Sawa is an Eritrean treasure house, where youths jointly turn out to be physically and psychologically competent to build our beautiful nation. When states with little natural resources prospered over those with abundance, human resources became marked as the most valuable of resources. Thus, states’ investment gradually became primarily directed to set up institutions with the potential to supply a conscious, organized and equipped human resources.
Sawa serves this purpose of providing a conscious, organized and equipped youth, to building our most respected and prosperous nation, thus the reason behind the naming of it as the Eritrean treasure house. Bringing youths from across all regions and diversities together, socializing them with our national norms and values and equipping them with necessary knowledge and skills, producing conscious, organized and equipped youth. This multiplying resource is evidently essential in the process of our nation building as was demonstrated in our struggle for freedom.
In the post-independence journey, Sawa has been playing the undeniable role on the provision of “all rounded qualified youth”. As a result, despite enemies’ intensive hostilities and aggressions, we are able to self-reliantly assure our national sovereignty along the achievements in the national development.
Every year, in the month of July, Sawa enthusiastically graduates youths who stayed in its womb for the completion of high school and national service. After graduation, while those who have graduated are assigned to different development sectors, high school students who completed their eleventh grade education, eagerly make the ride to Sawa to complete their education and partake in fulfilling their obligation and role as citizens.
In Sawa, youths of different background come together in a single melting pot. They have the chance to share their respective local cultures, history and experiences. Such a conducive environment widens their national view and helps them cultivate skills of communication, leadership, team work, critical and creative thinking. In spite of the influence of global culture and modernization, they fall in love with the beauty of all nine ethnic groups, an attitude that strengthened and shone our national identity.
This melting pot broadens the horizon of youth’s national knowledge and perspective through political education under the guidance of other parents. They passionately learn Eritrean history from ancient to post independence parallel to other programs. Here, when they are socialized with the national norms and values that make up our national identity, they get overwhelmed with a feeling of belongingness. Resilience, patriotism, nationalism, self-reliance, hard work, creativity, discipline, unity, equality and tolerance are among the many precious national norms and values they get acquainted with and adopt as well.
Comprehensively, all these qualities foster a conscious, organized and equipped Eritrean youth with a social role and position in our society. This physical and psychological transformation greatly determines the realization of our national vision, as such we all have to pass by and shower in the treasure.
Sawa took this critical responsibility from Sahel, where our freedom torch and treasure was situated. In Sahel, our national norms and values glowed parallel to the nurturing of a new one. There, the conscious, organized and equipped youth with the potential to realize our independence was born. And today, “history is repeating its self”, when Sawa is producing the same miraculous youths that protect our national sovereignty and build our beloved nation.
Thus, Sawa is an Eritrean treasure house, where “all rounded qualified youth” are born, after they socialize with our precious national norms and values, equipped with various knowledge and skills, as well as work with sacrifice to protect and build our nation.
Written by Kidane Shmendi