My Go Ga Elementary School Project

BACKGROUND

Over the past several years, Ethiopia has been ravaged by wars and famines that have caused unprecedented human sufferings. As a result, the economic needs of people in Ethiopia today are so apparent and they go far deeper than only the physical needs. One sector of people adversely affected by the problems is the youth. The youth in Ethiopia need education, and skills that will equip them for the future to become productive citizen of their country.

At present, the government as well as the people of Ethiopia share political and moral good-will that anticipates changing the trend of the past and working towards a better Ethiopia. Being in its 16th year of peace and stability, Ethiopia is today moving towards development and democracy. There is a spirit of optimism and a political process of forgetting the scars of the past and working for a better future.

The project described below envisions reaching the youth of MY GO GA (GWAGWA) SCHOOL located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia by building desperately needed classrooms to accommodate all the students of the school allowing them to attend school all day.

This project is part of a “Five Elementary Schools improvement and Renovation Plan” we are undertaking in the vicinity of Adwa town. The long-term philosophy behind the school-renovation project is to mold and nurture the youth of Ethiopia by creating a good learning atmosphere.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM

Located in the most northern part of Ethiopia, Adwa is one of the oldest towns in the country.  Because of its proximity to the town of Axum and Yeha, the birth places of Ethiopia’s spiritual, cultural and historical civilizations, Adwa’s place in Ethiopian history is very significant both in times of peace and war. It was here that the famous battle between the Italians and Ethiopians took place in 1896. Despite its prominence in the region, Adwa and its vicinity have over the years experienced unprecedented suffering due to consecutive armed conflicts. During the seventeen years of communist rule in Ethiopia, Adwa and the villages around it were heavily affected by the war that devastated the infrastructure and every economic means of the people. Many young people lost their lives during this time. Some fled leaving their country seeking asylum in other countries but many like the present Prime Minister of Ethiopia, resorted to the option of going to the bush to resist the then communist government. Because of these and many other factors, the people are one of the most impoverished in Ethiopia.

Adwa has a population of 70,000 people of which 38,000 are primary and secondary school students. There are eight schools in the vicinity among which is the oldest, the Queen of Sheba School, which was founded in 1941. Although the school’s enrollment from the town and its surrounding villages has dramatically increased after the fall of communism, the schools are in a tragically poor state and in fact some of them could hardly qualify as schools.  For these schools to function effectively, they need immediate attention. Most of these schools do not have enough classrooms and the students attend their lessons outside either under trees or under makeshift shades. Those who are privileged enough to get classrooms have no desks or any type of sitting furniture and they attend their classes either sitting on the dirt floor or squatting on pieces of rocks.

In order to alleviate some of the problems of the schools, the people of the town and the teachers of these schools have been working hard to raise money from the community and to build classrooms to help satisfy the educational hunger of the population.

MY GOGA (GWAGWA) SCHOOL

The My Go Ga (GwaGwa) Elementary School is one of the five needy schools that need immediate assistance. The school was initially built over twenty years ago with contributions from the community where some gave money and others contributed their physical and material support.

The school has now 1,638 students enrolled. However, due to the shortage of classrooms, and in order to accommodate the enrolled students, the school uses a half–day shift system.  Although the school has a community of very motivated parents and teachers who want to see the condition of the school improved, their financial means have reached a limit and hence they are seeking additional assistance to help them reach their objectives for building enough classrooms for their children so that they can attend school all day.

In their effort to look for help, the parents of the students have requested Abraham Fiseha who is originally from this town for his assistance in this by looking for funding. As a result, about a year and a half ago, Birr 425,887.00 (USD 48,000) was raised to build eight classrooms. The construction was successfully completed. The school still needs 16 additional classrooms in order to accommodate all the students.

THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The long term objective of the school building project is to mold and nurture the youth of Ethiopia and specifically the My GwaGwa school students by building enough classrooms for all the students there by creating a good learning environment.

Specifically the objectives of this project are to:

1. Increase the number of classrooms by adding eight more classrooms. 
2. Furnish the eight classrooms with desks.
3. Equip the school with typewriters and a duplicating machine.   

Through this initiative, we hope and believe that the joint efforts of our American friends alongside our Ethiopian communities greatly contribute towards fostering a lasting relationship between our two countries.

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