Much of Ethiopia’s history has been passed on through the generations by mouth. One consequence of this is that morals and lessons have been crystallized in the form of proverbs. We went ahead and picked our favorite Ethiopian proverbs. Some are wise, some are humorous, and some are a puzzle to figure out!
When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
This Ethiopian proverb is obviously our favorite as it is even on printed on our mugs and is the inspiration for our community-based work in Ethiopia!
Regret, like a tail, comes at the end.
When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.
A cat may go to a monastery, but she still remains a cat.
A fool and water will go the way they are diverted.
A single stick may smoke, but it will not burn.A good conversation is better than a good bed.
One should punish a child the first time he comes home with a stolen egg. Otherwise, the day he returns home with a stolen ox, it will be too late.
Confiding a secret to an unworthy person is like carrying a grain in a bag with a hole in it.
Coffee and love taste best when hot.
What is your favorite Ethiopian proverb? The BBC News in Africa has a great list of African proverbs on their site. Check them out and be inspired!
Contributed by Lauren Werner, of Lauren Werner Photography and member of the 2014 Roots Ethiopia Field Team.
During our #100Kids School Sponsorship Campaign, we are sharing the personal stories of our field work in Ethiopia. These are the stories that inspire and remind us that education is a right, not a privilege.
In The Mind’s Eye
In Ethiopia, the space of land surrounding a community church holds a certain sanctity, one I cannot fully describe in words. I am the Roots Ethiopia photographer, so I have the incredible honor of speaking without words. My eyes do the listening. My photos do the talking. It is a privilege to be part of the team in this quiet and impactful way.
The physical property around any Ethiopian church in the southern region is simply a modest reflection of the surrounding landscape, no more, no less. However, in every community I have visited, within the gates of church property, serenity has long ago taken hold and refuses to let go. During my last visit, we visited a church in Hadero. Entering the church grounds was like a breath of incredible air. Like an inhale the blue-green gates drew me in, and like an exhale, the shaded space within offered me precious relief from the intense heat of the day.
Even as the grounds filled with curious school children, many of the same children I had met the year before, peace would not take a seat. Rather, it commanded our attention by being ever present despite the giggles and chatter that filled our midst. One of our Roots team members, Jeni, brought out an instant camera. “What is that? What will it do? What do you mean you SHAKE the picture to make it appear?” And the gentle breeze brought the intensity down to a mellow kind of questioning from the young audience. Jeni began make pictures with the camera for each child. Soon, dozens of children were shaking their tiny pictures, reflections of themselves. Even as each student saw the image appear, he or she kept fanning the air with it, waiting to see if something else magical would shine through. The children looked like they were holding dozens of colorful butterflies fluttering in the afternoon light.
In each student there is a kind of sanctuary, a grand reserve of creativity and hope. Children who attend school, like those in the churchyard that day, have the opportunity to nurture their minds. And within the sanctity of their own growing minds, they can imagine their own future full of the flapping of magical images, where almost anything that can me dreamed of, can happen.
Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.
Contributed by Jennifer Rikkers, of Jennifer Rikkers Art and member of the 2014 Roots Ethiopia Field Team.
During our #100Kids School Sponsorship Campaign, we are sharing the personal stories of our field work in Ethiopia. These are the stories that inspire and remind us that education is a right, not a privilege.
Do you believe in magic? I do. Let me tell you why.
These days it seems there is little magic in taking a photo. In its purest form a simple photo is a beautiful thing that captures a moment and tells a story of who we are on that day, in that moment. It is so commonplace that the first world has become “selfie” obsessed. At any time we can use our various forms of technology to capture a moment, but I doubt anyone in the first world would call it magic.
As I looked forward to working in Ethiopia with the Roots Ethiopia team I was trying to think of ways in which I could bring something that is both joyful & meaningful to share. It seemed natural to bring the gift of photography to rural Ethiopia as it is something I truly love. While my 35mm camera was certainly going to be doing a lot of its own work, I couldn’t use that camera to connect with people or leave something with them there. It occurred to me that a simple instant camera (Fuji Instamax) could be both a fun and meaningful offering.
I did not know when or where we would want to pull out the instant camera, but I was certain the moment would present itself. And then it did. On what was a very busy day, our Roots Ethiopia team was going between school sites when we made a quick stop at “Meseret Cristos Church,” which is the center of the community in many ways. There were a variety of people of all ages from the local community on the church grounds. I quickly realized it was the perfect space to use my instant camera (with 40 photos). The word travels very quickly among the neighborhood children that there are visitors, so it went from several children and quickly turned into at least 20. Our Ethiopian friends translated what I wanted to do with the instant camera and quickly 40 different instant captures were made.
While the instant photo itself is “magical” in its own way, the real magic emerged in the smiles and the joyful energy of the space. You could feel the magic as people flapped their photos to dry and the anticipation of seeing their very own photo…perhaps the only photo they have of themselves. The magic was in us watching their faces, young and old alike, watching their images develop on these photos. But the real magic was in the connections we were making with the help of an instant camera that transcended all that may divide us in language and culture. There wasn’t any mystery to this type of magic. It was beautiful, simple, joyful, filled with gratefulness and connections.
At the end of the day, hours after we had taken the instant photos at the church, as we were driving away several children were running behind our van waving their photos. In that moment I felt the magic again and knew that it would be nearly impossible to recapture, but was so grateful to have felt it at all.
Give Now
Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.
An evening on Long Island to benefit Roots Ethiopia (www.rootsethiopia.org)
Saturday, March 21, 2015
at North Shore Day School, Crescent Beach Road, Glen Cove, NY
7 P.M. to 11 P.M.
Hosted By: Jenna Freed & Katie Reasoner and North Shore Day School
All proceeds from Growing Minds Ethiopia benefit Roots Ethiopia’s work to sponsor students in school and improve impoverished schools with critical learning resources. Your support today benefits tomorrow’s leaders in Ethiopia.
Our annual School Sponsorship Drive is on! Together, we will send “#100Kids to school in 50 days!” #100Kids just like Genet will be able to proudly enter Ethiopian classrooms, a country where 3 million children still don’t have access to education. #100Kids will go to school, #100Kids will receive nutritional and medical support, and #100Kids will be given uniforms and school supplies!
Your $250 donation covers the cost of one School Sponsorship or you can sign up for our amazingly easy recurring giving option at only $21/month!! That small slice of your budget makes ENORMOUS educational impact on the most vulnerable kids in Ethiopia.
Thank you so much for your continued support as we forge ahead, 100% focused and determined to increase educational equality in the developing world!
Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.
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