Do you all still remember the Grade 9 biology, chemistry, and physics textbooks? á áá ááá¨ááľ áŤááá áŤá áśáľáľ ááááĽáľ áŁááá˝á áľá á áá đ but in the Ethiopian school curriculum. Honestly, I think that was one of the best things that happened to me in school. I wasnât a bad student đ I was actually a good studentđ
but before that, most of the time we were learning about scientists with unfamiliar names from Greece, Germany, Russia, or America áľáá¸áá áááľáłááľ áá¨áŤ áľáá á.
áĽá áááááŞáŤ áá those textbooks introduced Ethiopian scientists. áłáŞáŤá¸á á¨á¨áľ áĽáá°á°ááą áĽáá áĽáŠá
á áá°áá áĽá their names felt familiar, and it was exciting to read about them. It gave you hope. It made you feel like maybe you could also become someone like them one day.
I remember the first time I read about Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher. He became my all-time favorite. When I think about Ethiopia, he is one of the first people who comes to my mind. In a way, I feel like he represents Ethiopia for me â¨đŞđš
There were also Gebisa Ejeta and Beyene Petros. I remember being confused when I saw the name Beyene Petros in the textbook á°á áá á ááŁá áĽá áĽáŹ áááŤáąá I knew his name from the elections ᨠ97áą, so I thought he was only a politician. I asked my biology teacher about it âá á¨á á´áĽáŽáľ ፠á¨ááááá áĽáŞ â áĽáá´áľ áĽáá°áłáá˝đ, and she told me that he was actually a respected Ethiopian scientist and professor as well. That moment changed how I looked at people in politics á¨á°ááŠá ááá áá˝áá á፠á¨áá á ááľ á¨á°áአá°áá˝ ááá˛á¨á á¨ááá á áááľááá áá áđ
My biology teacher was amazing. Her name was Tarike, áľá áŤáą á°áľ á ááá áłáŞáŹđĽ° and she is still one of my favorite teachers. One thing about me is that I have always loved women teachers â¨đ
đźEven when I didnât like a subject (but biology was my favorite), if the teacher was a woman, I somehow understood everything better. They have their own way of teaching áĽá ááá áááááá.
She studied biology at Jimma University top scorer đĽ°, and she once told us that she had met Gebisa Ejeta. á áľááŤááá áá á. I was so shocked and excited when she said that. I remember thinking how lucky she was to meet someone like him. At that time, he felt like a hero to me because of his work on sorghum and agriculture á¨á¨áἠáá á¨áłá°áá::. ááŽáá°á áŤáá ááá ááŽáá á´áľ ááááľ áĽá áá¨áľ áĽáá
áá á á°áá áĽáá
Ꮰáá˝đĽ°đŞđš á¨áŠáŤ ááŞá á áá áŤáááá á፠áŤáľáŁáá˝á
áĽáť those textbooks and those stories stayed with me for a long time. Even later, when I joined engineering school and became interested in architecture, I started thinking more about vernacular architecture buildings made with local materials that do not harm the environment. I became very interested in environmentally responsible design.
Part of that inspiration came from my father, but a big part of it also came from reading about Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher. His ideas about respecting nature made a deep impression on me. After that, I started to think differently about the relationship between humans and the environment.
áĽá I proposed that idea to my professor about local designs and how we could use them without affecting our environment. áĽáá
áá there was this amazing lecturer I donât remember his name. He taught us only one course, but he encouraged us to design buildings that are not against the environment. I just wanted to mention him. áĽáť ፠á°áᏠmy proffesor said á°áá ááá á¨áááá ááŹ. He didnât actually say those exact words, but you know⌠he told me it was not going to work. So we ended up doing a project on health and safety in construction areas as a group.
áááááá looking back, those Grade 9 textbooks were really special. They made science feel closer to us. They showed us that Ethiopian scientists exist and that their work matters. And for a student, that can make a big difference.
áᏠáá áá¨á°áĽá áĽááłáľá đ
á˘áľáŽá˛áŤ ááááá áľáá áááááá đđŞđš