Born and raised in Abomsa, a small village located in the Arsi in the Central Ethiopia State, Makida Arshi is a full-time nurse, an author and a mother of three daughters.
Currently, she is residing in Virginia, USA, where she is working as a nurse. Recently she authored and inaugurated a children’s book titled “The World Needs a Uniquely Happy You.” which was also translated into Amharic under the title “Ye-Alem Mebratoch” to mean “Lights of the World.”
The book, which promotes diversity, encourages everyone to respect their own culture and identity and to celebrate each other’s differences, has won the National “Mom’s Choice Awards” in the United States and it is on sell on Amazon.
As her bio is stated at Amazon webpage, her main values of selflessness and kindness are ones she holds close to her heart. She is keen and has a deep interest to help people and make them happy ever since she was a child. That is why she knew that nursing was the profession for her. She has now been a nurse for over two decades, and it still brings her immense joy.
Not only that, Makida also takes great pride in being a mother and takes the responsibility very seriously, using her life experiences in her storytelling to help children grow to be well-rounded, self-aware, confident adults. She takes a great deal of her inspiration from women from all different walks of life.
She has always struggled with the societal expectations of women. At certain points, she has had to make the choice between working, staying at home to look after her children or both! In making those choices, she has often found that whichever one she made, there would always be some part of society that would have a problem with it.
Makida hopes to be instrumental in dismantling such expectations of women across the world. This is why she saw the need to write a book to encourage young readers, girls in particular, that it is OK to be what they choose to be as long as they are happy doing it, to embrace who they are and live their truth.
Makida also underscored this in her short stay with EPA, where she shared her life experience, regarding the book she authored, and the way children should be raised with readers.
According to her, the meaningful way to generate responsible citizens and instill a sense of patriotism within the young generation is working on children at an early age. In this regard, inculcating the culture of reading within children is vital.
Makida’s passion for writing has been manifested ever since she was young and while she was a student, she was writing various articles in English language at her school. Owing to her knowledge and skills for writings, she has had good rapport with her language teachers; and her father, who saw her inclination for literature, had predicted her future to be a literary person.
Makida, after completing her high school education at Halaba, came to Addis Ababa and pursued her preparatory education. Then she joined Gondar University College of Medicine and Health Science and attended her education in Nursing. “As my father pointed out, even though I have had greater inclination for literature and language, at that moment, I did want to study nursing,” she remarked.
When she is talking about the reason why she preferred nursing (midwifery) to writing, Makida said: “While we were in Assela, our house and Assela Hospital have been situated in close distance. And watching health practitioners adorned with their white gowns, and the elegance of their clothes made me wish to become a nurse.” And she did it. When her brothers and sisters followed their parents’ footprint and became teachers, Makida realized her childhood dream and she joined the health sector.
In fact, she never quit writing; instead, she was producing various pieces even while she was at the university.
Once she graduated, she moved back to Assela Town and started serving at Sagure Health station, in Sagure town. She also served in the Middle East, Dubai. Currently, she is residing in Virginia State, USA, and working as a nurse.
As to her, next to motherhood, the profession of nursing is something that she cannot express it at all. Words are inadequate for her to utter about the two. “Nursing is a profession where people come to you seeking your help when they are tired and unable to manage their condition. So, that is a big responsibility.”
Even though Makida and her family have started living abroad, her mother is not a woman who supports it. Instead, she has a firm stance that everyone has the opportunity to work and prosper at homeland.
According to Makida, the work culture and the living conditions of the country she is living now is not conducive to spending enough time with children. As a result, she has witnessed several working moms sitting on the fence whether to stay at home to raise their children, or to leave their children at home to work.
Makida, as a mother of three, knows the challenge plainly. “I have firsthand experience of the extent of difficulties working moms face,” she said, mentioning the greatest challenging time that she faced while preparing the book she authored- “The World Needs a Uniquely Happy You!” She had to nurse her baby, take care of her, and let her fall asleep, concurrent to carrying out office assignments that were left incomplete due to maternal leave.
“When I see the world through my children’s eyes; I decided to create a world that is favorable for them and discharge my responsibilities,” she remarked.
As to her, though we thought that those children come from us and are the same; and attempt to raise them in the same method of child rearing, they have entirely different personalities and identities, different hopes and dreams. For this reason, without magnifying the differences we see in them, we have to go all-out and support them to grow and become good citizens.
The fictional characters designated in the book are people from different backgrounds and regions and represent different cultures. Translating the book in local language helps children to learn about the history, culture, lifestyle and technology of the other world,
Most importantly, instead of blaming others for the limited number of children’s books at home, she prefers to be part of the solution. She also underscored the importance of preparing children’s books in a more attractive and inspiring way.
Makida believes that for those individuals who read, the doors are open. Even the first commandment of the Prophet Muhammad in Islam is to read. The adage “Reading makes a full man” is not just a saying, but it is a reality because it fills one’s mind with knowledge and skills. However the culture of reading in her home country, compared with the place she is residing now, there is a huge difference. Here in Ethiopia, it seems that the culture of reading is pushed aside. “To curb this challenge, and make reading a culture among children, parents should read books along with their offspring because, by nature, children do what we do, not what we say,” she remarked.
She also urged authors who are writing children’s books to make the books inviting and captivating.
Aside from Mom’s choice award of the “Gold Seal Award”, Makida also managed to win the Royal DragonFly Book Award in the Story Monsters category. She also received the best readable book award.
Makida, in addition to the Amharic language, is also working to have the book translated into other local languages.
BY STAFF REPORTER
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 11 JANUARY 2024
