We are now back from our mid semester break and the new semester’s teaching has begun. As well as classroom based learning, students also learn on clinical placements in the physiotherapy out patient department and on the wards where they are supervised in the assessment and management of patients.

When I wrote my last update in October, I was about to attend a workshop on disability services in Eastern Ethiopia run by a physiotherapist working for Handicap International who we have developed links with.

There is a saying in Ethiopia which translates as 'bit by bit the egg learns to walk'. It sums up our physiotherapy awareness week perfectly. The awareness week was two weeks ago and a number of events had been organised including a departmental 'open house', a games session for the paediatric patients and a half day workshop for heads of department.

I arrived back in Gondar this morning after a few weeks away on a langauge course and a break back at home in England. It is good to be back and also to see that some of the work started by me and my VSO colleague who is also working with me in the physiotherapy department has been continued while we have been away.

I've been in Ethiopia for five months now and my feet haven't touched the ground. My work here in Gondar has mostly involved working with the student physiotherapists- lecturing, supervising them on clinical placements, conducting their examinations and supervising their undergraduate research.

I've been here for four months now and life in Ethiopia in settling down. Work has been very busy with teaching students in class and on clinical placement, conducting mid semester exams, conducting workshops for the qualified physiotherapy staff and working on various other projects for VSO.

I had an interesting and challenging day last Thursday which summed up life in Africa!

Dear Volunteer Linker

I have now been in Ethiopia for four weeks and following nine days of in- country training in Addis Ababa I flew to Gondar with another VSO volunteer. We are placed at Gondar University Hospital on the clinical and academic physiotherapy teams, with the aim of helping to improve both clinical and educational physiotherapy services.