Building a school is the easy part. Sustaining a quality learning environment that addresses the needs of girls and boys requires vision, commitment and partnership.

SEFFO IS OPEN FOR LEARNING!

For the first time ever, the children of the village of Seffo Maialekti are excited to wake up and go to school. For the first time ever they are able to do so safely. Leah and her friends pictured below couldn't be happier.

The children, parents and teachers of Seffo would like to thank you for your gift of education. This community, whose children had to walk up to 20 kms to spend their days hunched on stones trying to learn, is now the proud custodian of a model school that has become the benchmark for quality education in the region.

Aster, a mother of two, told imagine1day that she desperately wanted her daughters to attend school but that attending past grade two meant they walked two hours each way. She worried each day that at the river's crossing her children would be carried away, so she herself walked an hour each way to ease her fears. At the opening of your school she thanked imagine1day for the opportunity her daughters would have and said that her whole family would benefit from her being able to help more in her garden instead of making the long trip each day. Your contribution has already had a big impact on this village. When a community has so little, the gift of education can change its trajectory forever. Parent and PTA Chairperson, Ato Shiferaw commented, "I feel privileged to have such a fine school, and know that I now have the opportunity to change my children's lives in a way that I never could with my own. It is my duty now to take this chance and help others with the knowledge that I have from imagine1day."

see your money in motion from start to finish

It was just a few short months ago, on December 11th that the Seffo School project was first posted on the brand new imagine1day website. The support we've had for our first project has been truly inspiring, and it shows.

Excited children are in shiny new desks under a brand new roof and thankful hands are cupping clean, safe water from the new taps. Girls and Boys are using their first latrines and teachers are writing on blackboards that hang from real walls.

imagine1day has taken the cement, stone, iron bars, roofing tiles, water components, latrine doors, desks and shelves that you contributed and transformed them into a school for 287 of Ethiopia's brightest children. Simple objects, but together, they formed a four room, furnished school with clean water access and safe latrines where children are eager to come earn the education that will break the cycle of poverty that has shadowed this community. It was that simple, and the impact you have had on an entire community is overwhelming.

the new model for development

The Seffo Maialekti Community School is being praised in government offices and village gatherings as a model of sustainable, holistic and innovative education in the region. The word is out; imagine1day is an organization that is serious about immediate action in Ethiopia.

"We have never experienced such an immediate and comprehensive response" expressed Ato Alem Aregawi, Head of the region's Administrative Office. After cutting the ceremonial ribbon the Vice President of the Regional State, Ato Abadi, recommended to all communities to take with them "a valuable lesson from imagine1day's effective and efficient partnership model".

The advice was well received by representatives of villages that imagine1day has targeted for future schools who had walked for a full day to witness the school opening. For the villages of Adi-Ajero, Harnet and Weste imagining one day is not a day too far away.

the new PTA plans to make the most of this opportunity

The Seffo community has felt ownership over this project from the first day imagine1day began working with them. This has inspired them to keep the momentum going. With your generosity they have been given the tools and knowledge to both maintain and grow the school's infrastructure and capacity. When combined with the income generation activities that you have provided, this community is positioned to be independent and self sustaining in the long term. Together, the community of Seffo Maialekti and its network of local supporters are set to work toward the following goals:

• Build a school fence and hire a guard.
• Plough surrounding fields to cultivate different crops to generate income for the school and to assist poor families in sending their children to school.
• Harvest and sell fruit from the 2000 seedlings that have been planted.
• Introduce the community's first access to Grade 3 and 4.
• Use generated income from crops to build a second structure to house a library, offices and classrooms to expand to Grades 5 to 8

Ato Shiferaw, PTA Chairperson gave an inspiring speech to fellow parents and community members. He told a story of how he used to ask his children to tend to cattle for the good of his family. When he lost the cattle one year during a drought, he realized that the cattle were 'not his forever', he realized his children were, and that time was best used tending to them. He has committed to send all of his children to school and is working hard to have every child in the area enrolled.

in the words of the children...

"People very far away that do not even know me helped me to go to school and I want to tell them that I am very happy and will study very hard to make them proud if they ever met me."

"I like imagine1day very much because they saved us from the weather as well as the far distance, I think this is because imagine1day loves children. I consider them to be like our parents."

"I am very happy. It's good to learn the lessons in the shade and on a chair. I will study hard and like imagine1day I will take good care of children when I grow up."

"About a year ago when my parents sent me to school, I did not want to go because I hated to walk a very far distance. But now it feels like the safety of the backyard of my house."

On behalf of all the children, thank you for supporting imagine1day.

a message from drew boshell, board member

"The opening of the Seffo Primary School marks a huge accomplishment for imagine1day. It is amazing to think that we only started registering in Ethiopia 10 months ago. To accomplish so much in such a short time is truly amazing. We'd love to be able to show you firsthand the quality of the building and the joy on the faces of the children. Several of our government partners commented that this was now the best school in the district, which is something we can all be proud of. In all our combined years working overseas, we have never seen a more gracious community. The head of the Parents Teachers Association gave a rousing speech starting with the fact that words could not express their feelings of gratitude. I will never forget the paper sign that the children were holding which read 'Canada is our Best Mother.' They knew that this was not just some big organization that was spending money but hundreds of individuals, mostly from Canada, who were connecting with them and caring about them as people.

The highlight of the opening was to see the children use the water station to drink their first sip of school water. After several gulps of clean water, they broke out into a water fight. The kids were splashing the water around, laughing and screaming with joy. School was now fun the way it should be.

At the end of the ceremony when we tried to leave the community simply would not let us. They said we must dance for you to show you our happiness. All the men started in a large circle chanting while the woman yodelled their approval from the side. The entire imagine1day team could not resist and joined in the dance. The community erupted in excitement and the dancing got even more intense. Then something happened that I never expected. During times when a child would have a great accomplishment, the parent would usually run up during the moment and stick some money on the child (usually one to three birr). It is seen as a very public sign of appreciation. Would you believe that during my dancing someone ran up and stuck ten birr onto my forehead - the equivalent of two days salary for most in Seffo. We were all shocked, embarrassed and incredibly honoured all at the same time. It was an honour bestowed upon all of us. To think, this all started with a dream, which enrolled the hearts of others and resulted in fulfilling the dreams of so many more. Thank you for making this small miracle possible and allowing others to fulfill their dreams."

With great respect,

Drew