Starting Off the Summer Strong

By: Jessica Shankman
ENP Volunteer
Career Israel
Student at University of Minnesota- Twin Cities

For the kids at the Ethiopian National Project, the end of school had been long anticipated. This week was full of festivities to celebrate the beginning of the summer season! On Sunday, ENP Lod turned into an open house for all of the parents and students to come talk about what events were in store for the summer. The parents were warm and welcoming, and many came over to speak to me in English which flattered and surprised me. The kids received different awards for participation and for the strengths that they bring to the group. It was great to watch as the kids went up and received their awards in front of their family and friends. Many of them looked embarrassed, shying their head away from the audience or looking at the ground as kind words were spoken about them. However, it was clear that they were proud of themselves all the same. Later in the evening, the girls and boys were split into two groups. The boys worked on traditional Ethiopian drumming while the girls were taught dance steps. I joined the drumming group. It was such an incredible experience to watch as the children drummed away and repeated the beats of the instructor. I saw how this was a beneficial exercise for the kids. Not only did they get the chance to channel their energy into their own original music, but they were also tested on their patience, in a call and response manner. It was difficult not to keep pounding on the drums even as the instructor asked them to stop, which is a useful way for the kids to test their inhibitory control. All in all, it was so fun to be part of such an important cultural lesson.

My next visit to the center was particularly special to me. Because Fourth of July was that week, we thought it would be important to have an American culture day with the kids. We created a game of jeopardy with questions about American music, sports, politics, etc. We hoped this would turn into a fun cultural exchange and lead to discussion about our lifestyle. And, in case the questions weren’t as interesting to the kids as we had hoped, we brought in as many American snack foods as we could think of. I was so pleasantly surprised to find that we didn’t need the snacks to hold the kids’ interest in the game. Many of the boys got so heated in trying to be the first to answer these questions correctly that we would have to take breaks to try and convince them to lower their voices. It was so great to see them take each question seriously and give it some thought. When their answers were incorrect, they were interested to find out the correct answer. However, many of them knew the questions without hesitation, which was quite impressive. In fact, I’m sure some of the kids would be stiff competition for some children in America. In the end, Oreos, Twix, and Doritos were devoured and I felt even prouder to work with such fun and energetic children this summer.