Where the Sun Shines

Since 2003 I have worked with Canada World Youth and Change for Children in many places throughout Africa and Latin America. This website has served as a medium to share my experiences, to tell my stories from "the field". This year (2010) I will be returning to Mozambique to work as a project supervisor again with Canada World Youth.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Weaving Project

Last week with my work-mates I got the opportunity to leave Asmara and visit the town of Mendefera, to see NUEW’s office there. It was a beautiful drive as we drove across a mountain plateau and then into an amazing valley, which really reminded me of the landscapes back home, in particular the mountain range between Alberta and BC near Radium Hot Springs. In any case, while in Mendefera I visited NUEW’s sanitary napkin factory and clothing factory. I was pretty impressed, as the factory was very clean, spacious, and had an excellent ventilation system. The main purpose of our visit, however, was to monitor and evaluate the progress of a new weaving project NUEW has recently established in Mendefera. The women in the project are weaving beautiful traditional scarves to be sold locally and have been experimenting with tye-dye and have made some very funky scarves. I checked them out, and was trying to pick out just a couple and then ended up buying them all as they were all so beautiful and unique. Since I returned I have been showing other internationals the scarves and have already sent the women in Mendefera an order for 40 more tye-dyed scarves. I am hoping to send some up to Change for Children to be sold in our little fair trade gift shop, so if you are interested you may soon be able to get one in Edmonton at CFCA, or await my return in the summer!

Monday, February 21, 2005

Photos to share

Its been some time since I posted some photos. Here are some photos from my recent trips outside Asmara. Enjoy!








Good Weekend in Asmara

After a stressful week I had a very nice weekend in Asmara. On Sat Gabri (my room-mate) and I had a relaxing morning in our garden and gave ourselves pedicures under the sun. After we went to the market to get some vegetables, and other things we needed. Later in the afternoon we joined “the HASH” a weekly walking group that meets every Sat at 3pm to go do a hike somewhere around Asmara. It’s a funny event, as usually there are around 40 or so of us foreigners that gather together, we all pile into different vehicles and then lead a procession outside the city somewhere. After the hike, I recruited a date – Robert (another Canadian Intern working here) and together we went to a fancy going away party for a Canadian couple who have been working here for the UN over the past 3 years. It was so formal it almost felt like a wedding; it was nice though there was lots of good food and wine.
The next day early in the morning I took the train from Asmara to a village about an hour away. It was great, as the view from the train was spectacular. There must have been a couple hundred of us internationals that bought tickets. It was a fundraiser the Israeli Embassy organized for the Eritrean Disabled Fighters Association. In total40,000 Nakfa(about $2500US) was raised.
After the train ride, I went back home to relax, and afterwards at 6pm, got ready to go out again and went to my first Eritrean Wedding. It was Nebyat’s (my maid) son’s wedding. It was really fun to finally see an Eritrean Wedding, as the past two months it seems that every eligible girl and bachelor have been getting married, as you see the traditional wedding tents everywhere, see tons of wedding processions going down Liberation Avenue, and you definitely cant miss the drumming and loud Tigrinya music being played all night long at all the weddings. Its especially hard to sleep if you have a wedding going on in your neighbourhood, as they really turn into block parties, as the tent along usually takes up half a block. We had a lot of fun, me and Gabri were treated like royal guests at the wedding as the only white guests in attendance! Nebyat looked so gorgeous and was very happy and proud, she really was the queen of the party dancing all night long! The cutting of the multiple wedding cakes was amusing, as its tradition to feed your cake to someone else, so everyone was giving one another pieces of cake. After the wedding, I was pretty tired and went straight to bed -what another great weekend!

Friday, February 18, 2005

VISA PROBLEM SOLVED!!

This week was very hectic and extremely busy, as it was not until the 11th hour that I was granted my visa in the end! I was getting prepared for deportation, as I had thought we had tried all avenues and weren’t getting anywhere. I even went to the Canadian Consulate in complete desperation hoping they might be able to assist my case. That was funny and scary, as the Honorary Consul told me that I should be prepared for the immigration police to come take me from my home, detain me and then await my court date. He said he has already had to bail some Canadians out of jail, who were in a similar situation. And he actually advised me to go to Nairobi or Yemen. After that point on Wed at 4pm, the day before my visa expired, I was completed stressed and overwhelmed and of course naturally had a good cry at work when I returned to the office. That was also interesting, because the ladies at my work were getting mad at me for crying: “why are you crying?” they asked me “ you shouldn’t cry you will go back to a nice rich country, you have no reason to cry”. It was true, if I would have been deported I would have had to return to Canada, a rich, safe and developed country, where there is always water, electricity, and plenty of food. But that was besides the point, I wanted to stay here in Eritrea as I very much enjoy my work and the people, I have made some good international friends, love going out of the city whenever I get the chance to and very much enjoy my time here in Asmara and want to finish my contract. Thankfully, NOW- as of 5 minutes ago, that is all possible, as I was finally granted a new visa at the Ministry of Immigration, which will allow me to stay for the next 3 months- my visa problem is solved!

Monday, February 14, 2005

Visa Troubles...

So its now only a matter of days and my visa expires and I have yet to hear a positive answer from either the Ministry of Immigration or the Ministry of Labour. I am hopeful my work will continue to lobby on my behalf and all will be well in the end. But the past couple weeks have been hectic and busy writing letters and going here and there to present our case over and over. Its strange because the visa I originally asked for was for 6months, but in the end they only gave me 3 months, telling me that to extend the visa after a couple months would be no problem. In any case, the visa they have given me, a 3 month employment visa, is apparently impossible to extend, so in other words we must do the impossible, and somehow get it extended in order for me to stay and complete my 6 month contract. Robert the other Canadian intern working here went through a similar procedure and was here illegally for a few days but in the end got a work permit allowing him to stay and finish his contract. So stay tuned for the final verdict, which should be delievered tommorrow AM, as the President of the Union will go to talk with the powers that be at the Ministry of Immigration and hopefully work out some special case exception to the rule!

Monday, February 07, 2005

Half Way Point

So its been 3 months since I left Canada, and I am at the half-way point of my internship here in Eritrea. I was reminded of how fast the time has gone by, as I now need to have my visa extended, so I can stay another 3 and a half months. Its a little hectic, as I was supposed to have registered when I got here, but I am told not to worry,as NUEW will take care of it all. I am thinking of staying a little longer, if it is possible, as the 24th of May is INDENDENCE DAY in Eritrea, and since it has just been over a decade ago since Eritrea won its sovereignty there are huge festivities and celebrations being planned and organized.

So I would have to say the honeymoon phase of my stay here in Eritrea is over, as I now feel as though I am working just as the others in my office, with a lot to do, quite busy, and often wondering how I will ever get it all done. Its really not such a bad feeling, as I feel both useful, and productive. And now besides all the project proposals I have been helping to write, this week I have started to teach English at NUEW. It’s a professional development course NUEW offers to women working in a variety of sectors. Originally, the only other foreign woman working here at NUEW used to teach the course, however, since Christmas she has been ill and it appears to be a permanent condition, so I was asked to finish the course. So three days a week I have a lovely group of women who are eager to improve their English language skills.

Apart from this what else is new? Well I recently met two other fellow Canadians, who are also CIDA Interns working for a youth organization near my office. The are both from Halifax and are very Canadian, which is really nice since Lindsey left me in December. Last night we all went out for Lebanese, and I had a delicious falafel, which reminded me of the endless trips to Café Mosaics on Falafel Fridays, back home in Edmonton.