By: Mutale Chanda, National Youth Chairperson, Zambia YMCA
Sixteen-year-old Henok Solomon is a volunteer peer educator at Urael YMCA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Born and raised in Debere Brehane as an only child, he lost his father at age seven to tuberculosis and subsequently, his mother at nine to asthma. He now lives with his aunt in Addis Ababa.
He volunteers for the ADVANCE (AIDS, Volunteerism and Civic Education) programme, funded by USAID through the YMCA of the USA. The programme is designed, led and implemented by peer educators in two age groups: 10-16 and 17 to 29.
Young Henok has a pensive look as he tells me about his life before the YMCA. What he remembers is mostly his parents’ illness and death. This was a major factor in what he describes as a very sad childhood. He fondly refers to the aunt who had adopted him as “my mother”. She is a hospital cook/waitress who earns Birr 498 (USD37) which sees them through the month. After hearing about the YMCA from a friend at school, he joined as a member two years ago. “The YMCA has really changed my life,” he said. “Whenever I need anything, I come to the YMCA for help. I feel like I’m a member of the YMCA family.”
Asked what else makes him stay at the YMCA when his peers are out having fun, Henok said he finds great satisfaction in tutoring the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in English and Maths on Saturdays. He also enjoys the feeling of seeing other people happy after he and the other peer educators deliver much needed cash and clothes to the less privileged.
As a direct result of his peer education involvement, he says his public speaking skills have greatly improved. The intelligent Grade 11 pupil, with a big smile on his face, said proudly that he would like to become a computer analyst and a famous painter after he completes his secondary school education.
Henok, like many other young peer educators in the ADVANCE programme, is a brilliant example of the impact of this programme on the lives of the 50 000 young people and 5 000 OVCs involved.
It is always gratifying and heart warming to see a smile on a YMCA youth and the ripple effect of an even bigger smile on that of a young person like Henok.
“You should come back to Ethiopia,” he said, “It is a place of diversity and tolerance!”
By: Gil Harper, Executive Secretary: Communications, Africa Alliance of YMCAs
By the age of 13, Wasinun Tadesa was living on the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where gender violence was so common that he thought it was normal and “just part of the life”.
As one of the youngest in the group and “only a little boy in the hierarchy”, his job was that of a messenger. But he had another important role: to identify girls and women on the streets in isolated places. The gang leaders would then rape them and force other young boys in the gang to do so.
“I saw two or three of them raping girls at once. Because of my role in it, at the time I enjoyed it. It just seemed normal. Now when I think about it, I know that I never want to see that type of thing ever again.”
When the gang leaders were bored, they would get the little boys to perform dramas or tell stories and so Wasi’s love for performing arts began to blossom. On the streets, he heard that the YMCA was holding a summer school theatre programme and so he went to join in. Unfortunately he was not readily accepted due to his dirty ragged clothing and the fact he smelt of cigarettes and chat (stimulant from the leaves of the chat tree). Undeterred, he then joined a one-day HIV training workshop where he learnt about sexual violence and safe sex.
“That day changed my whole life. I turned my back on the streets, went to ask my father for forgiveness and moved back home.”
It was not easy for Wasi and he had to prove himself to his community and to his father. Before he left home, he used to steal money from his father, and there were times when his father would chain him to the bed as punishment. He also had an acrimonious relationship with his stepmother. He was determined though and through working with the Urael YMCA staff and volunteer leaders and his involvement with the theatre group he gave up chat and proved that he had changed.
A year ago he began working as an HIV/AIDS peer educator. He is part of the ADVANCE (AIDS, Volunteerism and Civic Education) programme which is an HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness campaign that will reach 50 000 young people aged 10-29 by 2010. The initiative will also provide extensive support to more than 5 000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) affected by the HIV/AIDS crises, including access to recreational, educational, medical and general support services.
Implemented in 2008, the Ethiopia YMCA is partnering with YMCA of the USA and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Ethiopia Mission.
“Age really matters as you get experience through age but the training and exposure we have as peer educators gives us maturity,” said 24-year-old peer educator, Fikirte Kibret, also at YMCA Urael. “Even though we are the same age, we have been equipped with skills and knowledge and can talk openly about sex and condoms in a culture where even saying the word ‘condom’ was taboo before we started the programme and menstruation was not even spoken about between mothers and daughters. As peer educators we are respected and at the same time we are accepted because we are the same age as the youth we are working with.”
A variety of coordinated activities are used in the ADVANCE programme: - Extensive outreach: education, communication materials, referral services and public events.
- Creation of youth-friendly services: provision of basic information on family planning, diagnoses and treatment of STDs and HIV testing and counselling.
- Community mobilisation: improving the image of youth, orphans and vulnerable children through public campaigns that involve youth-parent dialogue and the general public. The YMCA collaborates to mobilise moral and technical support from parents, community leaders, religious leaders and school administrators.
- Training: professional programme coordinators have been hired and trained at each of
the programme sites, and peer educators receive basic and advanced training as well as refresher workshops - Resource mobilisation: through training and outreach, the Ethiopia YMCA is improving its capacity to strengthen and expand adolescent reproductive health and HIV/AIDS education programmes.
Fikirta has come across many cases of gender violence during her time as a peer educator. “Women generally cannot negotiate safe sex. Also, there are cases of young girls from poor areas who will have sex with older men who then give them money for basics like school stationery.”
Fikirta told of a particularly difficult case she dealt with as a peer educator, where a 16-year-old girl was taken out of high school by her gangster boyfriend and kept captive in a rented room for over a year. She was denied contact with her family and even the neighbours, although Fikirta managed to negotiate with the boyfriend that she still had contact with her. When the boyfriend died of AIDS, the young girl and her baby were finally freed. Upon testing HIV-positive, this young girl was so angry that she wanted to have unprotected sex with men as a means of misplaced revenge. Fortunately through Fikirta’s constant peer intervention, this girl is now campaigning about HIV/AIDS, safe sex and gender violence. “We can see change through this programme – it may be slow, but then it takes time to confront cultural taboos.”
Through the programme, Wasi has now reached the stage where to find his own healing, he is ready to share his personal story. After discussions with the YMCA leaders, he feels a calling to work on the streets.
“I really want to work with street boys and try to get them to appreciate and reunite with their families. I enjoyed being the messenger in my gang but my actions caused violence against women. I realise now that I was looking for acceptance and I was angry. I was angry and wanted revenge against my stepmother.
“Often if young boys and men do not deal with anger, they take it out on women.”
Photo: Wasi (bottom left) with fellow peer educators
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Gil Harper, Executive Secretary: Communications, Africa Alliance of YMCAs
“The Ethiopia YMCA board now has a clear direction of our responsibilities for our term of office and with the recent board orientation and leadership tools provided – the first type of training we have been exposed to in Ethiopia - we guarantee we will move to the next step in our role as leaders of the movement,” said Dr Berhau Tadese, chairperson of the board, after the recent orientation session conducted by the Africa Alliance.
At the annual national general secretary/board development meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya, this February, it was recommended that board orientation be conducted when a new YMCA board takes up its term of office.
Organised for the Ethiopian board which was elected in May this year, this first African YMCA board orientation took place on 13-14 July 2009 at the Adis Ketema YMCA branch. Facilitated by Carlos Sanvee, General Secretary of the Alliance, and assisted by myself, the areas of discussion focused on board roles and responsibilities.
The relationship between the board and national leadership was discussed in terms of the board role being that of strategy versus implementation, policy versus implementation and a healthy partnership linking the two spheres.
The board meets on a monthly basis and discussions on internal communications resulted in the commitment to set a board calendar and use various communications tools to enrich the board communications internally and within the movement. Networking was also discussed and the Ethiopia YMCA and its board members has huge as-yet untapped networking potential based on current relationships with various contacts in government, business and the NGO sector.
The session on evaluation and performance appraisal dealt with key staff evaluation, board peer and joint evaluation and continuous development activities. Budgetary responsibility was discussed from a fundraising perspective, and the board was urged to work diligently on strategic planning for self-reliance and sustainability.
“What we learnt in terms of our role in generating income to be financially independent was very valuable. I gained a lot from the discussions on the relationship between national and local boards. We received enlightenment in how to make the vision, mission and objectives of the YMCA a reality through our leadership,” said Dr Abiy Yigzaw, board member of Bahir Dar branch.
The following major outcomes were agreed:
• Developing of board terms of reference
• Review of the organisational structure, which is heavily centralised in terms of national office administration
• Setting clear strategic goals until 2013
• Developing a board action plan
• Adopting a board code of conduct and behavioural guideline
• Establishing protocol for national and branch communications and resource mobilisation, with clear lines of accountability
• Revising the current strategic plan and developing an operational plan
• Developing internal communications tools for board
• Developing an external communications strategy and plan
• Developing a networking strategy and plan
• A resource mobilisation process
“As a result of this orientation, I realise that we need to redouble our efforts both collectively and individually,” said Woldegabriel Naizghi, honorary treasurer.
Photo: Amanuel Otoro Jibo, National General Secretary of Ethiopia YMCA, at the board orientation session
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From 13-15 May, YMCA Ethiopia’s leaders met with international YMCA partners to discuss progress made to strengthen the Ethiopian Movement. YMCA Ethiopia was shut down for almost 20 years by the late military regime, and re-opened again in 1992. Since then, the YMCA has been growing gradually, both in terms of its local branches and membership.
YMCA Ethiopia was one of the first YMCAs to use the World Alliance’s Global Operating Plan (GOP) as a tool to build its institutional capacity and sustainability. In 2004, YMCA Ethiopia was selected by the Africa Alliance of YMCAs as the first pilot country to undergo an institutional diagnosis. This exercise provided relevant information on the level of YMCA Ethiopia’s mission focus, programme relevance and institutional viability.
Since then partners from YMCAs in the USA, Canada, YMCA-YWCA of Sweden and YMCA Germany have been accompanying YMCA Ethiopia and providing expertise. Thanks to this co-ordinated approach, YMCA Ethiopia has achieved several concrete successes. These include:
1) The return of property confiscated by the previous government
2) The development of new and/or renovated YMCA facilities in Bahir Dar, Wolaita, Debre Marqos and Addis Ababa
3) Increased membership
4) The development and scaling-up of innovative youth programmes
Not only were local capacities in governance, financial sustainability and project management strengthened, but YMCA international partners were able to raise funds from major international donors. This support allowed the YMCA to initiate a wide range of highly relevant programmes for young people in Ethiopia such as Vocational Training Centres, character building, music and drama, HIV/ AIDS awareness, leadership development, youth volunteerism, and community engagement.
Nevertheless, the last few years have been very challenging for the YMCA. Claims made by the YMCA to take back valuable land and properties that were seized under the previous regime have only been partially met by the present government. Furthermore, the Ethiopian authorities have imposed significant retroactive taxes on the YMCA. “We have been going through a difficult period,” said Berhanu Tadesse, the newly elected President of Board of Ethiopia YMCA, “and we pray that our negotiations with the government will finally lead to a total tax exemption.”
Evaluation and Reflection
During the meetings held in May, YMCA Ethiopia’s leaders undertook a critical analysis of the progress achieved, and challenges faced since the last international partner meeting in 2007. The group noted the critical importance and impact of recent training seminars, such as the training for volunteers and staff as well as the one on HIV/AIDS programmes. Another important achievement is that the duties and responsibilities of staff and volunteers have been clearly defined in policy manuals and communicated to the branches. Equally, though still in early stages, several branches have shown good results in generating local resources, either through service provision or from local donors.
“In doing this reflective exercise, we realised how important it was to know your baseline data and indicators, in order to get an objective sense of progress. Once this data is collected, it enables you to report and communicate your achievements not only towards your community and members but also to the wider public and the donors” said Atoro Amanuel, new National General Secretary of YMCA Ethiopia.
Next Steps
An evaluation of the GOP process to date showed that YMCA Ethiopia still needs to strengthen communications on three levels: a) within YMCA Ethiopia itself, b) with key partners and stakeholder and c) with the general public. Insufficient communication within the YMCA and externally was identified as major obstacle to the YMCA’s growth, not only financially, but also in terms of its reputation and membership. To respond to this gap, the group decided on a consolidated annual activity and financial reporting template for 2009, to which each branch and the national office would contribute.
It is important to note that YMCA Ethiopia has a very distinct and prestigious history. The association was founded in 1947, and in 1949, the late Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie (I) requested membership of the World Alliance of YMCAs. While the Emperor consented to be the patron of the YMCA, most of his senior Cabinet Ministers served as board members of the Association and the Movement united around 3 million members. In 1976, the YMCA was dissolved by the defunct Dergue military regime and its properties and assets were confiscated. The YMCA’s re-opening in 1992 is proof of how deeply the YMCA had been anchored into Ethiopian society. Today, the YMCA of Ethiopia has a national office and 9 regional branches and has an estimated membership of 12 000.
Source: World Alliance of YMCAs’ website: www.ymca.int
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The New Year in Ethiopia is celebrated on 11 September, according to the calendar, alphabet and rituals of the signs of ancient Ethiopian civilisation. There are 13 months of a year - 12 months have 30 days and one month has 5 days. Our year count is 8 years behind the rest of the world.
Our new year starts in September 11.
The Ethiopia YMCA extends New Year greetings and wishes all a happy Ethiopia Millennium.
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