Common Ground

Dieting tips, calorie counts, and health advice become white noise as Rumana dumps spoonfulls of sugar into the coffee cups... The irony of Western television in the midst of the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Rumana tells us about her family, about her religion, and about local politics. Most of her friends, she explains, are back home in Eritrea. She pulls her headscarf over her forehead and fans the coffee pot as she speaks. "Studied Psychology," she says. We find common ground and laugh as we mention Piaget and Freud. She says she's read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This 21-year old friend I've made is so relatable, so intelligent, and yet the hope of finding of job seems dire for her at the moment. She's done with school and hopes to get her masters degree, but needs to save up money to do so. In the mean time, it's a waiting game.

The story seems so common- what is the solution for the women who so often seem to be stuck in this waiting game? No work, little money.. what to do?

View of Addis Ababa

Making friends