Sex and the Environment in Ethiopia

The past few days since I last wrote have been busy, but incredibly inspiring as I’ve deepened my knowledge of population, health and environment issues and witnessed how young people here see these connections. I’m thinking that I will most likely extend my stay here an extra two weeks, so that I can finish my projects and hopefully take a mini-vacation to the north with my work friends Meron, Meseret and Nardos (Mery, Mesy and Nardy). ;) I’m also getting more excited about my plan to work in a developing country for two years after graduate school… fingers crossed that I’ll have enough experience to be hired!

So Tuesday March 23rd I got to participate in a PHE Field Visit to Wenchi Woreda in Oromia (don’t you just love those words?!), along with a bus-full of development practitioners. It was about an hour’s drive through bumpy, rural country-side till we got to the site, and I gazed out the window at the now-familiar site of enset (false banana), mud huts and tilled agricultural hills. It was fascinating to talk with Belay and Abebe about how prior to serving in NGOs, they worked for the government’s ministry of health. Apparently that’s a really common career path here, to go from government to NGO work, and I’m realizing that the government isn’t remotely as corrupt as most people abroad make it out to be.

Before we began our tour of the woreda (district), I learned that the hilly highland area (3,000 meters above sea level) has high population density which has led to environmental degradation, threatening the rural community’s health and livelihoods. The Oromia Development Association (ODA) is a membership-based Ethiopian Resident charity organization, which focuses on education, health, agriculture, and rural potable water supply in the Oromia region. They specialize in training youth on income generation, and voluntary community health workers in long-term contraceptive service provision. Since January 2005, ODA’s efforts have successfully raised the contraceptive prevalence rate from 11% to 40%, and intention to use family planning from 29% to 81%.

In May 2009, ODA began to integrate conservation and livelihood activities with their existing reproductive health efforts, through community education, agro-forestry to decrease the spread of agricultural activity, and aforestation, or planting indigenous seedlings and vetver grass that have commercial and economical value to the community. They also trained 40 model farmers on apple seedling management, and established an 84-member mostly male youth group of “environmental educators,” who also engage in family planning and reproductive health education. We had the opportunity to interview over 20 members of this environmental youth group, mostly boys, who have received training and seedlings from ODA for income generation and to extend the efforts of the government’s health extension workers and development agents. Jason was skeptical at first that these boys actually care about family planning, but after speaking with them, we both thought they seemed really committed to the issues, similarly to the youth I met in Bale Zone.

One club leader said, “We as youth volunteers want to plant 10 million different indigenous trees this winter, to make the area green. We know the link to family planning, because of population pressure on the environment, so we understand that we have to teach the community about reproductive health and HIV/AIDS at the same time.” The boys said that as volunteers, they work in close collaboration with Health Extension Workers to deliver information on maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS, which is critical to reach the 280 clients in a hilly landscape. A female volunteer health worker said that networking and coordination with the youth group in reproductive health awareness has significantly improved her ability to reach the community, and convince them of the importance of family planning for their health, environment and livelihood.

Afterwards we walked to interview a model farmer named Andale, who’s planting apple trees with the support of ODA. He said that he discusses all farming decisions with his wife, and it’s really democratic—but I thought it was interesting that although they already have five children (2 boys and 3 girls), the husband wants one more boy, and the wife doesn’t want any more! She’s currently taking injectibles as a family planning method, so hopefully the decision-making power will stay with her! All in all, although the project is in its initial stage, community members seemed really convinced and motivated to utilize the PHE approach in environmental income generating activities, so I’m hopeful that ODA’s project (and its funding) will continue.

We ended up walking for 3 hours down to the crater lake and back, chatting with adorable snotty-nosed children along the way. I really wanted to take them home with me! Especially when I saw that they were drinking untreated water that flowed down the mountainside, and Jason told me that their bodies probably have parasites that they’re unaware of. Of course they can’t boil their water because it’s so fuel-intensive… ahhh it really makes me second-guess my assumptions about all these rural communities that I’ve visited, and that much more anxious to go earn my MPH and come back and help!

We ended our day at Wenchi with a lovely coffee ceremony, complete with 3 cups of buna (coffee), popcorn, and homemade honey, all accompanied by aromatic incense. Jason told me fascinating stories about his development work in Peru and Ecuador, and I think he convinced me to spend 2 months there this May/June, instead of traveling all the way down to Chile and Argentina. I met some wonderful Chilean friends while traveling in New Zealand and Cambodia, but I agree with Jason that it will be much more culturally interesting to spend time around the indigenous people in Peru and Ecuador. Ahh there’s so much I want to do… but I have to be patient and know that South America will always be there for me to go explore. :)

The rest of the PHE training went really smoothly, and I enjoyed having the opportunity to present an hour-long session on “How to Give an Interview to a Member of the Media.” It was great to offer stories and advice to the PHE experts on the topic, drawing upon on all my experience with newspaper, radio and TV interviews while working with the Sierra Club. I even told them my favorite story of when Fox News bombarded my presentation at my alma mater, UC Davis, and reported on how “Sierra Club says that heating things up in the bedroom can lead to global warming.” (haha) Most of my stories revolved around what not to do, but hopefully it was valuable for them. :)

Saturday March 27th we arrived back safely in Addis, even though our last hour was pretty scary since we were driving in the rain through the dark with a foggy windshield. Jason and I conversed in Spanish, so we wouldn’t have to think about the drive! Negash served us a lovely injera meal at his home, and I perused his book case and snagged 3 fantastic new reads before heading home at midnight—Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen, The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs, and Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman. Yay for intellectual stimulation! I ended up finishing What is the What on Sunday, reading at the Antika pizza place by my house that Jason had recommended, and breaking into full sobs every thirty minutes or so as the main character struggled through tribulations both in an Ethiopian refugee camp and where he ended up resettling in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m so happy that similarly to the book I read before this, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, the main character of What is the What, Valentino Achak Deng, travels around the US to give talks about his book and life experiences. Hopefully I’ll get to meet him at some point, too!

Monday was work as usual, and today—Tuesday March 30th—has been crazy busy but awesome. In the morning I teamed up with my friend Teshome from Engender Health, and we went to Addis Ababa University so that I could give a “Sex and the Environment” presentation. Over 70 student club leaders showed up, representing 19 different clubs! The clubs were really multi-dimensional, ranging from Environment, Gender and Peace clubs to Sports, Disability and Cultural clubs. Thankfully Teshe and Negash had looked over my presentation, in addition to my dear friend and fellow Sierra Club activist who went to Guatemala with me, Jenny Shapiro, to give advice on making it more culturally appropriate. Similarly to the presentation I gave to GoJoven youth leaders in Belize last August, I spoke really slowly and clearly, smiled and joked a lot, and asked questions and walked around the room to get them to participate. I think it went really well, since I spoke and had them do activities for an hour, and then they asked questions and discussed the issues for an additional hour! I was really impressed with their high-level questions, for example on why population growth in developing countries matters in climate change discussions when developed countries are the high-emissions culprits. But many of the questions they asked me, they answered among themselves in Amharic, which is what I was hoping for. They wanted to know what’s going on in the US, and I was pleased to tell them that while we’re frustrated with decision-makers’ lack of action, many activists are continuing to work hard in raising awareness and fostering behavioral change. I was also really inspired when 2 young people, Alex from the Environment club and Helen from the Gender club, came up to me afterwards and told me that these issues are their passions in life, and they want to be involved in whatever way they can. That’s what I love to hear! Hopefully I’ll get to meet up with them next week to talk about potential action plans.

After the presentation, I went back to the office, posted a blog on Advocates for Youth’s website about it, and jumped in a car with Lem Ethiopia staff to begin our journey to Gedeo Zone in the south, where I’ll be for the next 4 days to write a report on what’s being done. It’s funny that amidst my 8-month trip around the world, I’m a little tired of so much work-related travel here in Ethiopia! But it’s a fantastic opportunity to see the countryside, and deepen my knowledge for these issues. Arriving in the second largest city of Awasa today, I was startled to see a proper sidewalk… and I realized that I will experience some serious culture shock when I arrive back in LA! Subconsciously I know that I’m a different person, after three months of world travel… but I really can’t wait to return home after all this and see how I’ll view the world in a different way. Yay for mind-opening travel! :)