Girls At The Top of Their Class

Meet Three Ethiopian Girls Who Are Ranked At The Top of Their Class

The biggest reward of any Roots Ethiopia project is not just marveling how your collective generosity can transform a community or a school or a classroom. It’s seeing how that loving investment can light up a child’s face.

So we want to celebrate the smiles of three students we are proud to support at Wanja School, which serves over 500 children from the surrounding Halaba district. These three Ethiopian girls—ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in their class—are the future.

Learn more about our commitment to the Wanja School and our fundraising efforts on its behalf by clicking here!

Top Of The Class! Dubane, Lubabe, and Redit Are Three Ethiopian Girls Beating The Odds…

DUBANE

Dubane with her Da

ddy and her grade 3 brother, Bergena

Dubane is a 17-year-old Wanja student preparing to enter the 7th grade in September. She ranked first in her 6th-grade class. (Get it Dubane!) Dubane’s background is particularly hard; her family is both poor and socially marginalized within her community. The teachers and students of Wanja have worked hard to create a safe and welcoming environment for Dubane.

The financial crisis of her home life forced her to drop out of school for three years so today some of her peers are getting ready to begin 11th grade. Undeterred by such a tragic loss of momentum, Dubane secured an after-school laborer job at a nearby building site that allowed her to return to school last year for 6th grade. She earns 20 Birr (roughly 85 cents) for a half day of work. With that money, she contributes to her family’s food expenses, purchases school materials, and buys her clothes.

Dubane wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Roots Ethiopia attended the end of year school ceremony and awarded her a new school backpack to begin her 7thgrade, praising both her grades and grit. Dubane is an outstanding role model for all the kids at Wanja.

LUBABA

Seventeen-year-old Lubaba is getting ready to enter the 7th grade. She, too, was forced to take several years off from school because of financial hardships. To reenter the sixth-grade Lubaba works alongside Dubane as a laborer at a construction site and was able to raise the money needed for school registration.

With her hard-earned money, Lubaba could also afford the required school materials and clothing. (In addition to covering her school expenses, Lubaba also puts part of her paycheck towards groceries for the family.) Last year this superstar ranked second in her class.

She also has dreams of going to medical school. Roots Ethiopia is moved by Lubaba’s commitment to her future and gave her a new backpack to help her carry her dreams into the seventh grade.

REDET

Redet, Lubaba’s younger sister, is 15 years old. Like Lubaba, Redet is preparing to enter the 7^th grade. She ranks third in her class. (Yes, the Aman girls are incredible.) Their family earns an income from subsistence farming. Her mother sells sugar cane at a street corner and occasionally does hair braiding services for 5 Birr.

Besides Lubaba, Redet has two other sisters and a brother. Because of her family’s long-term financial difficulties, she discontinued her education for three years. But now Redet is supporting herself by working after school as a laborer like her older sister.

She dreams of being a medical doctor. She also has a new backpack that she will put to good use this fall. Go Redet!

If you are inspired by Dubane, Lubaba, and Redet please share this article!

Click here to donate to Roots Ethiopia!

In Honor of Fathers Around the World

“Dad” in English, “Abaye” (አባዬ) in Amharic. A word anchored in love, no matter where you are in the world. Dads know the most important gift they give their children is love. We want to introduce you to a couple of Dads.

Meet Teshome, a father of three and a school teacher, spending time after work with his 3 and 6 year old children. Teshome is a guiding presence in the lives of his children and his students.

Meet Yosef, and his small son. Yosef’s son lights up when his daddy walks into the room and lifts his son into his arms.

In Ethiopia, our colleagues and team members share that being a father in an under-resourced country can be challenging. Many parents, especially in rural Ethiopia, struggle to provide basic support and education for their children. But, they tell us, fathers know that their children need love more than anything. Fathers in Ethiopia, and fathers all around the world, strive to provide love and support for their children’s futures.

Happy Father’s Day to all the great Dads doing their best out in the world today!

Roots Ethiopia Now Supports 12 Schools

This post is contributed by Lynn Steinberg, Roots Ethiopia Board Member, and member of the 2014 & 2015 Ethiopia Field Visit Team.

When I first started volunteering at Roots Ethiopia in 2013, I remember being completely moved when I read the update about the Amacho Wato Learning Resource Project (LRP) in Doyogena, Ethiopia. I had literally stumbled upon a grassroots, community-led organization operating in a region of Ethiopia that held a special place in my heart. I was “non-profit smitten” to say the least.

Books and desks were delivered to ninth and tenth-grade students at this rural school. This would increase students’ chances of passing the critical 10th grade National Exam in Ethiopia. Until this project, the students in this rural Kembata village had no textbooks to study from and no library space, making their chances of passing the test minimal at best.

Students must pass the 10th-grade exam in order to move on to grade 11. If they don’t pass, they are not allowed to repeat 10th grade. The dream of college or university ends if you fail this test. That’s it.

Fast forward a year, and I was in a meeting with the Principal at the Amacho Wato school hearing how test scores and attendance had improved greatly as a result of this school project. Outstanding!

I am sitting just across the table. It was such an honor!

amachowato_lrp — *Hearing the results of the Amacho Wato Learning Resource Project*

Lynn-chatting — *A fun interview with a future leader after the results meeting!*

Now it is 2016. I have blinked my eyes a few times, and Roots Ethiopia now supports 12 schools in Southern Ethiopia with 13 Outreach Centers! We have grown to operate in 5 zones throughout the region. We have a loyal group of recurring donors who trust the impact their monthly donations make over time in struggling communities. Our growth is astonishing, and our commitment to rural communities never falters. Roots Ethiopia is sleek and smart and we are dialed in deep to the communities we serve.

You will love this map created by Desta, Roots Ethiopia Program Officer, and local expert.

On behalf of Roots Ethiopia’s Board of Directors and our entire team in Ethiopia, I’m pleased to officially announce 3 additional Learning Resource Projects – Yelignaw Gimbichu in Hadiya, Gedalao, and Walena in Kembata.

school-entrance-380x285 — *Entrance to the Walana School*

As always, we will update you as these projects reach completion. If you would like to support a Learning Resource Project in Ethiopia, please donate!

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.

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A Family Transforms a School in Hawora, Ethiopia

Roots Ethiopia’s Learning Resource Project (LRP) in Hawora, Ethiopia is now accepting donations!

The Lenssen Family, with the help of Crowdrise, have created a personal online fundraiser entitled, “Educational Transformation for Hawora Village,” and are quickly moving towards their goal of raising $26,000 for this under-resourced Ethiopian school in the Hadiya Zone. Your help is needed because improving rural Ethiopian schools takes a motivated group of givers dedicated to improving educational opportunities to help young minds soar.

Donate to This School

When supporters like The Lenssen Family share the realities of conditions in Ethiopian schools with their networks in personal and creative ways, remarkable changes occur. Individual motivations to help, paired with locally generated school proposals* and support from the Roots Ethiopia leadership are transforming rural schools in beautiful and measurable ways.

Sarah Lennsen, Lead Fundraiser for this project writes,

At Hawora Primary School a typical class has 70 students who crowd into a room with broken furniture, worn out blackboards deteriorated walls and dusty dirt floors. The lack of teaching materials available for teachers and students is taking a toll on their quality of education: very few textbooks, no science supplies, and a shortage of sports equipment. Additionally, the school lacks vented toilets–instead they have pit latrines that are shared by boys and girls, posing hygiene and sanitation problems that further inhibit a healthy learning environment.

Donating to this project will reinvent the school and lead to sustainable improvements that will benefit the entire community. Every donation you make to our Learning Resource Projects ensures a brighter educational experience for Ethiopia’s eager learners.

Learning Resource Projects are one of Roots Ethiopia’s core programs. We currently provide support for 9 schools in Southern Ethiopia, with several more in our pipeline for 2016. Email us for more information at info@rootsethiopia.org.

*School Proposals are generally 20-30 page reports which include detailed local assessments, analysis, outcomes, strategies, risks, budgets and sustainability of school projects. They are carefully scrutinized and approved by our Board of Directors prior to partnering with Lead Fundraisers.

Roots Ethiopia’s work is solely supported by public contributions. Your investment is critical to our work of supporting education and job creation in Southern Ethiopia. Thank you for being an important part of this mission!