, birthday parties for Birendra and Madan, and of course lots of studies and learning, Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal is also buzzing with activity! Other exciting news is that there is 99% chance Kopila Valley will soon have its very own well. For more information on this phenomenal story, read on here. To continue the good news, Kopila Valley is featured on the new documentary Opening Our Eyes: The Movie. More congratulations are in order! Watch the trailer here.

And now on to the Kibera School for Girls – also a burst of sunshine in my updates. A new microfinance group, comprised of KSG mothers, is flourishing. If you’re interested in the budding businesses, read on here. The girls have also been immersed in a “My Body” science class and are having lots of fun learning about footprints. The Kibera School was also featured in the New York Times last month in Nicholas Kristof’s article “Just Look at What You Did!” This article is a must-read!

So, can we use these little cupcake treats to make a world of difference? Of course! Our directory schools are doing absolutely incredible things; one cupcake at a time, we can spread the sweetness!

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Be a Penpal with Kalkidan in Ethiopia!

Meet Kalkidan Girma, a 10-year-old girl in Ethiopia’s Selamta Family Project going into the third grade. She is currently being sponsored by Eliza, an amazing 8-year-old girl who donated her birthday money to girls’ education, and sent us a check in a envelope decorated with butterfly stickers!

Kalkidan finished third in her second grade class last year! We’re so excited to welcome her to the She’s the First family. She even knows already that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up!

Kalkidan came to Selamta four years ago with her brother Yohannes and sister Tigist after her father died. At Selamta she lives at the Minilik House with her eight Selamta siblings.

Kalkidan means “promise” in Amharic and with this sponsorship, She’s the First has promised Kalkidan an education. We’d love to hear some encouragement you have for Kalki as she starts third grade and then we’ll send all your comments back to her!

What was your favorite part of third grade? Do you remember a particular project or topic of study that inspired you? And take a look at her amazing report card. This girl is really going places!

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Mama Wude, Selamta Household Mother

Wude (right) with Meseret, the house "Auntie."

The Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia has been recognized internationally for its family-based support model. In fact, at the 2009 International Conference in Africa for Children, Selamta was praised for being the only conference participant to implement this family-centered approach! Now, this model is the recommended standard for HIV/AIDS focused organizations.

At Selamta, the crux of this model are the auntie and head-of household mother. At every Selamta home, approximately 10 children are cared for by these two women. One of these loving Selamta mothers is Mama Wude, head of the Menelik House in Addis Ababa. Like the children living at Selamta, Mama Wude was also an orphan. She also lost her husband to AIDS. Despite these tremendous hardships, she has found happiness caring for the children at the Menelik House. This past Mother’s Day, Selamta interviewed Mama Wude to learn more about her incredible contributions to the family constellation.  The complete interview can be found here. Thanks to wonderful mothers like Mama Wude, the children at Selamta are growing in a loving, happy home!

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Lunchtime Around the World!

A few days ago, I came across a fascinating photo gallery of school lunches from around the world.  As I browsed through the lunch trays filled with kimchi in Korea to smoked mackerel in Slovakia, I began to wonder what our She’s the First students eat during the school day.  I wrote to the Kibera School for Girls in Kenya and the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia to see if they could provide me with a glimpse into their typical school lunch.  They both happily agreed!

At the Kibera School for Girls, the girls have three different lunch options throughout the week. Lunch is served in addition to breakfast porridge and a piece of fruit after school.  Some days the girls dine on sukuma wiki, a savory mix of kale, onions, tomatoes, and spices. The dish is topped off with ugali – a Kenyan paste that to the young students’ delight, is eaten with their hands. Other days, the girls eat beans and rice or githeri, a corn and bean dish. Leah Lucid from the Kibera School for Girls wrote, “The students love lunchtime, and also love brushing their teeth afterward with their personal toothbrushes!”

Lunchtime at the Selamta Family Project

Dorowat, a spicy chicken stew, is the favorite meal of students at the Selamta Family Project. A typical lunch consists of injera, a sour flat bread made from a Teff grain.  Students then break off the injera with their hands to eat wat, a spicy stew made with the traditional Ethiopian spice, Berbere.  Most lunches are vegetarian and consist of lentils, chickpeas, and cooked vegetables. Occasionally, students dine on lamb, chicken, and beef.

What was your favorite school lunch? Tweet your answer to @shesthefirst or tell us in the comment section!

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The Story of Selamta

100 percent of proceeds from the book go to the Selamta Family Project!

Whether we’re writing poetry or sending letters (or being published on The Huffington Post, like Elizabeth David!), She’s the First is dedicated to telling the stories of girls around the world.  Our partner school in Ethiopia, The Selamta Project, also shares our story-telling passion!

Selamta published an award-winning book titled “An Unlikely Family,” that shares the remarkable stories of the children living at the organization’s family homes.  At a young age, these children suffered from hunger, AIDS, the loss of a parent, abuse, and poverty.  However, once adopted into the loving support of the Selamta Children’s Project, these young children were embraced into a close, caring support network comprised of new “mothers” and “aunties,” international sponsors and volunteers, Ethiopian professionals, friends, and teachers.  Together, these are the members of the “unlikely family.”

If purchased on Selamta’s website, 100% the sales from “An Unlikely Family” go directly to supporting children and their new families living at the Selamta Family Project.  To learn more about this book that has been honored for its inspiring message of social change, click here.

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Aynalem’s Story

Aynalem recently reunited with her brother!

I’d like to introduce you to a young girl named Aynalem Abay.  Aynalem, a 17-year-old eleventh grader at the Selamta Family Project loves to read, watch movies, and perform the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony for her family and friends.   Her favorite foods are hamburgers and dorowat, a chicken stew with injera (the traditional Ethiopia bread), and she loves to listen to Teddy Afro, a famous contemporary Ethiopian singer.  In school, she’s a talented science student and she hopes to be a doctor when she graduates.  Aynalem is also a member of Selamta Family Project’s Outreach Program.  Thanks to this program, she was recently reunited with her younger brother and biological mother!

Born out of the desire to keep children with their loving relatives for as long as possible, Selamta established this program to support children who are living with a parent or guardian outside of Selamta’s Family Homes.  Occasionally, Selamta receives word of a child whose family is doing everything possible to provide and care for their child, but unfortunately doesn’t have the financial or personal means to do so.  For example, many guardians who receive assistance from Selamta’s Outreach Program are suffering from HIV or age-related ailments.  To combat this tragic scenario, Selamta’s Outreach Program provides the child and family with resources so that he or she can continue to attend school and receive adequate care.  Selamta promises each family that if necessary, they will open their Family Home doors to care for the child more extensively.  Simply put, Selamta guarantees that no matter what, they will leave no child abandoned.

Aynalem dreams of becoming a doctor

However, Mia Brown, Selamta’s Program Director, stated, “The need for sponsors is great, especially for girls in our Outreach Program.  We currently have three girls in our Outreach Program who are desperately in need of sponsors.  One of these girls is Aynalem.”

Many of us can relate to Aynalem and her love of reading and watching movies or pop music and hamburgers.  Most of all, I think all of us can relate to her passion to achieve a dream.  Through She’s the First, we connect with and support young women like Aynalem to support our collective dream of brighter future. In the case of the Selamta Outreach Program, we can help connect families as well!  To learn more about Aynalem and her friends and classmates at Selamta, visit their profile page.

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Belaynesh Degu

Meet Belaynesh Degu, a 15 year old from the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia!

Belaynesh came to Selamta with her younger sister Yezina and her older sister Almaz. Almaz had been taking care of the girls after their parents passed away. Now Belaynesh is studying hard in the third grade, and lives in the Dinknesh (Lucy) House with her sisters and her six Selamta siblings. She was at the top of her class last year!

Belaynesh is sponsored by the Oprah Magazine Beauty Department.

If you want to leave Belaynesh a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to her, and update here when she writes back. (Note: This can take up to six months, due to infrastructure issues in Ethiopia.)

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Tsion Tadele

Meet Tsion Tadele, a kindergartner at the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia!

Tsion came to Selamta when she was only an infant with her mother, who started training to become a Selamta family mom. Now she is 6 years old and lives at the Selamta family home called Lalibela with her mom and her seven Selamta siblings.

Tsion is the youngest in her family, and loves to dance and do gymnastics! She gets a thrill out of all the attention she gets from her older siblings. Look at that spunk!

Tsion is sponsored by She’s the First*{Pitt}, who fundraised through the Her Campus Pitt Cultures Clothing Fashion Show in the fall!

 

If you want to leave Tsion a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to her, and update here when she writes back. (Note: This can take up to six months, due to infrastructure issues in Ethiopia.)

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Meheret Yosef

Meet Meheret Yosef, a fourth grader in the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia!

Meheret is 13-years old and a star student. Last year she finished school with an average of 91 and ranked 5th out of 40 children in her class! Meheret lives with her seven brothers and sisters in the Hosanna House of the Selamta Project. In the photo, she is helping volunteers to repaint her living room!

If you want to leave Meheret a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to her, and update here when she writes back. (Note: This can take up to six months, due to infrastructure issues in Ethiopia.)

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Selamawit & Meheret Asef

Meet Selamawit and Maheret Asef, sisters at the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia! Selamawit (left) is 13-years-old and in the sixth grade. Meheret (right) is 10-years-old and in the second grade.

Together they live in the Axum house of the Selamta Family Project with their older brother Hailehesus, their five other Selamta siblings, their mamma Bichawork, and their auntie Genet.

The sisters came to Selamta five years ago, and are cherished members of the community. Both girls are working extremely hard on their studies and keeping very good grades!

If you want to leave Selamawit and Meheret a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to the girls, and update here when they writes back. (Note: This can take up to six months, due to infrastructure issues in Ethiopia.)

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