From Rockcorry to Bonga, Ethiopia

Bonga in Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee but this was not what attracted Rockcorry native Eilise O'Harte to this beautiful African country for two and half months during the summer. Reporter Michael Cryan caught up with her on her return to hear all about her travels and experiences and the important work that The Daughters of Charity are doing in this third world country... Eilise travelled with the Vincentian Lay Missions (VLM) to teach local women skills that will enable them to sustain a living. In the past the women of Bonga had to leave school early or else not attend at all. They were left uneducated and could not escape the poverty cycle because they didn't know how, said Eilise. The Daughters of Charity run the various programmes for the women and they can learn computer/typing skills, embroidery and sewing, banana art, energy saving stove making and much more. In Bonga, which is located in the south west Kaffa region of Ethiopia, there is very little opportunity for employment, especially for women, many of whom are single mothers. They are very poor and there are many malnourished children. There is also very little medical assistance so many women and/or babies often die in childbirth. The charity also runs Income Generation activities like banana art, woodwork and loan or revolve and sponsorship. These programmes and activates enable them to create a means of income and also helps them to contribute their efforts for active development. "This year alone in the training programmes, the centre has given skill training to 38 women in the different departments. Seventeen have trained in computers and 192 have graduated over the last nine years. They train for six months continuously. Likewise in typing, nine women have trained this year and 233 have graduated in total. Ninety-four women have graduated in sewing and embroidering, while eight of the students are continuing which proves that the programme is successful in gaining employment," Eilise told The Anglo-Celt of the work of The Daughters of Charity. In Income Generation Activities (IGA), between 50-90 women who have financial problems can borrow small amounts of money to start up their own activities like petty trading/preparing local drinks and food, growing vegetables for improving nutrition and selling and a variety of hand crafts. They then have a means to generate their own income, said Eilise. From the income gained in these sales, some of them can start to save the money in a bank account which they have opened for them. They start to be responsible for themselves as a working person and the attitude of always depending on support from other people soon changes. According to Eilise she worked on two programmes, sewing/embroidery and Banana Art. "The class was full of young women and mothers and they had been working on out dated patterns which had been getting no interest in the local market or in Ireland." Classes began at 8.30am and finished at 5.30pm. Eilise taught them how to design patterns themselves using simple shapes instead of depending on designs given to them. "I know that the Irish people will like the designs so I am working at creating simple carrier bags that you can bring to the shop and reuse." It had been years since Eilise worked a sewing machine but soon came proficient and began designing bags herself. The other programme Eilise worked on was Banana Art. "It is a beautiful craft that uses banana leaf to make designs on cards." Again their designs were outdated, especially for the Irish market. It took the girls ages to make one and they would get fed up very quickly and start wandering instead of working. Eilise helped them create modern simple designs that used less time and less materials. She hopes to setup a web page and advertise what they do because it is a shame that it is unknown. Over one million people live in the Bonga region and having being out in the local area it was obvious that the people were very poor, said Eilise. "The houses are made out of scraps, the kitchens are always separate from the houses and with no ventilation the smoke from cooking with non renewable fuel is having serious affects on their health." There is basically no health care facilities in the area at all and families are big with between five and sixteen children. "This obviously leads to many mothers and/or the babies dying at childbirth." The father is left to look after them and they are unable to cope so the child/children are either left as orphans or else seriously neglected. As a consequence to this, the children find it almost impossible to stay in school. Often they are sent out to beg in order to get money for food, those who are lucky to be allowed attend school have not the money for the uniforms or the school materials. All of these factors contribute to the poverty cycle that the people of Bonga are caught up in. Another problem with the houses is that the majority are made with mud with a thatched roof. With the long rainy season that Bonga has these houses cannot withstand the weather conditions. Many of the people especially the young children get to sick or pick up diseases. It is just so sad, says Eilise. They have no sanitation and electricity only reaches the few that can afford it which isn't many-and that is never a sure thing as they cut it off all the time. Everything is very unpredictable but the way of life is so laid back and slow that they don't seem to mind-or else they are just used to it and there is nothing else that they can do. All of the women that she worked with were so nice and so grateful. Amharic is the local language and over the course of her stay in Bonga Eilise managed to pick up a few words. They cannot speak English so everything was done through visual means which could get complicated! When she praised their work they nearly burst with pride. They also have milking cows and bee hives for the women to take interest in. If they save money, which is another programme they offer, they can buy a cow or some bees and start producing milk and honey to sell in the market. Ethiopian silk is a big industry and Eilise is trying to raise funds for a new building. The current one is 20 years old and out-dated. The new building will eventually house the silk worm, banana art as well as the sewing and embroidery. It will cost an estimated €10,000 to construct the new building but Eilise hopes to run a number of fund raising events over the coming months. She is already planning to return to Bonga next summer and the cost of the trip is €3,000. Eilise is holding a fund raising event in Bannon's in Cootehill on Thursday, October 28, with music, raffles and lots of prizes. She also hopes to establish an bank account where people can lodge donations shortly. At the moment she is looking for sponsors for twelve children in Bonga. It costs just €6 per month and the money goes to the child to help them attend school or their family for food. A teacher in the Rosses Community School in Donegal, where she teaches art craft and design to third year, Eilise is the daughter of Kieran and Cait O'Harte from Claraghy, Rockcorry. Last year was her first visit to Bonga but it certainly won't be her last as Eilise has plans to return next summer.