Christmas Update - The Most Valuable Gift of All

A Very Merry Christmas to all of our UK friends!

Christmas in Ethiopia

Christmas Day in Ethiopia is January 7th so Ethiopian children have to wait a little while longer! Timkat, (or Ephiphany) is celebrated on January 19th and the New Year in September. The Ethiopian calendar is very different from our own.

Building Progress

Three classrooms will be up and running before Christmas and then the work begins to build the next phase and the outside toilets. However, before this the school’s ‘Ground Breaking Ceremony’ will take place.

Gendit School - Ground Breaking Ceremony

This is a traditional ceremony which takes place after the first phase of building has been completed and before further bricks are laid. My ticket to Gendit is booked for the end of February and I’m hoping to be able to take part in the ceremony - I’m very excited and look forward to reporting back.

Why we Need Your Help

Every year, students like Fasika drop out of school after Grade 3 - currently this is the top level of teaching at our Gendit school. It takes over an hour to get to another school for grades 4-6; this means children have to cross a busy main road with the threat of violence on the way.

As a result, many children simply fall out of the education systems altogether.

However, the classrooms that will be provided by our project will change lives forever - children will be able to stay at school until they are 14 years old. After this, it is only a mile to the nearest secondary school.

Here’s what our new school director, Endalk Tsega has to say about the new classrooms…

“The addition of the new classrooms will mean a decrease in student drop outs. In the past, when students had to go to a school that was far, many dropped out due to the distance. Parents didn’t feel safe sending their children to a much farther school. But now with the new classrooms, parents will feel safe and send their children to school and students will have better results as the compound becomes conducive for the school community.”