Muluken's story
[For interactive online activities, see the Muluken
feature on Cool
Planet for Children.
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| Muluken
Photo: Rhodri Jones/Oxfam |
My name's Muluken and I'm seven years old. I live in a village
called Gerba Sefer which is high in the mountains in Ethiopia.
My house is made of earth and wood and there are trees all around.
(Photo 1)
Near my house is a canyon. I go there with my sister or friends.
We climb on the rocks and I can see for miles around. We watch
the monkeys that live up there.
I live with my family all around me, in a group of houses called
a compound. I live with my dad, my older sister Esketsenaf and
my younger sister Mekdes. My grandmother also lives with us. (Photo
2) She's special because she does all the cooking and
everything for us in the house. My mum works as a teacher in a
school which is 20 kilometres away. It is difficult to travel
so far every day, so she comes home at weekends and in the holidays.
My uncle and his family live in the same compound. I see them
every day. Sometimes my uncle lets me ride his mule. My cousin
Zebawork is like another big sister. Another special person who
lives near my house is the village elder. He is old and wise and
kind to us children.
In my village it's easy to find someone to join in my games.
(Photo 5) My
favourite game is playing 'shop'. We also play a game called Segne
maksegno. This means Monday and Tuesday and it is a sort of hopscotch.
I started school this year. After breakfast, I walk to school
every day with my sister. It takes about 15 minutes. I go to school
in the mornings from 7.30 to 12.30. In the afternoons a whole
new group of children come to school. That's because the classrooms
would be too small to hold all of us children together. Many children
don't come to school all the time. That's because most families
here are farmers. When it is time to plough the land or harvest,
lots of children are needed to help out at home.
There's no running water in my house so one of my jobs is to
fetch clean water from a pump and carry it back home. We always
have to wash our hands before we eat (Photo
4) . There's no electricity so we use paraffin lamps at
night and cook over a wood fire. Another of my jobs is to collect
firewood.
Before I go to bed I like to draw. When my mum is home, I cuddle
up with her to sleep, while she has a cup of tea. (Photo
6)
[For interactive online activities, see the Muluken
feature in the children's section of Coolplanet]
Lesson plan: Exploring family
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