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Where we do it > Eritrea - Steffen FerwedaAfter 7 years of teaching in the Netherlands, Steffen Ferweda boarded a plane bound for Eritrea, where he’s been working as an English methodologist since November 2006. Here he shares his experiences of Eritrean hospitality, stunning countryside and job satisfaction.
I arrived in Eritrea on the 9th of September 2006 with my backpack, guitar and motor helmet in hand. I was going to be based in Foro, a village 60 km south of the town Massawa, in the hot lowlands of Eritrea.
First there was a two-week In-Country Training with the 21 other new volunteers. It was very enjoyable and it made a good team out of us. Sticking together is really important in this country.
I had a month until my job started, so I travelled around the country on my motorbike and enjoyed the most beautiful countryside and the most generous and welcoming people of Eritrea.
In November my own job started. And how I love it! Travelling to the villages on my motorbike is very enjoyable. Staying with the teachers for several days, observing them, giving feedback, preparing teaching aids, teaching together to show them new techniques, encouraging them to try out different methods, is just great.
During the afternoons (in my area we only have morning shifts, but work on Saturdays too) talking with the teachers about school, life in Eritrea and playing card games is just fantastic. Eating meals together, enjoying coffee ceremonies and sleeping in their houses, are the best experiences, which I would have never had, staying back home in The Netherlands.
Besides going to schools, I’m helping setting up a Pedagogic Resource Centre (PRC) in Foro. This is done together with my local PRC-coordinator, Charles. It is basically an office, where we can give training to teachers, where we set up a library for books to be borrowed by teachers, to educate themselves or children, and where there are materials available for teachers to make teaching aid resources.
One of the brilliant aspects of being a VSO volunteer is that you become part of a local community. The people in Foro are really lovely people and invite you for everything. If I don’t feel like cooking myself, I don’t have to, as families invite me all the time to their houses. The only problem is the lack of variety. In Foro it’s a very basic life but it’s getting the best cooking skills out of me, making many different types of meals with few ingredients!
And then you get invited to celebrations. The most frequent one that happens every day is the coffee ceremony. You drink six little cups of coffee, which have been half filled with sugar, in three rounds and during every round you’ll receive two cups. It’s the biggest socialising event. Never ever leave before the whole ritual is completed, as that’s the rudest gesture you could make in Eritrea.
Also you get invited to weddings, birthday parties and to all festivals either locally or nationally. Those moments are very special, seeing the dancing, enjoying the food and being part of their rituals. Those experiences are worth much more than any amount of money you could have earned back home!
Every now and then, I cycle from Foro to Massawa with an ever-shining sun above me, seeing ostriches and foxes and jackals, to meet up with fellow volunteers. Most of the time we then travel from Massawa to the capital Asmara to meet up with the others based there. We cheer up the ones who are having a difficult moment for whatever reason and we share the wonderful moments. Yes, it’s great that we volunteers are such a supportive team! So after a weekend of Asmara everybody is geared up to return to the field. So I go back to my beautiful Foro and give it all I’ve got to give, realising that I have already received much more from them than I will ever be able to give back.
So for everybody still doubting whether to join VSO or not, just do it! What can be more enjoyable than helping a teacher, who had no teaching skills at all, and is now confident to stand up in front of a classroom and sing a song or do pair work? What is more rewarding than children only being able to repeat the word the teacher is saying to children who can read a book and understand what they’ve read? What is more enjoyable than giving a workshop and doing the most silly energizers with teachers, after which they all burst out in laughter realising what weird activities I’ve made them do?
I love this job, I love the stunning Eritrean countryside and I am very grateful to be able to experience a little bit of the rich culture of the Eritreans. I’m looking forward to my second year!
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