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Dr. Laynesh the first dentist and facial reconstruction surgeon in armed struggle, a loving mother, educator and Tegadalit. Since 1977, she started the first dental hospital in meda & until now she's dedicatingly teaching and serving her people!!

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“My Success is an Outcome of Everyone Who has Supported me”, Dr. Lidya

By: Luwam Kahsay

https://shabait.com/amp/2021/01/23/mysu ... ssion=true

January 23, 2021



The school of dental medicine is producing young and professional dentists every year. I had a chat with one of the dentists, Dr. Lidya, who loves her profession and works hard to develop her skills.

Would you, please, introduce yourself?

Ok, thank you. My name is Lidya Habtegergish Gebrebrhan. I was born and raised in Asmara and am a dentist at Medefera Referral Hospital.

What is dentistry to you, Doctor?

Dentistry is a field which always keeps me excited, as it’s a field that uniquely harmonizes science and fine arts. It’s what I love to do, for the rest of my life.

You graduated with distinction from the class of 2020; so how did it feel, winning a medal?

Winning a medal is not really a new thing for me, but it feels so amazing and great to see myself on that day after all the hard work and sacrifice I made. At the same time, that day reminded me that I have started my duty of repaying my people and country.

Tell us a little bit about your educational background?

I did my elementary school at Idris Awate, my junior high at Bahti Meskerem and my secondary school at Denden, all in Asmara. Throughout my school years, I was a prize winner. In the 8th grade general exam, as one of the girls who scored high marks, I was given a “high performance achievement award” by the National Union of Eritrean Women. Similarly, when I was in secondary school, I was given high performance achievement awards every year on the occasion of 8th March, International Women’s Day.

What was life like in Sawa?

Despite all the challenges, Sawa for me was a place where I found myself. I gained a lot of experience, from the social life that I shared with students of different ethnic backgrounds who came from different parts of Eritrea. I managed to do my studies, along with the other activities in the camp. Then I took the matriculation exam and got awarded the ‘’Zagre”, for my academic excellence.

Why did you want to join the school of medicine?

From childhood, I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. I’ve always wanted to help people, so there was no doubt that my first choice in college was going to be medicine. When I got back from Sawa, I joined the College of health sciences in Asmara. When I studied pre-medicine at the college, I realized I hadn’t had sufficient knowledge about internal medicine and dental medicine. So, I did research about both fields and decided to join dental medicine.

How did you feel about the seven long years in college?

No matter how many years it takes to graduate, I convinced myself to work hard and realize my dream. As a dental medicine student, in addition to the dental medicine courses I also had to take common courses along with the other medical students. The types of courses given and the way marks were given were different and required a lot of effort to succeed. I attended all my classes regularly and referred to a variety of books to deepen my knowledge and develop my skills. I needed to push myself hard to reach my destination, because I believe that’s the only way to be successful.

Do you have a role model?

There were so many successful people, who inspired me. My husband, Dr. Senay Amanuel, is one of the good dentists. I also see Dr. Lainesh, an oral maxillofacial surgeon, as my mentor. But to tell you the truth, I am the role model of myself.

Do you believe that your success, has an influence on our society?

In our society, people think that medicine takes very long for a girl to learn. But my success, shows them that everything is possible if you are patient and hard-working.

I heard that you went to quarantine sites to take samples during your internship. I would love to hear more about that.

You’re right. It was really a good experience. Practice is different from theory, because we start to make contact with patients. I was always eager to perform on a patient’s teeth. And Covid -19, pandemic made my internship really memorable. There was a survey in Asmara, Teseney, Adibara and Sawa, where I participated in taking samples.



Tell us something about the teeth and how to care for it, Doctor.

Well, everyone should start taking care of their teeth at a young age. The teeth are important not only to chew food with but also for the face structure and are helpful to get the variety of nutritious food for our body.

Our teeth are linked, with the food we eat. If they are not cleaned after meals, we give opportunities for bacteria to grow in our mouth and these can be harmful and damage our teeth permanently.

People start worrying about and taking care of their teeth, after damages are done. This is absolutely not good. Nothing can replace our natural teeth; artificial teeth aren’t as good as the natural ones. People usually go to a dentist’s, whenever they have a toothache. If the pain stops, they tend to stop taking care of their tooth, but it doesn’t mean that it is cured.

Generally, a person should visit a dentist at least every six months for checkups and brushing is the only way to save our teeth from getting completely ruined.

What do you do in your leisure time; do you have any hobbies?

It’s not really a big thing but I write poems, both in English and Tigrigna. I also love to read, psychology books. Speaking different languages is one the things that makes me happy, so I took French classes at the Alliance Françoise.

Tell us about your personal life. Are you married?

Yes. I got married before my graduation, at the end of August. My husband and I are both dentists and support each other in our career.

What do you think is the secret to success?

I believe making limitless endeavor and showing persistent commitment towards your goal, is the secret to success.

Anything that you want to add at last…

I thank my family, that has always been there for me. My success is an outcome of everyone who has supported me, in any way they could. I am really grateful to all my teachers and friends. My future plan is to specialize in one area of dentistry.

Thank you, Dr. Lidya, for your time. I wish you all the best in your career.

[Zmeselo]

Asmara, got some rain today. Camera Hermon



Eritrea, always in our hearts!
(Ephraim TB: @TBEphraim)

[Zmeselo]

The beauty in Eritrean religious ceremonies

By Milka Tesfay

https://shabait.com/2021/01/20/the-beau ... eremonies/

HISTORY & CULTURE

Jan 22, 2021



It was 8 in the morning and I was rushing to get to my work place. I was running by the streets of Harnet Avenue. I decided to take a rest, as I was panting. While I was taking a rest, I took my phone out of my pocket to check if I could make it to work before 8.20 a.m. That’s when I realized, it was the 19th of January.

Wow, it has already been a year!

I started to reminisce about the past. I looked around and found myself around Bahti Meskerem. That place suddenly made me nostalgic, because last year at the same time and date that same place was crowded with people wearing white clothes.

Epiphany, also known as Theophany, Little Christmas or Three kings’ Day, is a Christian feast to celebrate the revelation of God incarnated as Jesus Christ. Epiphany may have originated in the Greek-speaking Eastern half of the Roman Empire, as a feast to honor the baptism of Jesus. In some churches, the feast of Epiphany initiates the Epiphany season, also known as Epiphantide. The traditional date for the feast is, January 6. However, since the 1970s, in some countries, the celebration is held on the Sunday after January 1st. Eastern churches, which follow the Julian calendar, observe the feast on what for most countries is January 19 because of the 13 day difference between that calendar and the generally used Gregorian calendar.

In the Latin speaking west, the holiday emphasizes the visit of the magi. The magi represent the non- Jewish people of the world, so this was considered a ‘revelation of the gentiles’. In this event, Christian writers also inferred the revelation to the Children of Israel. Eastern churches celebrate epiphany or theophany, on January 6. Some, as in Greece, employ the modern revised Julian calendar, which until the year 2800 coincides with the Gregorian calendar, the one in use for civil purposes in most countries.

Other eastern churches, as in Russia, hold to the older Julian calendar for reckoning church dates. In this old calendar epiphany falls at present Gregorian January 19, which is January 6 in the Julian calendar.
In the Oriental Orthodox (mainly Eritrean and Ethiopian orthodox churches), the feast is known as Timket and is celebrated on the day that the Gregorian calendar calls January 19, but is celebrated on the 20th of January when the following February in the Gregorian calendar will have 29 days. The celebration of this feast features the blessing of water and a solemn procession, with the sacred shrine. A priest carries this to a body of water where it stays overnight, with the Metsehafe Qeddassie (Divine Liturgy) celebrated in the early morning. Later in the morning, the water is blessed to the accompaniment of the reading of the four Gospels, which accounts the baptism of Jesus in Jordan and the people are sprinkled with the water. The sacred shrine returns in procession to the church.



The Eritrean Orthodox Church, as part of the Oriental church, celebrates Timket on the 19th of January. In the Eritrean Orthodox churches, the emphasis on this feast is on the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the second person of the Trinity at the time of his baptism. It is also celebrated because, according to tradition, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist marked one of the only two occasions, the other being the Transfiguration, when all three Persons of the Trinity manifested themselves simultaneously to humanity.

In Asmara, every year people gather at Bahti Meskerem wearing white clothes to celebrate Timket. It is a colorful and joyful event where not only locals, but also foreigners attend. Choirs, most of the time led by deacons from every church in Asmara, attend there accompanied with carols, drums, psaltery and other instruments to coruscate the day. After sprinkling the blessed water at the people and choirs performing carols, the head pope and the priests do the process of liturgy with the Metsehafe Qeddassie and chant the hymn remarking the start of the ceremony. Following the liturgy, the choirs start the carols and the people sing along with them.

The joy, laughter, and the moment itself are worth watching. You watch people screaming out of joy when sprinkled with the water, people immersing themselves into the water, children splashing water at one other and even to strangers, and choirs singing. Unfortunately, life never stays the same. The covid-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives and didn’t spare Timket, like many other big ceremonies before it. I looked around and felt as if the people with the white clothes were around, but then reality hit me and I realized that there were people walking with their masks on.

Oh, it is already 8.14 a.m.

I remembered that I was going to work and started running again, to make it on time.

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Gurgusum Beach (Massawa) Photo: Samuel Yohannes @Moi (File Photo)

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