Ashenafi, one of our workshop participants, is working for a Tsaara radio program.
He told me about his last visit in the village where he was born. One of the elders came to him and said with tears in his eyes: "Do you see this child, my grandchild? So many years we wish for roads and a medical station to be built, and for our language to be written down. Now I am old, and I will die soon. Please, make your most possible effort so that this child will be able to learn reading and writing our language!"
Ashenafi himself had tears in his eyes while reporting this to us at the workshop in March 2018.
The following June we were able to publish a first reading book, and deliver it to the community.
For the coming years, I have a dream:
* to see all Tsaara children being taught in primary school in their mothertongue
* to see all adults attend a literacy class
* so see a library and reading clubs running in all 13 villages
* to see the Word of God in the hands of the Tsaara community
* to see active bible study groups in each village church
To make this dream come true...
... I will go on a journey with Wycliffe Ethiopia
1) literacy for adults
- training more Tsaara literacy teachers, so that in each of their villages a reading class can be started
- advising Tsaara story tellers how to become authors for new books for advanced readers
2) language studies
- researching Tsaara grammar with the Bible translation team, so that the New Testament draft will become consistent concerning orthography rules
- developing a trilingual dictionary (Tsaara - Amharic - English)
3) children's education
- training Tsaara primary school teachers in translation principles, so that they are equipped to prepare a mothertongue curriculum for Tsaara children
"It takes a village to raise a child" - is a famous African proverb.
For a language community like the Tsaara to become a literate people, it also takes a strong and motivated team.
It needs an organisation: Wycliffe Ethiopia is taking care for all organisational work necessary within the country.
It needs people who pray: in many ways, pioneer work is confronted with challenges and discouragement.
It needs finances: I am investing my time and need people who will invest funds for my monthly living expenses. Here, you will find the details.
Ute Olschowy
Am Tredenberg 12
57080 Siegen
Germany
tsaara-project@outlook.com
ute.olschowy@kontaktmission.org
Spenden (Germany): Kontaktmission e.V.
IBAN: DE37 6205 0000 0013 7365 05, BIC: HEISDE66XXX
Verwendungszweck:
Spende Olschowy 31535
Tsaara Schulmaterial 31536
medizinische Nothilfe 31538
(+ Ihre Postadresse für eine Spendenbescheinigung)
oder direkt online hier
Donations (US and Canada):
www.GoKMUSA.org/donate , purpose: for Ute Olschowy
https://kontaktcanada.org/give/, designated to: 052 literacy Ethiopia