What a beautiful day it was at The Haile Babamo School in Ethiopia! Our role was to offer “enrichment”. To be honest, we didn’t know exactly what it would mean to enrich a school in rural Ethiopia, but we knew that creativity & fun would translate across all languages and cultures. Certainly, a resource poor school environment doesn’t have the luxury of art supplies. We also found it is a luxury to be a child in Ethiopia and have the opportunity to simply PLAY at school. It was an honor to have the opportunity to infuse creativity and play into the day at The Haile Babamo school. Marci and I brought a large 30 person playground parachute with us. The energy all around us was steaming with excitement as we pulled the parachute out! The bright colors of the parachute invited children to come from all around the school. While the children hung onto the parachute they were also hanging onto a rare moment of play just for the sake of play!
As artists we love to explore creativity, and were so excited to provide an opportunity for the children of Haile Babamo School to simply create! Bringing in simple art supplies we watched the children intensely & easily express parts of themselves in oil pastels. It was beautiful. Like children everywhere in the world, they want to play, they want to create, they want opportunity. The children were beaming with excitement after these enrichment activities…and so were we.
Marcie and Jeni are two artists from Wisconsin. They are also soul sisters who radiate positive vibes and FUN in all that they do. Having them part of the 2014 Roots Ethiopia Travel Team was an honor.
Since our November 2014 visit, The Haile Babamo School has since raised $10,000 to provide students and teachers with additional books, improved educational materials, sanitation facilities and sporting equipment. Please donate to our LRP’s today as they are changing the educational landscape in rural Ethiopia. Or, contact us about leading a big impact LRP fundraiser in Southern Ethiopia. Partnering with Roots Ethiopia gives you access to community identified projects that are changing lives from the ground up! #RootsMatter.
You can also directly support The Duna Sadicho Primary School LRP in Kembata today. Our lead fundraisers have committed to raising $15,000 to resource this Primary School with critical school supplies and encourage girls to attend school. Read more here and be part of something big in Ethiopia.
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