Ethiopia Day 7

I have now been in Ethiopia for 7 days. Over the past few days I have learned a lot about disease, housing, crime and education here. AIDS is usually the first thing people think of when it comes to illness and disease in Africa but there is more to it than that in Ethiopia. AIDS is definitely driving the poor into deeper poverty.(1) Other illnesses that are common are malaria, TB, cholera, and typhoid fever. I was told that Tuberculosis will be on the rise because of the spread of HIV.(3) It seems like once your body comes down with one thing it is a lot more susceptible to get sick with something else. It is hard to see so many people suffering and to see so many young children taking care of the sick older adults. When I have traveled through rural villages I have seen many people walking with water jugs to get water for their families. The water that most of them get is not clean water either. Less than ¼ of all Ethiopians have access to clean water.(6) Lack of clean water can be the cause of certain illnesses too, like cholera for example.

As I have traveled from some of the larger cities such as Addis Ababa to some of the smaller rural villages, the housing has generally been the same. There are some wealthier neighborhoods with large fancy houses but the majority of houses have walls made of mud or wood. A lot of people live in slums, and the amount of people that live there is actually very astonishing. Families of 5 or 6 live in a house that is the size of my family room. Seeing families live in these kinds of conditions is a reality check. Sanitation is a big problem in the slums and the lack of it is actually a spreader of illness and disease.

The locals who have been traveling with me and showing me around have also kept me informed of safety precautions I should take. In Addis Ababa I have had to be conscious of pick pocketers or random petty theft crimes. It was never a problem but I was just conscious of holding onto my bag in larger crowds. When traveling from town to town there has also been talk of highway robberies but I have not had to deal with that in my time here either.(4) Overall there is nothing too serious in Ethiopia that poses a real threat to my safety.

During my time I have also learned about the education system in place here. It has made great improvements over the past few years. They have set up the system so that all of the teachers are motivated to do a good job. They are evaluated every few years and if they get good reports than they will get a pay increase. I think it is good they have done this because if the teachers are not motivated than there is no way the students will be motivated. However, just because they have made improvements with the teachers does not mean that the whole problem is fixed. In rural parts of the country children are much less likely to go to school than in the more urban areas. The largest reason that children do not go to school is because their parents could not afford school fees and the second largest reason is because their parents could not afford the basic school supplies such as uniforms, books, and paper.(5) I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Ethiopia and I have learned a lot about the people and their way of life.



(1.) Maps of world, (1999-09). Poverty in Ethiopia. Retrieved fromhttp://finance.mapsofworld.com/economy/ethiopia/poverty.html

(3.) USAID Health (2009), Infectious Diseases, Ethiopia. Retrieved fromhttp://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/id/tuberculosis/countries/africa/ethiopia_profile.html#
(4.) Travel.State.Gov (2009), U.S. Department of State, Ethiopia Country Specific Information. Retrieved fromhttp://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1113.html

(5.) Heavens, Andrew (2009), In Ethiopia, better education for a better future. Retrieved fromhttp://www.unicef.org/emerg/ethiopia_34570.html

(6.) WHO/Second Generation Surveillance on HIV/AIDS (2008), Epidemeological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS. Retrieved fromhttp://apps.who.int/globalatlas/predefinedReports/EFS2008/full/EFS2008_ET.pdf

Photo courtesy of Liz Dale