The 3rd African Epilepsy Congress of 2017 Was Held
The 3rd African Epilepsy Congress was held from 05 to 07 May 2017 at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, in Senegal, after Nairobi and Cape Town.
The theme this year was “Child and Adolescent’s Epilepsy.”
This year’s theme was “Child and Adolescent’s Epilepsy.” This topical issue has generated many fruitful exchanges between experts and learners from all over the world. For two and a half days, Dakar was the meeting place for 281 participants from 48 different countries, among them 113 from Senegal. Locally, we noted a significant involvement of pediatricians, neurosurgeons and psychiatrists who play an important role in the epilepsy management. A total of 25 scholarships were granted and 76 posted communications were accepted.
We are excited to announce that our team has moved to a new location in Addis Ababa. We spent the previous year in one room inside an old building – our old office served us well, and we made great memories there, but we couldn’t be more excited about our new space.
Below are our volunteers working hard to clean the compound.
CareEpilepsy Ethiopia Organized a College Experience Sharing Event.
“I learned how to market myself in my applications,” said Abraham, one of the participants of Acing the College Application Process.
CareEpilepsy Ethiopia organized the event, Acing the College Application Process, with two objectives in mind: to assist Ethiopian high school students who have the potential to succeed in colleges abroad but aren’t able to do so due to lack of information about the various aspects of the application process, and to raise funds in support of the various projects under CareEpilepsy Ethiopia. Over one hundred seventy students from all over Addis Ababa attended the event most of whom expressed interest in becoming CareEpilepsy volunteers.
The event started with a brief introduction about the objectives of the event and about CareEpilepsy. Then, students dispersed into four breakout rooms to attend interactive sessions that focused on looking for colleges, applying for financial aid, acing standardized tests, writing polished essays, and marketing themselves in their applications. The sessions were led by facilitators who are experienced in their respective topics.
CareEpilepsy Ethiopia volunteers spearheaded the planning and implementation of the event and it was a success!
The First Ever National Epilepsy Week was celebrated in Ethiopia.
The twenty-second of May was the finale day of the First ever National Epilepsy Week in the history of Ethiopia. This historical day was initiated and carried out by CareEpilepsy Ethiopia in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The day that everyone was waiting for, People from different backgrounds came and took part in the walk for epilepsy.
From the Ministry of Health, (Dr. Tedla W/Giorgis Mental Health Advisor to the Minister), and Ms. Enat Founder/CEO of CareEpilepsy gave speeches and the drama group held a very touching performance about a girl who was affected by epilepsy. The drama depicted her experience of being a victim of epilepsy within the modern Ethiopian society.
Finally, the walk began, and over three hundred people took to the streets of Addis and made quite an unforgettable as they paraded around the Mexico town square.
Although the National Epilepsy Week only lasted, as the name implies, for seven days, it is well worth noting that all the work of the volunteers and the staff of CareEpilepsy was not the kind that would be done in seven days alone; as a matter of fact, the hardworking and faithful staff of our organization had labored day and night to make our vision a reality.
We would personally like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff, volunteers and all the people that helped us reach where we are now. Last, but definitely not least, We would also like to thank Enat Yewnetu for bringing a topic of such importance to the attention of the Ethiopian people. The week from May 15th to May 22th may have been Ethiopia’s first National Epilepsy Week, but it will definitely not be her last. There is still a lot of work to be done and CareEpilepsy will always be there for the Ethiopian people.
Youth for Epilepsy Ethiopia project volunteers, using younger and fresher minds, were able to create awareness and raise money (2,708.55 Eth. Birr) through ‘shoe shine’ in Addis Ababa, on 14th May 2016 from 12pm till 7:30pm. People living with epilepsy, their families and the community in general of all ages were the target group.
CareEpilepsy Ethiopia gave a joint press conference with the Ministry of Health in Addis Abba regarding the National Epilepsy Week in Ethiopia to be celebrated from 15th May – 22nd May. The core objective of this event is to raise awareness of epilepsy in the community. More than 9 medias including TV, Radio and Newspaper covered the press conference.
The press conference was held on Friday 13 May, and 25th May 2016 was called by the Federal Ministry of Health and CareEpilepsy held at the Federal Ministry of Health’s Office. Dr Mahlet Kifle (Director General, Office of the Minister), Dr Tedla W.Giorgis (Mental Health Advisor) and Enat Yewnetu (Founder and Managing Director of CareEpilepsy) spoke at the Press Conference.
Dr Mahlet Kifle (Director General, Office of the Minister) (on the right), Dr Tedla W.Giorgis (Mental Health Advisor) (on the left) and Enat Yewnetu (Founder and Managing Director of CareEpilepsy) (centre)
National Epilepsy Week – 15th May – 22nd May 2016
A second press conference was held on Wednesday, 25 May 2016 Enat Yewnetu, spoke at the press conference. Articles were written by 5 different national newspapers.
Addis Admas (meaning ‘New Horizon’) Saturday, 17th Oct 2015
Title: Epilepsy, known in Ethiopia as the “falling Sickness”. The Newspaper reported on CareEpilepsy’s launch, 12 October 2015 at the Jupiter Hotel. It gave background to CareEpilepsy and reported on its vision and its aim, which is to establish and enhance good quality epilepsy treatment in Ethiopia, raise awareness and reduce stigma. Presentations were made by:
Dr Hermon Amare, Mental Health leader of the Federal Ministry of Health
Dr Mehila Zebenigus, consultant neurologist, who explained what epilepsy is
Enat Yewnetu, who spoke of the origins of CareEpilepsy and its work, and what we want to achieve in Ethiopia
Shegitu magazine
CareEpilepsy Ethiopia was featured in Shegitu magazine. Enat Yewnetu explained about CareEpilepsy’s background and the work that we do. This is a short, English-language synopsis of some of the Amharic coverage. This is a short, English-language summary of some of the Amharic coverage.
Shegitu magazine, (meaning ‘Pretty’), used the launch as it’s cover story, asking the question “Are we ready to learn?”
The lead article is based on an interview with our founder, Enat Yewnetu, and dealt with four areas:
Our background, vision, and mission. Enat explained that epilepsy is a medical condition, not a manifestation of an evil spirit.
The impact of stigma for epilepsy sufferers means the general public find it hard to look at epilepsy in a balanced way.
The challenges are real and should not be minimized. In spite of that, a good life is possible.
How can society contribute to our work? Everyone should ask themselves how they can make a difference to the story of epilepsy care in Ethiopia.
The caption to the photo on the second page states: You have choices in life – one is to let depression take over and allow your life to lose purpose – another is to be strong and to have a positive attitude, despite having to live with epilepsy. I chose the latter.
CareEpilepsy Ethiopia was at Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa from 5-7th May 2016 creating awareness about Epilepsy and promoting the upcoming National Epilepsy Awareness week event.
CareEpilepsy Ethiopia was launched in Addis Ababa on the 15th October 2015. It was an opportunity to express its mission, vision and objective. We raised awareness about epilepsy and the service need in Ethiopia was highlighted.
Epilepsy recovery position was demonstrated by DESTINO Dance Company, which is an Ethiopian venture born to support underprivileged young people in developing their inner-potential through dance.
Press release from the American Psychological Association:
The brains of people with epilepsy appear to react to music differently from the brains of those who do not have the disorder, a finding that could lead to new therapies to prevent seizures, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention.
“We believe that music could potentially be used as an intervention to help people with epilepsy,” said Christine Charyton, PhD, adjunct assistant professor and visiting assistant professor of neurology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, who presented the research.
CareEpilepsy Ethiopia launched on 12 October 2015 in the Jupiter Hotel and received good press coverage.
This is a short, English-language synopsis of some of the Amharic coverage.
Shegitu magazine, (meaning ‘Pretty’), used the launch as it’s cover story, asking the question “Are we ready to learn?”
The lead article is based on an interview with our founder, Enat Yewnetu, and dealt with four areas:
Our background, vision and mission. Enat explained that epilepsy is a medical condition, not a manifestation of an evil spirit.
The impact of stigma for epilepsy sufferers means the general public find it hard to look at epilepsy in a balanced way.
The challenges are real and should not be minimized. In spite of that a good life is possible.
How can society contribute to our work? Everyone should ask themselves how they can make a difference to the story of epilepsy care in Ethiopia.
The caption to the photo on second page states: You have choices in life – one is to let
depression take over and allow your life to lose purpose – another is to be strong and to have a positive attitude, despite having to live with epilepsy. I chose the latter.
Addis Admas (meaning ‘New Horizon’) Sat 17 Oct 2015
Title: Epilepsy, known in Ethiopia as the “Falling Down Sickness”.
The article explains that there are about one million* epileptics in Ethiopia, of whom 85% get no medical treatment. This is the reason for CareEpilepsy, which launched on 12 October 2015 at the Jupiter Hotel, explaining to the country how CareEpilepsy was born and what is its vision and mission. It then reported on the launch of CareEpilepsy, which consisted of presentations, among others, by:
Dr Hermon Amare, Mental Health leader of the Federal Ministry of Health
Dr Mehila Zebenigus, consultant neurologist, who explained what epilepsy is
Enat Yewnetu, who spoke of the origins of CareEpilepsy and its work, and what we want to achieve in Ethiopia
Enat was interviewed after the launch and was asked why she gave up a good career to do this. “Because my good treatment in England gives me an almost normal life and I want the same for Ethiopian epileptics.”
Our aim is to establish and enhance good quality treatment in Ethiopia and raise awareness, minimize stigma and enable epileptics to be productive members of society, supporting themselves and their families.
*Estimates of the number vary between 1 and almost 5 million, depending on the sources used.
The caption to the photo on second page states: You have choices in life – one is to let