Gender role is different in my family compared to the rest of my society. My father is present in the house and helps my mother with the house chores. Both my parents do not believe in gender-based discrimination, and ensure that my brothers and I are always helping our sister. Their conscious effort to ensure gender equality in the house sparked my interest in learning more about gender based violence in Ethiopia. This interest was even more stimulated during a family visit to Wagebeta, a rural village in Ethiopia. During this visit, I learned that many of the problems of poverty in my country stem from the way women are treated. There are many cultural factors that put women in a vulnerable position in relation to men.
During my visit, I understood the common stereotype in Ethiopia, the image of women bent loaded with either a heavy water container or a bundle of sticks for cooking fire. I recognized that fetching water or fuel required travelling very long distances that may even come with sexual harassment. However, the most inhibiting factor is that women in these rural villages continue to be denied education.
My short stay in this village made me cognizant of societal problems that I never knew existed. But I did not choose to remain silent about it. I decided to take action, however small it might be. I thought it would be best if I would make use of my experience as a volunteer teacher in a public school during the summer, and teach the youth about the need for gender equality. My grandfather appreciated my initiative and decided to help me with getting the word out. Consequently, villagers sent their children to my grandfather’s backyard for my class.
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Since everyone in the village respected my grandfather, they sent their children to attend these lessons. A total of 12 kids came to my classes for an hour each day for two weeks. I used this time to create awareness on gender equality. I particularly focused on the boys because I wanted them to take responsibility and fight these wrong attitudes. Since their societal values are rooted in religion, I used biblical principles to show them how gender-based violence is not acceptable. Interestingly, I saw remarkable behavioral changes due to these lessons. It was very rewarding to see my students implement the principles we discussed. I was satisfied by seeing the impact my small seed had and thinking of the long-term implications.
In this village, health care is another area where significant improvement is needed. I saw many children with preventable illnesses such as diarrhea due to the lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitation. I also noticed that many people died from diseases like cerebral malaria due to the lack of trained healthcare personnel in the area. This encouraged me to follow my dream of becoming a medical doctor. A year prior, I had started a research project on early-stage brain tumors, and their treatment. I expect to publish my research findings within the next year.
This research project, coupled with my awareness of the severe need for health care professionals in Ethiopia, has reinforced my decision to become a Biomedical Engineer. I’ve mentioned this so far, though this does not relate to my intended concentration, I have talked about this so far to show how much of a problem solver I am. I take society’s problems and I try to help with the small ways I can. This habit of mine has made me think about what more I can do to the health care system in Ethiopia to this situation. All this inspiration has made me leave my country and my family at an early age and come to the US and finish my high school education to fulfill my dreams. Now I am applying to Rochester University because of its undergraduate curriculum that can provide me with the strong base of interdisciplinary knowledge I need to become a Biomedical Engineer.
