BY BETELHEM BEDLU
In a remote area where education is considered as an unimportant matter, especially for girls, a girl whose future was destined to twinkle as a star in the darkness with a vision of perusing her dreams using education as a tool was born.
Even though many people would become frustrated to follow the call of their souls and hesitate to use their full potential so as to realize their desire in that situation, this girl had left no room to the inconvenience that stood in her way. Instead, she took advantage of the hardship she faced with to shape her personality, unlock the door to her personal excellence; become the strong woman and to reach where she is now.
Shewaye Mersha (PhD), who is now a doctor, was born in a small village of Dansha, Welkait Woreda. Once she completed her primary education at her place, she went straight to Gonder to attend her secondary education.
Let alone having access to education, but learning by itself was disregarded by the society in the area where she grew up. Not only that the schools did not have adequate teaching-learning materials, but the teachers that used to be assigned there were also unqualified and unskilled.
The following story is the story of Shewaye Mersha’s (PhD), taken from an interview she held with a local media.
Shewaye noted that she had encountered multilayered challenges to achieve her goals. Growing up, I had been challenged with the society’s long-aged culture of an early marriage. Fortunately, my brothers as well as my families saved me from getting into one. The fact that they had academic background helped me as it would have been hard to be where I am now.
She went on saying: “If a girl hits her adolescence stage, the society believes that she should get married as they think that marriage would be an important mechanism to protect her from being deceived”.
As to her, carrying out the home chores that are carried out in rural areas to win daily lives, and having to walk long miles just to go to school coupled with studying with that exhausted mind made her journey more difficult than it was.
However, the deep desire and ambitious she have had from an early age, did not let her to lose hope but to stand firmly and keep on going. Even fighting with those struggles, she used to visualize herself as if she was standing in her current state. Through her hard work, she was able to earn her first degree from Dilla University. Then, she then went to Addis Ababa University to do her Master’s degree.
When she started her third degree program, her child was only 18 months baby. Though hired a babysitter, leaving all the work to the nanny did not satisfy her. Thus, whenever she had morning class, she used to get up early so that she can prepare a meal and necessary foodstuff for the baby.
Motherhood is a best natural gift for women but it comes with responsibility. Though it is something that needs to be embraced, having to exert the responsibility that comes along with it needs a lot of readiness and commitment, she added.
Similarly, understanding that the value of time would serve her better towards realizing her goals, she was very strict on how she manages her time. Hence, she did her best in terms of wisely using her spare times, and night hours to the level where she forced herself to cancel important social gatherings.
Given the fact that women are more responsible than their male counterparts with regard to raising a child, they are expected to play their role no matter how many other important duties they have.
“So, regardless of what is in our way, the effort that we put on and how committed we are, can highly determine whether we can reach our goal or fall short.”
Currently, Shewaye is serving as a lecturer at Kotebe College of Teacher Education. She has planned to return to her hometown to contribute her share with the knowledge she has grasped academically and throughout her struggle.
Being a mother of two, herself, she advises the young people to have a vision and to set their goals first. Having a clear vision of what you want achieve in life is like going to half miles to where you want to go, according to her.
Then, she added that they should do whatever is possible to realize their dream. On doing so, they will not only achieve what they have aspired but, they would also be able to shape themselves and earn experience through the process.
Similarly, she underlined that women ought to believe that despite the constraints and the wrong perceptions imposed on them by the society, they can be successful if they are committed and strong. Though the road might not be smooth and is full of bumps, they can get to their final destination with their hard work.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 21 JULY 2022
