Harnet Grade 1-4 Primary School
A Story from Harnet
For four generations, Gerense’s family has lived in Harnet, a dusty, remote village in the Tigray valley, living hand-to-mouth by raising cattle and farming the land. Gerense’s younger brothers and sisters were the first in their family to ever attend school, walking daily to the open-air classes that took place under a tall tree in their village. While there were no desks, chairs or books to speak of, over 120 children showed up each day, eager to learn.
Like so many children in Harnet, Gerense’s responsibilities for the family harvest and livestock kept him from attending classes. That all changed in 2009. A community-wide effort was mounted and the village of Harnet committed to sending each and every one of their children to their new school, including 14 year old Gerense.
Goals
- Build a four-classroom school for up to 400 students to replace Harnet’s temporary tree shelter school.
- Fill it with furniture, textbooks and sports materials.
- Provide teacher support and training.
- Mobilize and train a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to lead and steward the future of the new school.
- Plant trees and a garden and provide tools and environmental training programs to generate income for the school’s future.
- Provide latrines, Life Skills education and water management training to benefit the entire community.