Designer Ana Seco Durán
It has been a long, strange restless year, maybe the most uncertain year of our lives so far. COVID 19 interrupted our lives as we were doing business as usual in a world where most things were predictable, comfortable, and safe (or so we thought) ….
My last visit to Ethiopia was in 2019 and it was good as usual. For 16 years now, I have been coming to Zway, feeling the warmth of living in a community of Salesian Sisters. The energy of the students, the eagerness and interest of the teachers make my work here and at home much more meaningful and puts my life into perspective. But of course, this year, after the forced isolation we have experienced, the worry for our loved ones, the fear for the future, the proximity of death… those of us have not stopped to reflect on our lives and made a better balance? Everything has been different this time, I have lived this experience with more consistency…
I gave some introductory classes about new trends in the fashion industry, “Sustainable fashion”. And about new technologies applied to teaching. The time was short, but I think I managed to at least make them wonder about these urgent issues and plant in them the seed of something new.
We both used new technology, to introduce them to new tools, we even connected live with an artisan in Spain with whom they could talk and answer their questions…
All and all we had a wonderful time, full of joy, learning, and incredible attitudes from our teachers. We have a long and bumpy road ahead just like in any other project, but we had a perfect Jumpstart. And we thank God and Mary Help for this incredible opportunity to make this world a better place in which to live…
This year is, without doubt, a year to celebrate at the Colleges in Ethiopia, that Sr. Nieves, the Salesian sister who 20 years ago dreamed, together with her community that there could be Higher education in Fashion and IT in Ethiopia, has come back to stay. She has been doing an assessment of the three colleges and for my stay here she has organized a meeting with all the fashion teachers from the three campuses of Mary Help College. She wanted to join all the teachers, to give them tools and inspiration, to encourage them to keep their spirits high, and to become one family in the Salesian Spirit. Many of the teachers are new, and she shared with them the History of the college, the History of the Salesian Sisters, and what it means to be part of the Salesian family. We also shared with them the important information about how we run the projects, where the money comes from, and how we manage to give a chance to all of those who are more vulnerable.
