Children from Day Care Centre Addis Abeba Ethiopia.…
"Whenever I have this memory I give credit to my dearest SOS mother, Almaz Abate for instilling the value of hard work and for nurturing genuine love and care for others in me at such a young age."
- Lisa
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Children from Day Care Centre Addis Abeba Ethiopia.
This is the story of Zenaye Solomon who is a vibrant young woman who mentors teenagers for the SOS Children's Villages regional office for Southern Africa, based in Harare.
Zenaye is in a unique position to do her job as she has had this experience herself.
Zenaye grew up in SOS Children's Village Addis Abeba and has worked in America, Paris, South Africa and Ghana before her latest career move which has brought her to Zimbabwe.
The article below was written by Zenaye about her experiences to share with the SOS teens from her home country.
"I have this memory of my dearest SOS mother, Almaz Abate who taught me the value of hard work and caring for others. A smile lights up my face as I remember the days when I was a child in house seven at SOS Children's Village Addis Abeba. I hold dearly the memory of me standing in front of the stove stirring the "watt" (an Ethiopian traditional food bowl).
I am carrying my dearest baby brother Erimas (may his soul rest in peace) on my back and whilst the food is cooking I am reading my geography textbook. Whenever I have this memory I give credit to my dearest SOS mother.
My name is Zenaye Solomon and I am a proud family member of SOS Children's Villages Ethiopia and the SOS College Ghana. Education certainly unlocked my potential. I am a firm believer in the power of education to enable one to make better choices in life.
SOS Children's Villages has given you this same opportunity to make it in this rather competitive world, and as I did, you need to take an active part in shaping your future because you are fortunate enough to have the love, care and support you need from your SOS family.
You as an individual know where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and it is vital that you capitalise on your strengths and reach for the stars.
Education is the key to secure a brighter future and it is crucial for the development of yourself, your community and your country.
Your future career is highly dependent on the kind of education and professional training you get. As children, we all dream of having a nice house and a nice car when we grow up.
Believe me this is possible for you; however, your dream will only translate into reality if you are highly self-motivated to work hard towards your dreams.
It is my wish that you all join hands with me as youth of the SOS Children's Villages Ethiopia family to promote the value of hard work and self-motivation throughout our villages in SOS Children's Villages Ethiopia.
You literally have to regard your education as a key to unlocking the dream of a bright future that lies ahead.
As a student, you must realize NOW that you are already in possession of that key and it is up to you to turn it through hard work so that your dreams may too become unlocked into reality.
It is my prayer and wish, as a big sister who has been in your shoes, that you may be inspired and motivated to work hard so that you may secure a bright future for yourself.
Go as high as you can, the sky is the limit!"
- Mary
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During a clay workshop, children in SOS Children's Village Tres Ríos, Costa Rica learnt different techniques to make clay figures.
SOS Children's Village Tres Ríos is located on the outskirts of the small town of Dulce Nombre de Tres Ríos, which is about 11 km from the capital San José. Since the village is located on a hill, it has a nice view over San José and the mountains. Orange trees have been planted throughout the village and each family house has a small vegetable garden. SOS Children's Village Tres Ríos consists of eleven family houses.
"We had a lot of fun making figures out of clay" says a boy from SOS Children's Village Tres Ríos in Costa Rica. The children have just had a clay and pottery workshop, which was put on by five people from Italian company "Thun".
Monica Galbiati and four of her colleagues from "Thun" recently held a five-day clay and pottery workshop for the SOS children. "Thun" is an Italian company that produces gifts made of ceramics, porcelain, majolica and other similar materials.
SOS Children's Village Tres Ríos hosted the third workshop. Many of the children from the village wanted to participate, and the five instructors had a great time sharing a very special week with them.
Monica Del Buono, one of the instructors explains, "We tried to teach the children the various techniques that are used to model clay. On the first day, we met the children and we left them to play with the clay on their own, so that they could learn to use their imagination".
The warm and friendly attitude of the Italian women almost instantly made the children feel comfortable and confident about learning the different techniques. The little artists were happy and eager to play with the clay, which none of them had done before.
Anthony, aged eight, told his SOS mother Rosa: "We had a lot of fun making figures out of mud!" Erick, a ten-year-old boy, added, "It was very funny because our hands were all slippery!"
Lilliana Alonso, national director of SOS Children's Villages Costa Rica, appreciated how "generous Thun were to allow a group of their colleagues to share the experience they have gained in the ceramics trade."
Sharing their holidays with people from another culture was another great experience for the children. The workshop turned out to be a huge success in every way.
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