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Imkulu: the First Printing Press in East Africa

The first printing press in East Africa was built at Imkulu, a small town 5 km to the North West of Massawa, in 1879 as a modern infrastructure by the Swedish Evangelical Missionary (SEM). Imkulu is a Tigre word which literally means ‘mother of all.’ It earned the name because Imkulu was receiving people who sought refuge from starvation and local conflicts. In many respects, Imkulu was a center of enlightenment in the region in the late 19th century.

The Swedish missionaries wanted to promote literacy in Eritrea to enable the congregation at their church to understand the gospels in their own mother-tongue. For this purpose they founded several schools, which prior to their establishment were available only in monasteries and madrasas.

The first formal school in Eritrea was founded in Massawa in 1871. Soon other schools were founded, including one in Massawa in1872, a boarding school in Gheleb in 1874, and another school in Imkulu in 1877.

Prior the establishment of the printing press, the station at Imkulu was used as a school and training center for hand craft, carpentry, tailoring and embroidery. It also gave some medical services and served as an asylum for refugees who were displaced due to war and invasions.

As SEM’s educational services spread in different parts of the country the publishing of books became essential, and Imkulu was chosen to serve as the place for the printing press as it had been their biggest mission station. Earlier on the missionaries did spend some time in the western lowlands around Kuluku, Ogana and Tender (Kunama speaking villages) and Gheleb, Anseba region. But when many died due to malaria, the missionaries decided to go back to the coastal areas, where they opened Imkulu Printing Press in 1879, and Eritrea became the first country in East Africa to give printing services. As the missionaries spent time in the highlands and western lowlands, they became familiar with the local people and their languages, which were Tigre, Tigrinya and Kunama.

The printing press engaged in publishing primers for basic education, newsletters as well as tacks of the bible and hymn books in Tigrinya, Tigre and Kunama. In 1890 the New Testament was translated in to Tigre, with the aid of the versions of the bible in Geez, Amharic, Swedish and the original text in Greek. The translation required a systematic study of the Tigre language, its vocabulary and grammatical structure.

Later on, in 1895, the printing press was moved to Asmara, which the Italians chose on 3rd August 1889 as their Eritrean colony’s capital. In 1903, the first magazine in Tigrinya, “Melkti Selam”, was published in Asmara. It represents the oldest publication in Tigrinya language although its contents were limited to spiritual matters. Four years later a book called “Mezmur Selam,” which had some collection of hymns, was also translated from Swedish to Tigrinya. It was translated by several native speakers and Swedish missionaries who knew the Tigrinya language. The book is still serving as a main guide of worship for the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The publication of the bible in Tigrinya bible was completed in 1957 after the translation had been done. At the time of its publication it was the biggest book in the Tigrinya language. The 1957 version of the bible in Tigrinya is still serving as the main reference for Eritrean and Ethiopian speakers of the Tigrinya language.

Notable people who grew up at the Swedish missionary include Woldeab Woldemariam, the patriotic and revolutionary leader, Isaak Teweldemedhin, head of the Eritrean school system from the 1940s to the 1960s, Tedla Bayru, the first leader of the government of Eritrea during the period of federation, Aman Michael Andom, Army General and later in 1975 Head of the Provisional Government of Ethiopia, Prof. Asmerom Legese, a renowned sociologist and Human Anthropologist, researcher and author, and the Rev. Mussa Aron, author of numerous books.

Although the printing press was moved to Asmara in 1895 Imkulu comprehensive training center continued giving its services by giving academic programs, theology and training skills in a variety of fields until it was totally destroyed by an earthquake in the mid first-half of the 20th century.

In 1956, a school was established by the missionaries in Keren to serve exclusively deaf students and became the first school of its kind in East Africa. The objectives of the school were to help the deaf to overcome their barriers and be independent, free from being seen as the burden of their parents and the society. In 1965, two Eritrean teachers joined the school in Keren, and in 1988 a school for the deaf was opened in Asmara.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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First Female Prime Minister Appointed in Tunisia

Tunisian President Kais Saied surprised many Wednesday with his appointment of Najla Bouden Romdhane, a 63-year-old professor at a prestigious engineering school, as the country’s first female prime minister.

The geologist was named prime minister after the office was vacated July 25 when Saied froze parliament and seized executive powers, leaving the country in limbo.

Saied’s office issued a statement ordering Bouden to fill Cabinet positions as soon as possible.

The president’s moves sidelined the Islamist Party that dominated the legislature, prompting critics to denounce his actions as a coup that jeopardizes the country’s young democracy and could threaten democratic gains made after the Tunisia Revolution that helped spark the Arab Spring in the early 2010s.

The Arab Spring was a sequence of armed, anti-government rebellions and other forms of unrest that swept across much of the Arab world in response to corruption and economic woes.

Last week, Saied suspended most of the constitution, contending he could govern by decree during an indefinite “exceptional” period.

In an online video, he said Bouden’s appointment honored Tunisian women and that the transitional government should address corruption and respond to citizen demands of all sorts, including those pertaining to health, education and transportation.

Bouden may have less power than her predecessors had under the 2014 constitution. Saied said last week when announcing the emergency period that the transitional government would be accountable to the president.

Source: Voice of America

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Workshop to develop nutrition SBCC manual

Multi-Stakeholder Consultation Workshop for the Development of a Roadmap for Nutrition Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) Strategy and Manual organized by the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN commenced today, 29 September at the Asmara Palace Hotel.

In his keynote address, Mr. Arefaine Berhe, Minister of Agriculture, indicating that the workshop is the culmination of the several training packages that took nearly a year in a project named “Improving Nutrition in Eritrea: Agro-Diversity Nourishing Communities”. The project addressed locally available foods with the high nutrition value and food demonstration for developing improved recipes and food diversity, the Minister added.

Minister Arefaine further said that the ultimate objective is to improve the family and satisfy their food and nutrition requirements while improving their economic status.

Ms. Amakobe Sande, UN Resident Coordinator in Eritrea, on her part said that the biggest challenges in enabling societies to adapt healthy and nutritious food are the lack of awareness and the existing social behavior and that the workshop will have a significant contribution in addressing the challenge.

Mr. Bancie Saeed, FAO Representative in Eritrea, on his part stated that in line with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, countries are working to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. He also said that FAO’s mission in the nutrition sector is to tackle malnutrition in all its forms by accelerating impactful policies and actions across agro-food systems to enable healthy diets for all.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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IRC: 2.1 million Kenyans Face Hunger Due to Drought

The International Rescue Committee says more than two million Kenyans are facing hunger due to poor rainfall. Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, declared a national disaster this month because of drought.

Thirty-six-year-old Suleiman Ahmed Osman lost 50% of his livestock to drought in the past six months. He says more are dying now due to worsening drought.

“When we lost this number of animals there is no other source of income,” he said. “To source our daily meal because we used to get milk and meat, sometimes selling the animals to get other food, sugar and other things. Now that the animals are very emaciated, nobody can buy them, no milk because the drought has affected them to the extent that no milk can come from the animal.”

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says Kenya received insufficient rainfall during the October to December 2020 and March to May 2021 rainy seasons, leading to the current drought situation.

The IFRC report said that arid and semi-arid areas received less than 50% of the average rainfall in June. The three counties in northeastern Kenya received less than 25% of average rainfall.

Abdullahi Musa has been buying animal feed and water for four months now for his more than 100 cattle in Garissa, along the Kenya and Somalia border.

“There are two sets of livestock herders,” he said. “There are those who the drought in Kenya has affected them there are those who crossed to Somalia to get pasture but came back due to lack of water. I am among the people who are not so affected. I have lost some animals but most of them are alive. But 90% of animal herders have lost their livestock. They got nothing.”

The International Rescue Committee says 2.1 million people in Kenya are now food insecure.

The head of the organization in Kenya, Mohamed El Montassir Hussein, says he is concerned about the growing humanitarian situation in some 20 out of 47 counties.

“Our concern overall is the protracted drought situation and protracted aspect of drought in Kenya that’s been over the years coming again and again and also concern is extended to the growing humanitarian needs as people move out of their homes searching for places closer to water sources,” he said.

The IRC says climate change is the main driver of the region’s recurring drought and locust outbreaks.

Kenya’s National Drought Management Authority predicts the food insecurity situation will persist until the end of the year.

The drought management authority says people’s fortunes may change if the affected areas get rain in the next three months.

Source: Voice of America

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Fear of Bandits Keeps Students in Nigeria’s Kaduna State Away From School

Nigerian authorities have reopened schools in northern Kaduna state after closing them for two months due to insecurity. The region has suffered a string of armed kidnappings and the U.N. Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says about one million Nigerian children are “afraid to return to school.”

Nigerian educator Naomi Ibrahim opened Kewta Primary School in Kaduna state seven years ago, after an attack by Boko Haram militants forced her to flee her hometown in Borno state.

She says the aim is to help children affected by conflict get a basic education, but waves of violence and mass kidnappings are threatening her work and keeping students away.

“Some are from Borno, some Adamawa, Gombe and other places like that. We’re just praying, it is God that is keeping us safe,” said Naomi Ibrahim, an educator and school owner.

Ibrahim says only 50 of about 120 students appeared for the new term, which began last week. She blames insecurity in the region for the low attendance.

Kaduna is one of the states worst hit by mass school kidnappings that began in northern Nigeria late last year. Since December, the government reports more than 1,000 school children have been seized from schools in the region.

The kidnappings are usually carried out by bandits – local criminal gangs demanding ransom from the victims’ families. Other states affected include Niger, Zamfara, and Katsina.

To address the problem, Kaduna state authorities closed schools in July but reopened them this month, saying the situation had improved.

Community leader Abu Mohammed agrees.

“There’s an upgrade really in terms of security attention from the government. Why? Because the government has made a clarion call for all the security apparatus and they have all gathered here in Kaduna, they have gone into the forests to see where their (bandits’) stations are,” he said.

But Aishatu Musa says the fear that bandits could kidnap her children from school has not gone away.

“I’m scared about what is happening now, that’s why I don’t want them to go to school yet.,” she said.

Two weeks ago, UNICEF estimated one million Nigerian children could miss out on education due to security concerns.

The agency estimates Nigeria has the greatest number of out-of-school children in the world, about 13.2 million. UNICEF Nigeria’s education manager, Rudra Sahoo, says the actual figure could be even higher.

“In the months of May, June and July, there were regular attacks particularly in the north central and northwest region, and as precautionary measure, 11,000 schools closed during that time,” said Sahoo. “The schools are opening now but the apprehension on the minds of the parents is there.”

For now, schools like Kewta Primary school will carry on with classes, despite uncertainty about whether it is safe to do so.

Source: Voice of America

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Developing China and Benefiting the World

Celebrating the 72nd Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China

China will celebrate the 72nd Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on October 1st, 2021.

After 72 years of continuous struggle, China has created two miracles: rapid economic development and long-term social stability. In 1949, China was poor and blank, with a per capita GDP of less than 70 U.S. dollars and an average life expectancy of 35 years. Today, China has become the world’s second largest economy, largest industrial manufacturing country, and largest goods trading country. China’s output of more than 220 industrial products ranks first in the world. The total number of scientific research personnel and patent applications for inventions of China also ranks first in the world. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the Chinese people to realize the First Centenary Goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. All the rural population has been lifted out of poverty as defined by the existing standard. The world’s largest social security system has been built. Through the arduous efforts of people of all ethnic groups across the country, China has achieved economic growth and maintained social stability and development while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past 72 years, China has always been a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, defender of international order and provider of public goods. China is the largest contributor to peacekeeping operations among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. With contribution of more than 30 percent annually to world growth and as the largest trading partner and largest export market for more than 130 countries and regions in the world, China has become the main anchor and powerhouse in the world economy. Taking active steps to combat global climate change, China has fulfilled its international commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 2020 ahead of schedule. In addition, it has pledged to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. China has also announced it would step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and would not build new coal-fired power projects abroad. China is also making outstanding contributions to world public health security. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, China has been providing timely assistance to the international community. By now, it has provided medical supplies to 150 countries and 13 international organizations, dispatched 37 medical expert teams to 34 countries, provided close to 1.2 billion doses of finished and bulk vaccines to over 100 countries and international organizations, and will step up efforts to provide a total of two billion doses to other countries in the course of this year. In addition to donating 100 million US dollars to COVAX, China will donate 100 million doses of vaccines to other developing countries in the course of this year. At the same time, taking an open and scientific attitude, China will continue to support and engage in global science-based origins tracing, and stands firmly opposed to political maneuvering in whatever form, to the so-called report compiled by the U.S. intelligence community and to U.S. slandering and attacking China on this issue.

The great achievements were achieved by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC, which surely will unite and lead the Chinese people to realize the Second Centenary Goal and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This is because:

First, the CPC always serves the people wholeheartedly. Putting the people first and firmly relying on the people, the CPC has united and lead the people to achieve great achievements one after another.

Second, the CPC works tirelessly to realize its ideals. By insisting on proceeding from reality in everything and leading the people to explore and move forward with unrelenting courage, the CPC has pioneered a path of socialism that is distinctively Chinese, which has refuted the myth that modernization can be achieved only by following the capitalist model.

Third, the CPC is of robust leadership and strong governance ability. Centralized leadership by the CPC serves the best interests of the Chinese people, suits China’s national conditions, and conforms to Chinese history and traditional culture. The CPC has won widespread support from the people.

Fourth, the CPC has always maintained its vigor and vitality by self-reform, self-purification and self-innovation. The CPC takes resolute measures against all phenomena that may undermine its integrity and progressive nature, exercises effective self-supervision, practices strict self-discipline in every respect, strengthens checks and scrutiny over the exercise of power. The CPC has allowed no safe haven, left no ground unturned, and shown no tolerance in fighting corruption, preventing or punishing any action that creates barriers between the Party and the people or infringes on their interests.

Fifth, the CPC contributes to world peace and development. The CPC is a political party that seeks happiness for the people and progress for humanity. Taking a clear-cut stance against hegemony and power politics, it adheres to the path of peaceful development, firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at the core, promotes democracy in international relations, presses for a new model of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and promotes the building of a global community of shared future. At the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Xi Jinping noted that, right now, COVID-19 is still raging in the world, and profound changes are taking place in human society. The world has entered a period of new turbulence and transformation. It falls on each and every responsible statesman to answer the questions of our times and make a historical choice with confidence, courage and a sense of mission. He also stressed that mankind must beat COVID-19 and win this decisive fight crucial to the future of humanity, must revitalize the economy and pursue more robust, greener and more balanced global development, must strengthen solidarity and promote mutual respect and win-win cooperation in conducting international relations, must improve global governance and practice true multilateralism.

China and Eritrea enjoy profound traditional friendship. Our two countries have always respected and treated each other equally, supported each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns, and jointly safeguarded the common interests of our two countries and international fairness and justice. China cherishes the traditional friendship with Eritrea, admires the development progress achieved by the Eritrean people, understands Eritrea’s difficulties, respects Eritrea’s policy of independence and self-reliance, supports Eritrea’s efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and efforts made for social and economic development, and opposes sanctions or threat of sanctions against Eritrea. China is willing to continuously deepen and expand bilateral friendly cooperation in various fields for the benefit of our two peoples. Chinese and Eritrean peoples were, are and will always be good friends, partners and brothers helping and supporting each other.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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Training on information technology

The Central Region in cooperation with the department of Statistics and Cartographic System organized training to 60 of its members including 34 females on basic information technology.

Speaking at concluding event of the training, Mr. Tedros Tekle, head of the department of Statistics and Cartographic System, said that the objective of the training that included computer technology, computer network security and computer maintenance was to upgrade the capacity of the staff members and address minor problems that could occur due to system failure.

The representative of the trainees said that the training they received will have significant contribution in facilitating their daily activities.

Mr. Fesehaye Haile, Governor of the Central Region, on his part called on the trainees to upgrade their knowledge practically on the ground and play due part in the effort to provide timely and efficient administrative service,

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea