Funny Life Lessons

Ethiopian 'Sesame Street' teaches life-saving lessons

(CNN) -- For millions of Ethiopian children, it's the most cherished moment of their day: a wide-eyed, smiling giraffe hops in front of them, crooning funny songs in a language they can understand.

The beloved sock puppet, known as Tsehai, is the star of a ground-breaking TV show that's been revolutionizing childhood education in the east African country.

The brainchild of Ethiopian educator Bruktawit Tigabu and her husband Shane Etzenhouser, "Tsehai Loves Learning" is the only children's TV show in Ethiopia in Amharic, the nation's official and most widely spoken language.

The show uses puppets and animation to teach young Ethiopians about sanitation and hygiene as well as the importance of culture and honesty.

"They don't realize that they've been taught on TV," says Tigabu from her cramped studio in suburban Addis Ababa where awards share space with the paraphernalia of puppetry.

"They're just having fun, they're just watching their favorite show but at the same time they're learning about germs, they are learning about being truthful, they are learning about numbers and knowing their letters and getting ready for school."

As a school teacher, Tigabu noticed early on that many students couldn't travel long distances to get to their classes. Inspired by the success of popular U.S. children's TV series "Sesame Street," she and her husband decided to create a puppet show to promote early childhood education.

In Ethiopia, where diseases such as malaria and diarrhea contribute to high child mortality rates, the show's health lessons can be life-saving.

"If they understand what germs are and how they can keep them off," they can stay healthy, says Tigabu.

"If you do it in a way that's very interesting and interactive for them, then they will do it. So for us the knowledge is key and the media is a tool to communicate those interesting messages."

The show, whose puppets and characters speak the local Amharic language, reaches up to 5 million children. Tigabu says that having the show in Amharic is something she's very proud of as she believes it's important to address children in their mother tongue.

"Having their own language has huge values in terms of believing in their identity and in terms of knowing that their language matters," she says.

"When you learn with your language, you don't have issues like being inferior or whatever, you believe in yourself and you respect your identity.

The Vivification of Mrs. Moment: Re-Learning Lessons Learned

As of this week I will have officially reached the point in my life when I can be considered almost thirty years old. I will be turning twenty-seven this Thursday and find myself reviewing all of the lessons I've learned and all of the ways I've changed over the last ten years of my life. I even wrote a beautiful post about those lessons and all of the ways they touched my life. Funny thing happened though, or not so funny depending on how you look at it, I accidentally deleted the entire post, did I have it saved anywhere else? No, of course not. Honestly, who saves their writing in more than one place? Me, usually...but not today world! Joke's on you! HA! I love the fact that I will forever be a student of life. I learn new things every day and sometimes I learn things I already learned, but in new ways. According to our oh so age focused society I am almost thirty. What exactly that means, I have no idea. For me, in this moment, it means I still have a lot to learn. I've successfully learned that, but I'm sure I'll have to re-learn it again in the future.

Great post! I completely agree with you on the importance of outlook in all aspects of life. And I like the positive spin you put on re-learning lessons over and over again. Sometimes things I learn can be so startling clear to me, but in time they fade and need to be re-instilled. It's an important process that we should all come to appreciate and embrace. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, though I am sorry your other post was lost!

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