ATSEMBA COMMUNITY SCHOOL PROJECT UPDATES

• Bridge Report
• Ribbon Cutting

your school: new beginnings

the local perspective

imagine1day recently met with a group of Atsemba's community leaders, parents and students. As the sun set over a mountain backdrop and distant dark clouds teased us with the possibility of rain, we discussed how the community's awareness of education has shifted.

Tabia (local government) leader Ato Hagos Mehari credits among other things the success of a few local villagers who have obtained university degrees. "Some of our brothers and sisters who received an education came back and educated our community" he says, "Formerly we were a very backwards people, but now there is 100% community acceptance that education is the necessary link to a positive future for our children. The government in our region of Tigray is also strongly pushing for education for all, and we are responding."

Tabia administrator Ato Redae Hagos adds that "an uneducated person is like an animal while an educated person is improving their livelihood all around: by supplementing their income with other sources besides agriculture. They earn a salary instead of relying on land which can no longer give."

Ato Redae has a 15-year old daughter in grade two at Atsemba's temporary open air school, and a six year old daughter who will start grade one in the new school that you have invested in. When asked how the community views girls' education he confidently replied that Atsemba girls are encouraged to learn, not drop out when they mature to marry or become house servants. Often girls stay home from school when they are menstruating, but not Ato Redae's maturing daughter. "Even though there are no private latrines, she still comes to school. She wouldn't miss a day," he says proudly.

speaking of latrines

Currently 50% of Atsemba's 550 households have pit latrines in their homes, up from 30% when imagine1day first visited last year to begin our participatory planning with the community. As part of the government's current rural health plan, 10 health attendants are responsible for educating 50 households each year about sanitary practices and the use and construction of latrines at the household level. According to the residents who came out to talk with us, the other 50% have been reluctant to join the toilet trend simply because of the age-old culture of going outdoors. But the early adopters have hope. "The biggest increase has happened in the last year. The rest of the community will adapt when they see that latrines have become the norm," says resident Berhe Kahsay.

We asked Ato Berhe how your investment of an eight-stall latrine on the school grounds with private facilities for boys and girls will affect students."They will spend more time in class learning," he said, "Currently they go outdoors far away from the school, each in their own direction for privacy. It's very time consuming. We also believe more girls will join our school if their families know that they will have a safe, private place to use the toilet". A separate latrine for boys and girls is one of the most important factors in keeping girls in school, particularly when they begin puberty and menstruation.

water access

imagine1day is currently working with the Atsemba community, and hydro geologists from the government water bureau and private enterprise to establish the most suitable source of water for the new school. Nearby access to clean water will mean a world of difference in the health and hygiene of the students, who will have clean water to drink and wash their hands with after using the latrine. Removing the burden on children to carry water long distances every morning before school will mean more energy to focus on their studies.

going green

Having water at the school will not only nurture growing students, but plant life as well. Atsemba residents recently planted 500 fruit and 1,500 shade trees with imagine1day. They were not only excited to beautify the future site of their school grounds, but also to plant the seeds for papaya and guava yields that will generate income to sustain and develop the school and its programs for years to come.

Close proximity to water will also open the door to other income generation schemes that are being planned. Grain and vegetable harvesting using drip irrigation, for example, will allow for more than the one harvest per year during the short, unreliable rainy season that rural Ethiopians are dependent on.

a dream school

Tabia Administrator Ato Hagos Mehari has a lucid vision for the school your investment will build:

"It will be a big transformation from our dass open air school to beautiful, spacious classrooms full of books and materials. It will be very green, surrounded with the trees we just planted, and we'll have very ambitious and successful students...When we visit Adi-Ajero (a school built by imagine1day) we can't believe it-will our school really be like this? Our children will not look for fragmented land to farm. They will get an education and create a job or be employed. They will feed themselves, and if possible they will feed others."

And what do Atsemba Community Primary School's future students envision for their new place of learning?

Grade three Atsemba student, 11 year-old Asli Kedae lists off the things inside her school: stones to sit on, a blackboard, chalk and a flag pole. Not having books to read or even a notebook, her wish list for the new school is quite brief: a building, a roof, desks, chairs, a blackboard and chalk. After a pause, suddenly her imagination expands."It will be decorated with paints and writings by the teachers." When we suggest that it might be students who decorate it with paints, she shyly replies that she and her classmates don't know how to paint. When we ask her if they would like to learn, she brightens up and says "Yes, we must. We will paint Animals!"

Thank you for the hope and smiles you have brought to the Atsemba Community. We will speak with you again in January 2010, when together we break new ground in beautiful Atsemba.

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ATSEMBA SCHOOL OPENING PARTY

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

It was three years ago that a concerned teacher from Tsehafti Primary (an imagine1day-supported school) saw the growing demand for education overtake the number of students Tsehafti could accommodate. Teacher Kiros took the initiative to start a school in an under-served area 7km away, where the people of Atsemba welcomed him with open arms.

Atsemba school began as a single informal twig structure, or open air dass classroom, that scarcely sheltered 44 eager grade one students from the harsh outside elements: strong sun and dusty wind in the dry season, cold in the winter months, and torrential downpours in the spring. Each year a new dass class was added as children succeeded to the next grade. As education awareness grew even more, so did the number of students and the need for a proper facility to support them.

For the imagine1day team, Teacher Kiros' initiative is a testament to the potential in everyone to make a difference. He saw a need to see all the children in his community go to school and he took the initiative to fulfill that need. Little did he expect that this humble beginning would turn into a full-fledged school building, with an eight-stall latrine and clean drinking water on school grounds that would eventually be covered by trees and vegetables.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Principal Kiros has since gone back to Tsehafti Primary, and Principal Belay Kidus has taken his place as director of Atsemba School. The following is a message Principal Belay delivered at the inauguration ceremony to all who came together to make the patient dream of a formal school in Atsemba a reality.

Dear respected invited guests,

First and foremost I would like to welcome you to the inauguration ceremony of Atsemba School. Atsemba Primary School was established in 2007 with 44 students in an open air dass school. For the last three years students were suffering from sun stroke, wind, and cold. Despite this, the number of students has reached 253 (149 male and 144 female).

But now in collaboration with imagine1day and its investors, four standard classrooms, a latrine, a shallow well, school furniture, a drip-irrigation setup, tree planting and much training has been rendered to us. I would like to thank you all in the name of the village residents for what you did for us.

On top of this, for those who paved nearly 2km of road, the tabia (local government) administration who gave us the land, the engineers, foreman and technicians who designed the plans and who constructed this beautiful school, I would like to thank you all in the name of the community and the school.

To imagine1day and its investors who support 30 schools, you are doing great work creating healthy school environments for children in the woreda (county). imagine1day is a committed NGO who is part of an accelerated development effort made by our nation to conquer poverty. We thank imagine1day very much for the holistic support of our school.

BIG SISTER

Many people came from far and wide to celebrate the opening of Atsemba's School. Among them were students from Atsemba's big sister school, Tsehafti Primary. Below is a poem read by Merisata Tesfu, a physically impaired grade eight student and HIV & Gender school club leader.

LITTLE SISTER

Instead of spending a fourth year learning in a twig structure, Freweini Kalayu will finally be able go to school in a real classroom. Here is the message she delivered to the opening ceremony crowd on behalf of her grade four class.