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Column In Ethiopia, ordinary Irish people doing extraordinary things in difficult circumstances

National Volunteering Week ends today. Here Donnacha Maguire, who is in Ethiopia, tells us about some of the work being done by Irish volunteers in the country.

ARRIVING IN ADDIS Ababa, the capital of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia on Sunday morning last was a real eye-opener. My first time in Africa coincided with the end of the Ethiopian Easter festival and a reawakening of this bustling and energetic city. The only African nation to have never been colonised; the Ethiopian people are proud, resilient and eager to build a better future for their communities.

Travelling around this landlocked country meeting Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) volunteers is an absolute privilege for me. My role in the recruitment of international volunteers means that when they depart for their placement the connection can be broken. These people are ordinary Irish people doing extraordinary things in difficult circumstances.

Sharing skills and experiences

They have made a commitment to the partners they work with to share their skills and experiences and begin what VSO calls the ‘Ripple Effect’. The Ripple Effect is the process by which volunteers begin a chain reaction in a local community or even an entire country where capacity is strengthened in a sustainable way.

Take Jim Ferguson from Dun Laoghaire who is an Education Advisor in the Ministry of Education for example. With over 40 years experience in English language teaching and education management, Jim is a driving force in the roll out of Education Language Instruction Centres (ELICs) in 66 higher education institutions.

Currently travelling around the country training 85 Master Trainers in English Language teaching, his work will reach a combined 43,000 teachers in the next 3 years. This is the Ripple Effect at work. One volunteer addressing a challenge of English language instruction head on and ensuring that hundreds of thousands of children will receive a better quality of education.

Why I do what I do

Jim started his career with VSO in 1971 when he headed off to Sierra Leone and has built up a wealth of experience in education. When we met him in the regional city of Dessie, he said:

I started my career with VSO and it was always my intention to finish it with VSO. I know that what I do with VSO will last longer than my placement and that is why I’m doing this. It’s sustainable development that puts people at the heart of the process.

Another area where VSO is working in Ethiopia is in the area of teacher training. The number of teachers isn’t an issue anymore. Now the quality of education is the challenge and VSO is committed to up-skilling local Ethiopian teachers with learner centred and active learning focused teaching methodologies.

A teacher from Clonmel

Unlike Jim Ferguson, Aisling Healy, a 27 year-old secondary school teacher from Clonmel, is only at the start of her education career yet she has committed to spending two years in the regional town of Woldiya training university lecturers. She works with local counterparts to build their capacities in terms of facilitating classroom interaction and ensuring that students are at the centre of the learning process. She said:

In a way the work I do here is much more difficult than the work I do in Ireland but I’m really enjoying being stretched, sometimes to the limit of my capacity.

Personally, life is difficult for me here but the impact I have is so rewarding that it is worth everything to me.

Ethiopia has more than enough teachers to teach in schools and universities but needs support to improve the quality of teaching. VSO is doing this by sending people like Aisling to volunteer and to share their time and skills with local teachers.

Quality Education is at the heart of what VSO stands for. Our volunteers do not engage in service delivery, ie teaching, which means that they can meet head on the needs and challenges of an entire education system. Our roadmap to success is made possible by volunteers, such as Jim and Aisling, sharing their skills at every level of the education system.

I was asked by a local Ethiopian counterpart what is different about VSO. It didn’t take me too long to simply say: ‘Everything goes further with VSO and our volunteers know that they have made a long term impact.’

Please visit VSO.ie or call 01 640 1060 if you wish to learn more about volunteering or donating to VSO.

Donnacha Maguire is the Marketing and Communications Advisor with VSO Ireland and is currently in Ethiopia meeting VSO Ireland volunteers and seeing their impact first hand. VSO is an international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty and the factors that cause it. The volunteers’ work with local counterparts sharing their skills and experiences to build local capacity and to ensure that Ethiopians have the skills needed to transform the country in the way they want it to be transformed. Our vision is a world without poverty, a world where children get a quality education and a world where women don’t fear giving birth.

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6 Comments
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    Mute Jamie Jj Tobin
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    May 19th 2017, 9:01 PM

    Well done to him but even more amazing, Chuck Norris once climbed Mt. Everest in 15 minutes, 14 of which he was building a snowman at the bottom.

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    May 19th 2017, 9:24 PM

    @Jamie Jj Tobin:
    That’s nothing. Kim Jong-un once climbed Everest wearing nothing but a swimsuit, fought off a bear attack at the top and then jogged back down the hill, all before getting 18 holes in one on a local Nepalese golf course

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    Mute Jamie Jj Tobin
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    May 19th 2017, 9:36 PM

    @Tweety McTweeter: Well did you hear the time 10 English blonde women and an Irish biddy called biddy are climbing Mt. Everest. The rope they are on is too heavy, so one of them has to sacrifice themselves. After a moment of silence, the Irish biddy called biddy says she will do it. She makes a long, touching speech about her life and to remember her, and all of the English blondes clap and let go of the rope. True story.

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    Mute Jeni Moriarty
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    May 19th 2017, 10:24 PM

    @Jamie Jj Tobin: bahahaha brilliant

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    Mute Ian Hester
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    May 24th 2017, 9:53 AM

    @Jamie Jj Tobin: Pat is in the game to make money I don’t like his style he was on a trek to one of the poles and just to give his story about it a bit of ‘window dressing’ he went on about the threat from polar bears and willing to use a gun if need be.This is the bear’s habitat so far from being brave -its cowardly to have to resort to that.Leave them in peace is best.We are doing enough damage to them through climate change.They are starving to death so unless they are willing to go without guns get out of their domain.

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    Mute Ian Hester
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    May 24th 2017, 10:02 AM

    @Tweety McTweeter: did u hear the one about the paddy who lit a fire at the ‘bog’ on base camp to keep warm etc -he thawed the Kumbu Ice Fall and it caused an avalanche that killed many of them back a few years ago

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    Mute Stephen Cullen
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    May 19th 2017, 9:00 PM

    Follow your dreams folks, we aren’t here for long.

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    May 19th 2017, 10:53 PM

    @Stephen Cullen: even shorter if you die en route.

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    Mute JoseMacPhisto
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    May 20th 2017, 10:59 AM

    @Stephen Cullen:

    He climbed a mountain. For what?

    Plenty of other ways to fulfil your dreams that have benefit for mankind, and don’t stupidly risk losing your own life.

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    Mute Rehabmeerkat
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    May 20th 2017, 12:36 PM

    @JoseMacPhisto: if your dream is to climb Everest… what’s the other ways of doing it? google street view vr?

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    Mute JoseMacPhisto
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    May 20th 2017, 12:58 PM

    @Rehabmeerkat:

    You’ve missed the point.

    The man is married, runs a family business passed onto him. Roughly 8-10% of people who attempt the summit, die either on the way there, or the way down. There’s only so far fitness, stamina, know-how, and determination will get you when the weather turns, an avalanche occurs, or you contract snow or altitude blindness.

    There’s no benefit for mankind, his wife, or anyone else with this stupid kind of risk. It’s pure ego.

    It might be a dream, but with such a high risk of making his wife a widow, for me personally, it leaves a lot to be desired.

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    Mute Dónaldó
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    May 20th 2017, 2:09 PM

    @JoseMacPhisto: “Anger is never without a reason but seldom with a good one” B. Franklin

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    Mute Rehabmeerkat
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    May 20th 2017, 3:28 PM

    @JoseMacPhisto: your right. he’d be better off spending his Saturday afternoons writing nonsense on message boards. far more fulfilling….

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    Mute Sean
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    May 19th 2017, 9:19 PM

    This site says that an Everest climb costs somewhere in the region of $50K.
    http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2016/12/18/how-much-does-it-cost-to-climb-mount-everest/
    I just wonder how much money was raised for the charity and how much of a bite this climb took out of it.

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    Mute EBurton
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    May 19th 2017, 9:33 PM

    @Sean: ah begrudgery, where would we be without it. Well researched begrudgery too, even has a link to go with it.

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    Mute Sean
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    May 19th 2017, 9:38 PM

    @EBurton: yeah I’m feeling a bit bad now about saying that. Maybe I’m just too cynical but Irish charities don’t have a great record of late. I’m guessing though that this climb was funded by sponsorship and that all the money goes to charity but it would be nice for that to be made clear.

    Here is the link to the fundraising page for anyone who would like to donate.
    https://www.ifundraise.ie/fundraiser/11362357_everest-4-elevate-2017.html

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    Mute cyrilcrowe
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    May 19th 2017, 9:46 PM

    @Sean: he paid for the climb himself and all raised money goes directly to the charity

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    Mute John Mulligan
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    May 19th 2017, 10:33 PM

    @Sean: all the money raised goes to the charity; he paid for the trip from his own pocket.
    What have you done lately?

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    Mute Sean
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    May 19th 2017, 11:09 PM

    @John Mulligan: ha ha I climbed K2 last week but I didn’t tell anyone. To be fair, I changed my mind after my first impetuous comment. Well done to the chap it’s a fantastic achievement!

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    Mute kevin
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    May 20th 2017, 12:18 AM

    @EBurton: I didn’t want to like your comment but it did make me laugh.

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    Mute Debbie Van Tonder
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    May 20th 2017, 7:27 AM

    @Sean: in all fairness – you have the right to question. The Irish public have been deceived by some scrupulous people e.g. The Console debacle. It is nice to read that there are still some honest people out there where all the money goes to the charity. Your question made it clear.

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    Mute ComicbookGuy
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    May 20th 2017, 12:43 AM

    I climbed the sugarloaf once, on the hike from the Carpark to the base I honestly thought, feck I’m not gonna make it, I’m gonna die, but I soldiered on and got there in the end.

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    Mute Randal McNally
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    May 19th 2017, 9:17 PM

    Might be good for there tourism, but why the hell do people insist on climbing Everest and destroying its environment ?

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    Mute offtheball
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    May 19th 2017, 9:48 PM

    @Randal McNally: I suppose it’s not going to be much of an environment if people can’t visit it to appreciate it?

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    Mute Scundered
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    May 19th 2017, 10:51 PM

    @Randal McNally: errr given the nature of the weather there I think you’ll find man under the control of the mountain, not the other way round. They walk on ice and snow, none of which is permanent and the ice fall always moving.

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    Mute David Stapleton
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    May 19th 2017, 11:08 PM

    @Scundered: you don’t know what you are talking about. There have actually been expeditions mounted that do nothing but bring down the crap left from previous expeditions. Tents, sleeping bags, oxygen tanks, etc.

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    Mute Brian Cunningham
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    May 20th 2017, 1:50 AM

    @David Stapleton: There is literal crap all over the place as well. No flushing jaxes to be had at or beyond base camp, I’m fairly sure.

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    Mute John Owens
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    May 20th 2017, 8:58 AM

    @Randal McNally: destroying… you might be an idiot. Just to be sure, check into your local nut factory and give it six months. Good luck!

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    Mute Jon Mackey
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    May 19th 2017, 9:17 PM

    Fair play to that man!

    #arete!

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    Mute the phantom
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    May 19th 2017, 9:58 PM

    Is climbing Everest really newsworthy anymore?

    59
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    Mute John Mulligan
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    May 19th 2017, 10:34 PM

    @the phantom: it’s as hard now as it ever was.
    An awful lot of putting one foot in front of the other.

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    Mute Scundered
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    May 20th 2017, 8:16 AM

    @the phantom: it’s looked upon as an easy one among serious mountain climbers due to its easier gradient but it’s still the tallest of course. Now if it were K2 that’s a story.

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    Mute Ciarán
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    May 19th 2017, 9:58 PM

    Met Pat Falvey in Killarney years ago, Hes a local hero down there, What a feat for any Man or Woman.

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    Mute Guybrush Threepwood
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    May 19th 2017, 10:33 PM

    Fair dues. Pity he didn’t talk about the charity more in the interview. Or maybe the author chose not to include that part perhaps thinking many people aren’t interested in reading it.

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    Mute JoseMacPhisto
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    May 20th 2017, 10:51 AM

    One of the most selfish acts known to man.

    This guy’s no hero. The mortality rate for people climbing Everest is nearly 1 in 10. Climbing it when you’re alone for the sake of pride is daft, but this chap is married. Presumably has some family back home as well.

    I can accept that some people will put their lives at risk for the betterment of mankind (space exploration, knowledge of the oceans etc). This is an ego-driven vanity trip.

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    Mute Martin Fahy
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    May 19th 2017, 9:35 PM

    Well done and all that, and if someone gas the funds to do it, go for it. I would assume the charity effort was separate to his costs about the climb.
    But big deal about the bodies, he would have been well aware he was going to come

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    Mute Martin Fahy
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    May 19th 2017, 9:36 PM

    @Martin Fahy: across them, and prepared for it, so don’t get the big deal about the bodies

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    Mute Chewey Bacca
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    May 19th 2017, 11:35 PM

    Annapurna is the toughest 8000er of them all with a fatality rate of 38% approx. fascinating reading about those who have climbed all of the 8000er mountains (14 of them)

    18
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    Mute Quentin Moriarty
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    May 19th 2017, 11:30 PM

    Scott Fischer and Rob Hall among the dead up there for over 20 years
    Two of many experienced climbers killed on the mountain.

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    Mute Dermot Foley
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    May 19th 2017, 11:59 PM

    @Quentin Moriarty: and my first cousin John Delaney. Rip.

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    Mute Kevin
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    May 20th 2017, 12:20 AM

    @Sean:
    You raised a valid point. No need to apologise for it. Some folks only too delighted to issue a slap down on such reasonable enquiries.

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    Mute Tony Gordon
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    May 20th 2017, 12:09 AM

    Good stuff, and if you see my sis Liz at base camp this week be sure today high!
    (But she’s not going higher than basecamp)

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    Mute Jonathan Caffrey
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    May 20th 2017, 9:22 AM

    Congrats to John. Amazing man.

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    Mute Ken Burke
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    May 20th 2017, 10:58 AM

    @comicbookguy
    Well done. A great achievement. Glad you stuck with it. Getting out of the carpark is always the hard part.

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    Mute Ian Hester
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    May 24th 2017, 9:44 AM

    It costs 50 grand to bring a body down if its retrievable! So had he that covered for insurance if not not much left for the charity then.Better of expending energy stopping Trump or the ‘frackers’ from destroying west Clare.. the Irish have huge inflated egos ….but can’t stop the massive corruption that’s destroying rural Ireland… Seanie Fitz has escaped on his horseback riding to hell….. Thanks to ineptness of the state and corporate law enforcement and the ongoing unwillingness to tackle white collar crime.There’s nothing to celebrate or be proud about with all our own people ending up on the streets of shame!

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