Travel report May/June 2002

In May/June 2002, Stefanie Christmann, chairwoman of Eritrea Donkeys, visited three project areas in Eritrea: Gash-Barka, southern Sahel and the area south of Adi Quala/Torosona. As always, her journey was financed privately.

"The donkeys are our life! The life of our children!" says Amna Sahle, a 30-year old Tigrean woman from Zula (south of Massaua). This single mother of three received a donkey in November 2001. The villages of Foro, Zula and Afta are located near the Danakil desert, one of the hottest deserts in the world.

At the beginning of June, the temperature was about 45°C in the shade - but there are no trees and there is no shade. Here, the women can sell water despite the fact that the watering place is only a 30 minute walk away because nobody wants to carry a 20 litre water canister in this sweltering heat.

Donkeys as ambulances

But earning money is not what matters most, say the women from Afta and Zula. The nearest health centre and the only doctor are in Foro -two (from Afta) or three (from Zula) hours walk away. "We have malaria here," says Amna, "and in the past, when a child got sick, I had to wait and watch the fever rising until it got cooler in the night and I could carry the child to Foro. We also have plenty of scorpions and snakes. If anything happens, you cannot wait."

"I have three children and each month I have to bring at least one to the doctor, quickly. Many women here have five or even six children! We need the donkeys! Children have died because we could not get them to the doctor in time." The donkey as a life saving ambulance - this happens not only in the still poorly developed villages south of Massaua, but also in remote regions of Gash-Barka.

In the southern Sahel, in Sheeb, Gathelay and other villages it is so hot that everybody who can afford to leaves for the highlands from May to August. This is impossible for single women: How could they get there? Where would they live? How would they earn money?

Now every year during the hot season, many single mothers who received a donkey in recent years pack their basic belongings onto their donkey and travel to the highlands with their children. There they set up a lean-to with wooden poles, straw and mats for a couple of months. With their donkey they can earn a living, just as they do in the lowlands.

The children go to school

The people have returned to their destroyed villages along the Ethiopian border. Some are already living in houses, many are still in tents. In November and January, the Women's Union again allocated donkeys there.

For example, to 38-year old Hiwet Woldeselass from Kesad Eka (three children). She had escaped from the area in 1998. Since the new border has not yet been clarified, she is unable to return to her home village. Although she is still living in a tent and does not know what the future brings, she earns her living by selling water to building sites. Her children go to school.

Then there is Taregeg Kidane, a 44-year old Tigrean single mother of six from Geza Medabay. At the moment, she is living in a self built lean-to, selling wood with the help of her donkey. She has recently also started to work at the grain mill where she is paid in flour. The donkey is her safety net as well as the only chance to earn money for other food, exercise books and clothing.

Weini Teklemarian, 31-year old single mother of three small children from Shambuko had to rent a hut in the past. Since she received her donkey she can collect sufficient water and is now brewing beer. From her earnings (approx. 1.50 EUR/day) she purchased timber and built a house from wood and palm leaves. The tent from the refugee camp is now used as a roof.

A proper house

The women who received a donkey in 2001 are often a big step ahead. Hansu Geresghiher, the single mother from Enda-Girgish, who lived on six square metres with her six children (see travel report 2001) has knocked down her hut and built a proper stone house with a sheet iron roof. The doors are still missing, but she plans to have them fitted by the end of May.

Across from her lives Dehab Mekonnen (three children). She also received a donkey in March 2001. Shortly before my visit last year, a storm had totally destroyed one wall of her hut. When I visited, a makeshift replacement was being built. When Hansu opted to build a proper house made from stone, Dehab also decided to invest her earnings and savings from working with her donkey into a proper house. In order to make up for missing funds she also took up a loan. "I can pay it back, I know I am able to." Both women are much more self-confident than last year.

The women who received donkeys are now much more mobile and have broadened their area of activity and with it the opportunities to earn money. In Tekleret where donkeys were allocated in December 2001, several women are now riding on donkeys to work in a plantation near Agordat (Gash-Barka). In the past, with no donkey, this was too far.

Independent business women

Mariam Hassan Ali, 37-year old Tigrean mother of four from Sheeb (southern Sahel) uses her donkey mainly for transport. In winter, during and after harvesting, she works "as long as there is daylight". First, she transports the harvest from the more distant fields for others. She charges 10 Nakfa (just about one Euro) per trip. Compared to other available employment, these are good earnings for a four-hour job.

Her real business, however, starts after harvesting. Then, she collects the sorghum straw from the fields. Her donkey can carry about ten bushels. She stores this in her yard until the next summer. When fodder becomes scarce and when the heat makes work unbearable, she sells it, mostly as fodder but some of it as building material. Per bushel she gets one Nakfa.

Take Fatna Ker, a 30-year old Nara from Koferenko (Gash-Barka). She has two daughters, 15 and six years old. Some years ago, her husband obtained a divorce and left her only the hut, which became more derelict over the years. At the end of 2001, Fatna received her donkey. Now she was able to collect wood and palm straw from more distant areas and repair her hut. She produces straw mats.

In the past, she had to start at 5 am to get to the market in Barentu. She used to arrive between 10 and 11 am and returned late at night. Since she had to transport everything on her back, she could only bring some mats. She spent all day away from her children - but it did not pay. This is why she used to mainly sell her mats to traders, earning only a fraction of the market price.

Since she received her donkey, she travels to two markets every week - in Barentu and Mogollo - and earns enough for herself and her children. And she no longer has to buy her raw material but travels to the plantations on her donkey to collect palm straw. She even resells it.