Book: THE ART OF LIVING DREAMS
AUTHOR: ABRAHAM FESSEHAYE an Assistant Professor of OB-GYN
Number of pages: 116
Review: By BACHA ZEWDIE
Publisher: Central Printing Press
Price: ETB 300.00/USD 15.00
It is beyond imagination of many how a person who was born and brought up in Adi-quala, Eritrea has attended his post graduate program to specialize in Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob-Gyn) at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC), Ethiopia.
But the person who has written his relatively short life story which is full of ups and downs but achieved a success of living his dreams has did it. He is now working at the hospital he has attended his post graduate program.
Dr. Abraham presented this book for mainly two purposes. One is to have a record of his journey from failure once up on a time in his life and to the success who is he now. The other is, as he put the story in simple English, he wishes young people can learn much by reading it and adjusting their way to success whatever profession they choose.
In demonstrating his school life at primary school, he boldly expressed his failure when he was a grade eight student in the year of 2000. He said: “I missed many days from school. I didn’t study for any of the mid-term and final exams during the semester. I was a friend of failed students, who had no appetite for education.”
Yes, he harvested what he seeded. He failed in four subjects and was embarrassed when his homeroom teacher revealed his status to his father on parents’ day. Above this, the way the homeroom teacher expressed him to his father smashed him with shame.
“Well, Ato Fesahaye Sium, I could never imagine that you have such a bad son. He failed in four subjects. He was absent for 10 days in the semester. He is a trouble maker. I am sorry to say this but I expect none of these qualities from somebody who is determined to continue in your blood line.”
That bad news made a valley between Abraham and his father. His father expressed his feeling with bitter words. “I thought I have a good son. But, I was wrong. Raising a dog would have been much better. I am not going home.” Abraham recalled his father said these words as louder as he had never heard him speak louder before.
To get out of that depression, he needs to change himself. But changing oneself in the midst of failed friends does not work.
That is what Abraham did too. He departed himself from such friends. He used some alerting sayings as a fuel to restart his engine and go forward that demonstrate the impact of friends on an individual. One good Tigrigna saying he quoted in his book is “A friend of a broken adult has at least a crack.”
This indicates that friends influence one for better or worse. Up on changing his failed friends, Abraham made great progress starting the second semester of the same year. He won a good opportunity to join medical school after working hard in the years that followed his turning point in his school life.
He was enrolled at Eritrean Institute of Technology (EIT), attended medical training and earned his Doctorate Degree in Medicine.
Abraham’s dream was not for this and did not stop there. In 2014, when he was posted as a general practitioner at Afabet Hospital, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, he was searching on internet for post graduate admission in USA and Europe. Though he did that so many times, he was not eligible to join none of the medical schools he searched.
His remaining possibility was to establish a sort of connection with the universities and colleges in neighboring countries. Fortunately, in 2014, he discovered that Michigan University was working on obstetrics and gynecology collaboration programs with Ethiopian colleges. He thought applying to the local program in Ethiopia would be possible.
He made several e-mail correspondences with different people those were willing to help from the University of Michigan (UM) and St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC) that have partnership between them. His most correspondences were with different officials at SPHMMC.
Assuring that he was given green light from SPHMMC to begin internship program, he headed on a bus to Addis Ababa leaving behind a tiresome journey he and his wife made to cross the Ethio-Eritrean border during the time of no war- no peace situation between the two countries. Finally, on Tuesday November 25, 2014, he began his internship with a great help from concerned people he mentioned in his book.
Abraham is thankful for people those stretched their hands to support him whether in finance, moral or guidance. Among these is his mother, Aregash Aregay who he described as a wonderful woman. He stated: “I cannot easily find the words to express the extraordinary love that she fed me. When I talk about what she means
to me, I am only shedding a small part of the whole truth.”
Though he said this, he better expressed her when mentioning that she was his financial source during his studies. He said: “She was my everything. She was constantly charging my pocket with money that my pocket never went out of cash flow.”
He has dedicated his award of certificate of specialty in obstetrics and gynecology to her.
The valley that was created between Abraham and his father following his failure has not lasted longer. Following the turning point he made in his learning and the achievements he scored, their relation was restored. He expressed his gratitude for his father from the bottom of his heart.
“I dedicated my achievement of doctor of medicine to my father. Had he not put me back with his silence and anger back on track in high school, I would have taken off in the direction of a loss.”
Abraham’s respect and grateful was not limited to his parents. He is also thankful for Ethiopians by his side at any situation. As he stated in his book, he was very welcomed to St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College since day one.
Once he and members of his batch started to have monthly ward attachments, none of the residents viewed him as an outsider, he stated.
“There were also times that I experienced financial constraints at the beginning of my residency journey. Many good hands from volunteered Ethiopians and Eritreans were out there to help me deal with that. Above all, the love and fun that I had from all members of my batch was a tremendous courage for me to continue my training
with energy.”
Abraham and the kind Ethiopians, who helped him in his journey to be what he is now, sparked the idea of launching a residency program in Asmara. As he stated, there was no well-functioning Ob-Gyn residency program in Asmara when he migrated to Ethiopia.
A rapid restoration of the relationship between the two countries handed them a fertile ground to begin working towards establishing a partnership program between the two colleges; SPHMMC of Ethiopia and Orotta School of Medicine and Dentistry of Eritrea.
January 25, 2020 marked the official launch of a residency training programs in the department of Ob-Gyn and pediatrics at Asmara. This became real especially with the great effort of Senait Fisseha, MD, JD, Assistant Professor and Chief, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, University of Michigan. She is also among the leading people who showed great humanity for Abraham.
As separation of the peoples of the two countries induced by the devastative war for over two decades does not deserve them, this good news, with no doubt, showers both people with pleasure.
Thus, Abraham’s story is not only a story of an Ob-Gyn specialist but the manifestation for the unison of the peoples of the two countries and cooperation between their respective institutions. Moreover, the story presented in the book “THE ART OF LIVING DREAMS” can add a drop to initiate other young people who read the book whoever and wherever they are to become successful in their own ways. The PDF is available on abrahamfessehaye4@gmail.com.
The Ethiopian Herald May 5/2020
