Groundbreaking Report
THE ATSEMBA GRADE 1-4 PRIMARY SCHOOL PROJECT IS UNDERWAY!
The construction of the Atsemba Grade 1-4 Primary School is moving full steam ahead. We'd like to breakdown the numbers and show you the impact your investment will have on this amazing community in rural Northern Ethiopia.
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SECURING FUTURES
While Atsemba's students diligently continue learning in their open air dass classrooms made of stones and twigs, just steps away laborers are busy ensuring their new school is built with the highest level of quality and efficiency.
Meet stone carver and mason Ataklti Siyom
i1d: How did you get connected to the Atsemba school construction project?
Ato Ataklti: The foreman is from my town, nearby Adi Keyih. He hired me because of my previous experience building five primary schools.
i1d: What do you hope will be your greatest contribution to the project?
Ato Ataklti: This school is for young children and they need our support. I am encouraged by the fact that people from across the world care enough to build them a school, and I will do the very best quality masonry work I can.
i1d: What is the best part of your job?
Ato Ataklti: I like plastering the most.
i1d: What is your vision for the children of this community?
Ato Ataklti: I want to see them do well at this school, study hard to continue their education, attain a good position in life and come back to invest in this community.
ENSURING SUSTAINABILITY AND COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP
Before any tools broke ground at Atsemba, imagine1day made a special agreement with the local community. As the school project will eventually be handed over to the people of Atsemba to sustain it themselves, the local government has allocated land near the school to be used for micro irrigation-fed crops. In addition to the income from fruit trees already planted on school grounds, income from more frequent micro irrigation harvests will be put towards purchasing school-related supplies and to replenish quality components initially provided by imagine1day, such as sports equipment, reading corners, art and creative writing materials and school club needs.
imagine1day has committed to assisting our school communities with financial planning in order to manage their income generation projects and to sustain quality education for years to come. The Atsemba community was therefore asked to contribute 1,000 Ethiopian Bir to be put aside in a bank account as a starting point. The sense of ownership that this contribution has created has already manifested in the PTA's decision to build an administration office once the school building is complete. They plan on building it with their own hands with local materials. The school construction foreman, Ato Tsiruy, has generously offered to assist the PTA in setting out the plan for the office construction.
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GRADE ONE TEACHER ASQUAL GEBREHEWIT TALKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFE SKILLS TRAINING
Before the first brick of Atsemba's new school was laid, imagine1day was busy developing cutting edge education for its future students. Three teachers from Atsemba's open air dass school were among the 57 who recently participated in a weekend Life Skills training workshop, aimed at addressing practical issues facing young students in Ethiopian schools. One week after the training, we caught up with Teacher Asqual at recess to get her feedback.
i1d: You bring your sweet daughter (three-year old Yerusalem) to work with you every day. Is it difficult to balance being a mother and a teacher?
Teacher Asqual: Last year I was teaching at (the imagine1day-supported school) Zeggaw and always brought her to school with me there too. The principal would give her paper and crayons to color with all day to let me teach. Even here at Atsemba, she is very calm and never disturbs me. I love to have her with me, and feel like I'm giving her an early start on education.
i1d: What are the most important tools you learned at the Life Skills training?
Teacher Asqual: We didn't know what to expect coming into the training, but we learned many important things. For example, we learned how to ensure gender equality in our classrooms and how to encourage students when they make mistakes with positive reinforcement so that they gain confidence.
i1d: How are the new teaching methodologies you learned different from when you were a student in primary school?
Teacher Asqual: When I was a child, if we were late or made an error, the teacher would punish us with a stick and insult us. At the Life Skills training we learned how to encourage discipline with advice. For example, we explain to a tardy student the benefits of coming on time and its importance to education, without the use of sticks for punishment.
i1d: Have you already noticed a change in your students' behavior since changing your approach?
Teacher Asqual: Yes, very much so. Before, if a student lost his pen or her notebook, our punishments would drive them away from school. Now that we show them love and politeness, they tend to come early and respect us more in return.
i1d: Have you passed on what you learned in the training to the teachers at Atsemba who have not yet received it?
Teacher Asqual: We found the training so important and useful that as soon as we got back, we told the remaining teachers what we learned, but quickly realized this was not enough. The other trained teachers and I then pooled our notes and handouts to create a Life Skills manual for the remaining teachers, which we are all using now.
i1d: How do you feel about your students now?
Teacher Asqual: When my daughter sits in my class among my students, I want to keep her safe and close to me. I feel this way for my students too, like they are all my children.
Thank you for bringing the dedicated people of Atsemba a giant step closer to realizing a better future for their children.We look forward to sharing more about Atsemba's new school in just a couple of months when the doors are opened and the children are actively learning.
