Kids from Ethiopia

• Location: East Africa
School:
• Because much of Ethiopia is rural, kids who attend school may have to walk several miles each way.
• Unlike in most African nations, school in Ethiopia is free. However, many kids work to help support their families. Less than half are still enrolled by grade 5.
Play:
• Gebeta, a game of strategy, has been popular for hundreds of years. It is played using seeds or pebbles and a board with rows of cups.
• Many kids learn the lively and irresistible eskista dance, which is performed almost entirely with the shoulders. Soccer is the most popular sport.
Family:
• Most families live in rural areas. It is common for an extended family to live in a cluster of houses and farm together.
• Traditionally, parents and children do not share a last name. Most kids take their father’s first name as their last name.
Favorite foods:
• Injera, a pancake-like bread that is used to scoop up spicy dishes such as doro wat (chicken stew) and mesir wat (lentil stew).
• Did you know? Ethiopia is the only African country that was never colonized. Formerly called Abyssinia, it was the setting of powerful ancient kingdoms.

For more information, go to the Fact Monster page about Ethiopia.