Duna Sadicho Archives - Roots Ethiopia

Duna Sadicho School in Ethiopia is Funded!

Duna Sadicho School in Ethiopia is officially FUNDED! Phase 1 is complete and students are already using the textbooks that were purchased. Our awesome Program Director, Tilahun, was able to stretch the budget to include SCIENCE supplies for the school (this was not in the original budget!)

The goals of this Learning Resource Project were to equip the library with books, furnish the classrooms with desks and chairs, and provide structural enhancements to the school to provide a safe learning environment. Windows and roof repair will help the children thrive. In addition, schoolyard equipment will provide students with the ‘play’ that they long for!

There were several sources that contributed to its success and we want to thank them all!

The Snyder Family Razoo fundraiser played an enormous part is funding this school in Ethiopia! Over 50% of the budget was raised through this initiative.

The Vandrovec Family Razoo fundraiser/silent auction. Both of these efforts were an enormous success. The Vandrovec’s went above and beyond to throw together a silent auction on Facebook that yielded incredible results AND it was super fun. We will post more information about how they accomplished this auction very soon!

The Long Island #GrowingMinds event was a huge success and we were able to apply a portion of the money raised towards the Duna Sadicho School in Kembata, Ethiopia. We look forward to sharing updates at the 2016 #GrowingMinds Event on Long Island.

The Roots Ethiopia General Fund contributed a portion of the money needed to complete this project.

We are looking forward to a visit in October when the entire project will be complete and we can see the impact! We are especially interested to see how these resources improve the gender inequality that is present at this rural school in Ethiopia!

Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.

What Causes Gender Inequality at Rural Ethiopian Schools?

As a boy, Desta Seyoum lived a traditional rural farming life in the same Ethiopian Kebele as The Duna-Sadicho School. He remembers passing through Duna Sadicho village on his way to Secondary School giving him many chances to witness the needs of the community.

Desta, who now lives in London, just returned from Ethiopia after a prolonged family visit in the region and was able to talk to us more about inequalities in Duna Sadicho, specifically addressing the problems that girls face in the region. He is very worried about gender inequality at Duna Sadicho School, and quickly pointed out the number of girls drops even lower at the secondary school level as girls are unable to pass the required national exam to continue their education.

Desta explains:

“Many girls in the region face challenges of gender inequality that exclude them from school. Extreme household poverty, walking distance to school, inadequate school resources, lack of sanitation facilities, child labor and marriage, and female genital cutting are among obstacles that prevent girls from education. Lack of education means girls forced into informal labor market at an early age. They will never reach their potential to become positive forces in their communities, and remain trapped in a vicious circle of poverty.”

While data seems to show that gender inequality is narrowing at other area schools, the gender gaps remain a problem at Duna Sadicho. Desta feels that the gender makeup at Duna Sadicho may be largely associated with what happens in the school as well as in the community. According to Desta,

“the lower number of girls may have a direct correlation with the poor quality of resources they have in the school. It may also reflect the level of poverty and poor living standards of the community.”

Desta points out that a gender audit may be required to deepen our understanding of girls’ education in the region. But for now, one thing is very clear to Desta,

“providing basic learning resources is imperative so that girls may have an equitable chance of continuing their education.”

By providing school children with essential learning materials, Roots Ethiopia will help rectify the gender inequality at The Duna Sadicho primary school. These basic learning supplies will give girls what they need to stay in school, pass their national exams, have the opportunity to continue education, stand a chance of going to college, securing an employment and eventually becoming significant contributors to their community.

Help Ethiopia by donating to The Duna Sadicho project today! We are 40% of the way there and need your help in taking step one to rectify the gender imbalance at this rural Ethiopian School.

Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.

Leave It to the Kids and Donkeys! An Example of Local Collaboration in Ethiopia

Duna Sadicho is a remote village in Kembata, Ethiopia. How remote is it? Very remote! After our team arrived via a 4WD vehicle on a quite arduous route we were discussing how to get supplies (hundreds of cumbersome textbooks) up to the school once they are purchased locally. The community elders saw no issue with transport at all!

In fact, they suggested that the students themselves could walk down to Doyogena and each carry back an armload. It was as simple as that. AND, they would find donkeys to help with the job as well! So there it is. Something that is a puzzle to us is solved quickly with local knowledge and experience. A lovely image of community cooperation and a community knowing how to get things done their way.

Learn more and help fund The Duna Sadicho Primary School TODAY!

http://www.razoo.com/story/Duna-Sadicho-A-School-Enrichment-Project

Lead your own Learning Resource Project in Rural Ethiopia:

http://www.rootsethiopia.org/projects/learning-resources-projects/