Ethiopia for Teachers Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad grant July 1-31, educators from 7 states across the U.S. Co-sponsored by Kansas State University and Ethiopia Reads

Ethiopia AFRICA

Ethiopian Flag

Ethiopia’s neighbors: Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya

“Claims to Fame”  Only country in Africa never colonized – was occupied by Italy for 5 years  Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile, which joins with the White Nile to become the longest river in the world.  Lucy’s bones, hominid bones dating back 4.4 million years  Legend says the Ark of the Covenant is located in Ethiopia  Biblical account of Queen of Sheba visiting Jerusalem. Legend says son of Queen of Sheba and King Solomon founded Ethiopian empire.

Ethiopia  13 months of sunshine!  Capital city: Addis Ababa  Population: 85 million people  Area: almost twice the size of Texas  Currency: birr  13 birr = $1 U.S.  1 birr = about $.07

Language  Over 80 languages spoken.  Official language: Amharic  English learned in school  English is the language of instruction in schools for high school and college

Fidel Ethiopian alphabet

Heard from experts on the topics of:  Health care  Public & private education  Ethiopian history  Religion  US Aid to Ethiopia  Art  Traditional music

Topics…  Literacy  Filmmaking  Children’s book authorship/publishing  Agriculture/coffee export  Teacher education programs  Village life  Gender issues  Water / sanitation projects

Special Highlights  Reading with Ethiopian children in Awasa using books from the Donkey Mobile Library  Conducting a bookmaking workshop with teachers from Fregenet School  Delivering books to Ethiopia Reads libraries  Visiting a rural village Water Project

friendship peace understa nding tolerance respect diversity human rights health care education partnership s acceptance

Notable Places We Visited  Lalibela – 11 churches carved from stone, subterranean, connected by tunnels, 800 years old  Gondar – “Camelot of Africa”, castles from the 1600s  Blue Nile Falls