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Dinkinesh Shewaferaw's Life Story  

Dinkinesh Shewaferaw is a student from North Shewa Zone of Amhara Region. When she was a child she believed that stones could grow. She said that when she was young the stones were small but as she grew older she noticed the stones grew also. She asked people if stones could grow and they told her that they could not. This puzzled her until she grew old enough to realise why: the reason was soil erosion. 

 

The story of Dinkinesh Shewaferaw in her own words: 

I was born and raised in Nefes Mider. When I was young, I herded cattle. My father was very keen on education. He had attended traditional church school and we followed in his footsteps. As we prepared to enter school, our father died suddenly. I resumed herding cattle. Our eldest brother was in eleventh grade then. He had to discontinue school and become a farmer like our father. Once he did that, we were able to attend school. We are five siblings: three girls and two boys. 

Our father was a farmer and our mother was never educated. Her job was to raise us and take care of our home. Our father put every effort into educating us. At that time, not many families understood the value of education in the area where I grew up. People thought we were unique. When our father died, one of my sisters left for Addis Ababa and the other for Arsi. Our eldest brother supported us by farming. After living in Addis for many years, my sister moved to Debre Berhan where she got married and had two children. My sister who lived in Arsi returned after many years and has gone back to school. She is now in grade 11. The youngest brother grew up to be a farmer. When the eldest married and started a family of his own, the youngest began supporting us. Our father’s death changed our lives. My sisters left in search of better opportunities. There was no order then as there is now. Young girls could be abducted easily and they wanted to flee from that. Our father died 15 years ago.  

When we were young, we used to harvest a lot from the soil, which was not badly eroded then. Year after year, cattle, wind and water began to affect the soil. The population increase meant that the land was divided into smaller portions. In the past, our father used to farm more than one location. Now, two or three people farm a small plot. Because of this, productivity has decreased. Life has become very difficult. When I compare the past with today, things are much harder today. The soil does not yield as much as before. 

It is difficult to attend school. We try to support each other. Most of the burden falls upon my two brothers and my sister’s husband who is also a farmer. The weather is dry and if it does not rain during the belg between January and April we will be short of food. When this happens, we prepare oregano and sell it in the neighbouring area to avoid hunger.  The change in the nature of the land saddens me. Elders tell us we were born at the wrong time. I grieve for my generation and also worry about the generations to come. If soil erosion continues this way, it will be dangerous. If we continue to maintain the soil and prevent erosion, we will be able to protect the land and save generations to come.  

The most fulfilling things in my life are work and education. Currently, I am a student in 9th grade. From all the subjects I am learning, I enjoy geography a great deal. It is because we learn a lot about land and its components in geography. Since I was a child, when I was herding cattle, I was very interested to know about land, soil and how to protect and prevent it from the odds. I am less interested in history. First, it is because I have to study the material by heart, which I don’t really like. Second, it is because it teaches about the past. To me what is important is to learn about the current situation and what we can do about it.  

Environmental development gives me great pleasure. I also enjoy helping elders and orphaned youth. I share whatever I have with them. I get really disturbed when I see land being abused and people suffering from famine. Many have died searching for food or migrating to the city in search of opportunity. After our father died, our whole family went hungry. All we could do was to prepare dry sengada to eat once a day. Sometimes, we could eat only once a day. Other times not at all. Nobody knew about our situation. We made cloth from sheepskin. This is why I am shattered when I see poor people begging on the streets. 

My dream is to finish school and work as God directs me. I want to help those less fortunate than me. I want to share what I have learned about conserving the land so that future generations will have better awareness. Once my life takes shape, I want to repay the kindness of my family members. We have gone through a lot together.

 

In 1995 EC, SUNARMA came to our community. I became a part of the SUNARMA programme almost by accident. My brother was chairman of the kebele and told me about the programme. They asked if youth were interested in organising around environmental issues. I and other youth from our community were not aware what kinds of problems land erosion would cause. We thought our neighbourhood would turn into a riverbed. I was recovering from illness at that time but I went to the first meeting. SUNARMA gave us valuable training about how to use the land. They taught us about environmental problems of soil erosion. We understood it easily. We had three to four training sessions a year. The first session focused on where and when to plant trees, how to plant, nurture and maintain trees. In the second session, we learned practical skills, which dealt with how far apart to plant seedlings, how much soil to use for each seedling, how to nurture and maintain newly planted seedlings, how to protect the seedlings from cattle. If there were things we missed in the first round we corrected them in the second session. We learn how to develop the land, how to maintain and nurture the soil. Furthermore, we learned how to create terraces to prevent soil erosion. We were taught about the advantages of planting trees. 

After the training we registered and organised ourselves into five groups of eight and became 40. We requested our kebele to provide us with land and they gave it. SUNARMA provided us with all the necessary equipment to prepare the land and also to plant eucalyptus trees. First, according to our training, we were told to prepare the land and make holes. Then, we were given seedlings. Before we planted the seedlings, representatives of the organisation came and visited the site. The second phase was planting and we planted all the seedlings. The representatives supervised all our steps. Though primarily our seedlings were eucalyptus trees, we planted indigenous trees like TID and zgba. It takes a shorter time to grow eucalyptus trees than the others I mentioned. Eucalyptus trees prevent the soil from being washed away. The soil is conserved.  The fallen leaves can be used for fire or another benefit is selling the leaves.  Young and short trees can be sold for 10 birr each. Also, our sheep are sheltered under the shade of the trees. Though we planted them at the same time, the eucalyptus trees grew in different ways. If the soil is eroded, eucalyptus trees would not grow or they would not be healthy even if they do.  

We were able to terrace the land, then fertilise it, plant the eucalyptus trees and convert it to a green area. We were able to teach and help the community from what we learned from the trainings that we were provided. Farmers realised the changes that SUNARMA is making. They asked for similar assistance, asking about soil erosion and about planting trees to protect their land. The training benefited both us and the farmers. 

We had to select a group leader and the members selected me though I was hesitant to take the position. With the community’s encouragement since then, I have become the representative for 40 youth at kebele level. I was invited to Addis Ababa for the General Assembly meeting. This gave me an opportunity to see the capital city for the first time. At this meeting I was told I was the official representative of the 40 youth. It took me by surprise. Part of my responsibility includes transmitting new programme ideas to the members. I attend workshops and pass information to the larger group. I also discuss issues with the group and serve as a liaison to the organisation.  

SUNARMA has contributed a great deal to our lives. First, we all are able to use the land more effectively. Second, we as young people are able to organise ourselves around issues. Because of this we learn the advantages of organising in groups. There is better awareness of land conservation and environmental development. SUNARMA has empowered and educated the community. I would be very happy if the programme continues because we will find better ways to prevent environmental damage and reverse the effects of soil degradation. The training has equipped me with the skills to survive by paying attention to the environment. I will grow vegetables in my own backyard instead of relying on the market. The community benefits by working with agriculture experts and an organisation like SUNARMA. SUNARMA also educated youth about HIV/AIDS protection and prevention. My life has been changed by SUNARMA. I am better focused and have more hope for the future.