Our Projects: Ethiopia
A SCHOOL FOR TIGRAY
imagine1dayHintalo Wejirat District, Tigray, Ethiopia
GO Campaign is partnering with imagine1day in Ethiopia to establish a comprehensive educational system and community development program that will improve the quality of life and help alleviate poverty for approximately 200 children in the Hintalo Wejirat District of Northern Ethiopia. With your help, we will:
- Construct a four-classroom school and an eight-stall latrine with a private girls' and boys' entrance
- Provide furniture, books, support materials and supplies for the students and teachers
- Establish a creative writing workshop, provide equipment for sports teams and promote school clubs
- Create access to clean water on the school grounds
- Train teachers in Active Learning, Life Skills and Science
- Develop a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to participate in income-generating activities for the school such as tree planting and gardening using micro-irrigation
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FEATURED BIOS
Gebrehewit Hailu starts his day at 6:30 am with a breakfast of injera and shiro wat, a crepe-type bread with a bean paste. Gebrehewit's mother died during childbirth last year, and his father, who is committed to his children's education, struggles to support the family through day labor. After school, Gebrehewit heads home to support his father and four siblings by tending to the family's single ox and three donkeys and by working the family's farmland. A confident 14-year old in the third grade, Gebrehewit is proud that he is at the top of his class despite the challenging learning environment. His vision of a dream school is a clean building with additional grades and "one which is protected from the elements and surrounded by trees." When asked about the importance of having trees at school, he says "by selling their fruits, we can have real desks and the school materials we need, like notebooks, pencils and a football." His favorite subject is mathematics.
Nine year old Tselalem Kidane, whose name means "shade", is in the third grade, enjoys learning and ranks third in her class! With dreams of being a government employee when she grows up, she says she would like to play games during recess but without sports equipment, she and her classmates "are limited to running around and chatting."
The sixth of eight children, Tselalem is given chores, such as taking care of six cows and collecting harvested crops, when she gets home from school. Her two younger sisters are still too young to start school, but Tselalem hopes that by the time they do, there will be a proper school for them to attend. For now, she would like to see a nice fourth grade classroom built at her school so that next year she won't "have to travel far away to get to school."
WHY ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the most ancient countries in the world. Home to many prehistoric discoveries, this landlocked country in the Horn of Africa is one of the oldest sites of known human existence, including the famous 3.2 million old skeleton known as "Lucy". Culturally diverse, Ethiopia has over 80 ethnic groups and indigenous languages and has historical ties to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the Rastafarian religion. Despite its rich cultural heritage, Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with approximately 44% of its population living in extreme poverty and only 63.4% of school age children enrolled in primary schools. Most schools lack proper sanitation, playgrounds are practically nonexistent, and supplies and materials are luxury items afforded to very few schools.
Formal schools in rural Ethiopia are scarce. For many families, the closest school is often a two-hour walk in each direction. As a result, many parents keep their children closer to home where they are schooled in makeshift open-air classrooms made from tree branches, mud and stones. These improvised facilities have no chairs or desks, offer little protection from the hot piercing sun and fierce winds, and have no access to clean water causing students to become dehydrated. Under-qualified yet dedicated, teachers are routinely battling the elements for the attention of their students.
The direct link between a lack of education and increased poverty cannot be ignored, nor can the difference an education makes in establishing sustainable livelihoods and a healthy society. Children like Tselalem and Gebrehewit are hungry for an education and to contribute to their societies, and fortunately for them, there is hope.
