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| Erin and Tony Portillo, of Las Cruces, in Ethiopia (Photo courtesy of Tony Portillo) |
Every morning, Las Cruces native Tony Portillo and his wife Erin wake to crows of roosters, bahs of sheep, and songs of church loudspeakers; all usual stirrings of another morning breaking over Ethiopia's Abysinnian Highlands, at an altitude of more than 9,300 feet.
Ethiopia is one of Africa's most populous nations, home to an estimated 85 million people in 2010 according to the Population Reference Bureau. It hosts more than 80 languages, and is one of the most unique countries on the continent. Surrounded by nations in tumult and transition — Somalia, Kenya, Eritrea, Sudan/South Sudan, Djibouti — Ethiopia is a comparatively peaceful oasis. It's Africa's only country never to have been colonized, is home to one of Africa's only written languages, operates on the Julian calendar (it's 2005 there), and runs on a clock that starts at sunrise — six hours different from the European clock.
The two NMSU alumni have lived within these idiosyncrasies since May 2011 when they landed in Ethiopia as U.S. Peace Corps health volunteers. Their town, Debre Berhan — "Mountain of Light" in Ethiopia's national language, Amharic — is a two-hour drive from the crowded capital city, Addis Ababa. Located in the Amhara region, Debre Berhan is a semi-urban town of 80,000 to 100,000 people, depending on who you ask. Electricity, cell phone and Internet connections are fairly consistent, and the tapwater is fresh enough to bottle for resale at the town's Aquasafe factory.
The mini-city bustles with three-wheeled bajaj taxis, horse-drawn gari carts and minibuses, shuttling people over paved or rocky roads, around herds of livestock and to and from work, school, or between errands. There's plenty to be done, and many people doing it in Debre Berhan.
But life on the outskirts is rarely as comfortable. An estimated 17 percent of the population lives on the town's rural edges. Often, these stretches lie beyond the reach of electric wiring, adequate schools, consistent transportation or viable employment. Zanjera is one of these communities. Located about 6 kilometers from the paved road and reached by foot or a 20-minute gari ride, Zanjera feels like a different era. Most of the estimated 3,400 residents are subsistence farmers, producing barely enough food or income to support their households. Many youths do not reach eighth grade, leaving school to help their families in the fields or with odd jobs. For Zanjera girls, this impact is felt sooner and to a greater extent.
"Boys get to continue their education further as compared to girls," said Aragesh Tefara, a mother and community member, who has worked with the Zanjera Primary School for 26 years. "Girls often have to stop their education due to early marriage, and sometimes they have to leave their home here and go to bigger cities."
Such occurrences endanger youth. According to a 2012 USAID Ethiopia Gender Assessment, "(h)igh rates of rural-to-urban migration offer work opportunities but leave many migrants, including young girls, very vulnerable to economic and sexual exploitation." This is of particular concern in Debre Berhan, where the HIV-positive rate is highest in its district, and exceeds regional and national averages.
But through this daunting circumstance, Zanjera community members see a solution: Outrun it. Erin and Tony Portillo, with local partners Adimasu Wandefresh and Daniel Bekele, co-founders of youth-focused organization Tiwildihin Aiden ("Save Generation"), are determined to oblige them.
"Running is becoming a culture (in Ethiopia)," noted Adimasu. It's true. Morning scenery is trimmed with runners gliding past on roads' shoulders. During the 2012 Olympics, people packed bars and cafés to watch Ethiopian athletes win the women's marathon, 5,000 and 10,000 meters, and medal in other events. Ethiopian cities, including Debre Berhan, boast impressive hotels founded by Ethiopian Olympians. In 2005, the Washington Post even printed an article heralding running as the key to life, freedom, and education for rural Ethiopian girls.
This is the hope in Zanjera — that a track on their primary school grounds today will lead to better options for their youth tomorrow. Numerous studies have shown organized sports increase self-esteem and development in youth, and improve decision-making in girls. In Ethiopia, it can also increase their likelihood of school enrollment if they show promise as a runner. Currently, Zanjera adolescents run through farmland, rocky hills, muddy valleys, and small forests to practice their passion. But they dream of a track — a simple, 400-meter oval Zanjera and the Portillos hope will help break a cycle of poverty and start a new one of possibility.
In October, the Peace Corps approved the Portillos' application for a fundraising link on the Peace Corps' webpage to help the team raise money to build the track. Zanjera has donated land, informally engaged a contractor, and will provide volunteer labor to make this dream a reality. Daniel, a former teacher in Zanjera, has also started a running group of about 30 students. In turn, the Portillos thought to reach out to Las Cruces for support. Las Cruces community members Amer Jandali, Rico Smith and Kristin Gustine responded, committing to arrange local benefits with proceeds donated to the Zanjera project.
"Peace Corps is all about making connections," said Tony Portillo. "I want to connect the community that raised me with the one that's now taking me in."
www.lcsun-news.com
Ethiopia is one of Africa's most populous nations, home to an estimated 85 million people in 2010 according to the Population Reference Bureau. It hosts more than 80 languages, and is one of the most unique countries on the continent. Surrounded by nations in tumult and transition — Somalia, Kenya, Eritrea, Sudan/South Sudan, Djibouti — Ethiopia is a comparatively peaceful oasis. It's Africa's only country never to have been colonized, is home to one of Africa's only written languages, operates on the Julian calendar (it's 2005 there), and runs on a clock that starts at sunrise — six hours different from the European clock.
The two NMSU alumni have lived within these idiosyncrasies since May 2011 when they landed in Ethiopia as U.S. Peace Corps health volunteers. Their town, Debre Berhan — "Mountain of Light" in Ethiopia's national language, Amharic — is a two-hour drive from the crowded capital city, Addis Ababa. Located in the Amhara region, Debre Berhan is a semi-urban town of 80,000 to 100,000 people, depending on who you ask. Electricity, cell phone and Internet connections are fairly consistent, and the tapwater is fresh enough to bottle for resale at the town's Aquasafe factory.
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| Students run across the grounds of their school, Zanjera (Photo courtesy of Tony Portillo) |
The mini-city bustles with three-wheeled bajaj taxis, horse-drawn gari carts and minibuses, shuttling people over paved or rocky roads, around herds of livestock and to and from work, school, or between errands. There's plenty to be done, and many people doing it in Debre Berhan.
But life on the outskirts is rarely as comfortable. An estimated 17 percent of the population lives on the town's rural edges. Often, these stretches lie beyond the reach of electric wiring, adequate schools, consistent transportation or viable employment. Zanjera is one of these communities. Located about 6 kilometers from the paved road and reached by foot or a 20-minute gari ride, Zanjera feels like a different era. Most of the estimated 3,400 residents are subsistence farmers, producing barely enough food or income to support their households. Many youths do not reach eighth grade, leaving school to help their families in the fields or with odd jobs. For Zanjera girls, this impact is felt sooner and to a greater extent.
"Boys get to continue their education further as compared to girls," said Aragesh Tefara, a mother and community member, who has worked with the Zanjera Primary School for 26 years. "Girls often have to stop their education due to early marriage, and sometimes they have to leave their home here and go to bigger cities."
Such occurrences endanger youth. According to a 2012 USAID Ethiopia Gender Assessment, "(h)igh rates of rural-to-urban migration offer work opportunities but leave many migrants, including young girls, very vulnerable to economic and sexual exploitation." This is of particular concern in Debre Berhan, where the HIV-positive rate is highest in its district, and exceeds regional and national averages.
But through this daunting circumstance, Zanjera community members see a solution: Outrun it. Erin and Tony Portillo, with local partners Adimasu Wandefresh and Daniel Bekele, co-founders of youth-focused organization Tiwildihin Aiden ("Save Generation"), are determined to oblige them.
"Running is becoming a culture (in Ethiopia)," noted Adimasu. It's true. Morning scenery is trimmed with runners gliding past on roads' shoulders. During the 2012 Olympics, people packed bars and cafés to watch Ethiopian athletes win the women's marathon, 5,000 and 10,000 meters, and medal in other events. Ethiopian cities, including Debre Berhan, boast impressive hotels founded by Ethiopian Olympians. In 2005, the Washington Post even printed an article heralding running as the key to life, freedom, and education for rural Ethiopian girls.
This is the hope in Zanjera — that a track on their primary school grounds today will lead to better options for their youth tomorrow. Numerous studies have shown organized sports increase self-esteem and development in youth, and improve decision-making in girls. In Ethiopia, it can also increase their likelihood of school enrollment if they show promise as a runner. Currently, Zanjera adolescents run through farmland, rocky hills, muddy valleys, and small forests to practice their passion. But they dream of a track — a simple, 400-meter oval Zanjera and the Portillos hope will help break a cycle of poverty and start a new one of possibility.
In October, the Peace Corps approved the Portillos' application for a fundraising link on the Peace Corps' webpage to help the team raise money to build the track. Zanjera has donated land, informally engaged a contractor, and will provide volunteer labor to make this dream a reality. Daniel, a former teacher in Zanjera, has also started a running group of about 30 students. In turn, the Portillos thought to reach out to Las Cruces for support. Las Cruces community members Amer Jandali, Rico Smith and Kristin Gustine responded, committing to arrange local benefits with proceeds donated to the Zanjera project.
"Peace Corps is all about making connections," said Tony Portillo. "I want to connect the community that raised me with the one that's now taking me in."
www.lcsun-news.com
Just once I wish that you could accept that I have a mind of my own, I'm not two years old anymore. If I Choose to DO something or if I Choose NOT to do something then just be happy for me-be supportive-say positive things about my choices-put me up-show me that you care...but if you can do none of these things.......please just don't say anything at all because every time you open your mouth and something negative comes out it destroys me, and you don't even see it...
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