U.S. Embassy Hosts Essay Contest for Secondary School Students in 4 Cities



Addis Ababa, March 1, 2010 – Working with “American Corner” libraries in Bahir Dar, Dire Dawa, Harar and Jimma, the U.S. Embassy sponsored the third annual essay contest among secondary school students in those towns as part of a month-long celebration of African-American History Month. The schools of the first place essay contest winners were awarded full sets of mini-media equipment.

Echoing the statement by American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that “everybody can be great because anybody can serve,” President Barack Hussein Obama, the first African-American President of the United States, has emphasized the importance of community service and volunteerism, particularly among youth. Through the essay contest, the U.S. Embassy challenged Ethiopian students to write essays on the theme of volunteerism and to consider what young people can do to serve their communities and to help others.

The Embassy received over 150 essays from grade 9 through grade 12 students in the four communities that participated in the essay contest. Students used these essays to highlight the role that ordinary citizens can play to improve the lives of others, including by volunteering at hospitals or tutoring younger students or participating in environmental clean-up activities. The students also pointed out the importance of raising awareness on such issues as the spread of HIV-AIDS, female genital mutilation and gender equality. In their essays, the students noted that active citizens have to do their part to address national challenges, bring issues to the public and advocate for development and reform.

In addition to the media kits received by their schools, the four first place winners were also awarded English dictionaries and a modest cash prize. The winners included Hora Terefe of the Jimma Preparatory School, Rebecca Belay from Harar’s SOS Children’s Village Ethiopia-Hermann Gmeiner School, Abdurahman Mohammed Salim of the Dire Dawa Comprehensive Secondary School, and Gizachew Chanie, Bahir Dar Senior Preparatory and Secondary School. Every student who participated in the contest received a certificate of participation and a t-shirt highlighting the shared Ethiopian and American values of peace, development, democracy and unity.

The U.S. Embassy celebrates African-American History Month each year in Ethiopia not only to encourage awareness of the tremendous contributions of African-Americans to the United States and the world, but also to promote English language ability and research, critical thinking, persuasive writing skills among the leaders of tomorrow.