Education in Ethiopia

Antonio experiencing school in Ethiopia

I recently blogged about safety in Ethiopia , the harsh reality of this world, what spitting sometimes means in Ethiopia and the wonderful school that I am helping to support.  If you missed them, check them out!

I had the privilege of leading a team of 8 people to Ethiopia last month.  We visited the Christian school that I am helping to raise funds for and support.  I was thrilled that one of my precious neighbor kids decided to come along.  His name is Antonio and this trip really impacted him.  All the children called him "Tony" and he had fun while serving.  He helped lead crafts but more on that later.  I just LOVE the picture of him above, he's a really funny kid and this picture is SO cute :-)  

Here in the United States education is mandatory.  The fact that every child receives an education impacts our society and standard of living as a whole.  Whether or not you agree with public education, the fact that every child is educated is a blessing that we should be thankful for along with the many school options we have.

I've read many different statistics about education in Ethiopia and the bottom line is millions of children do not attend school.  It is especially challenging for orphaned and vulnerable children to attend because of the cost of school fees, uniforms and school supplies.  The sponsorship program that I am coordinating through Children's HopeChest is making a way for 150 precious children to attend FOVC's school in Shanto, Ethiopia.

My team spent 6 days there in March.  It was neat to see the children in their classrooms learning.  It's very different than classrooms here in the United States but children were reading in English, learning history, science and math, it was neat to see.  Several of the older children were able to read their sponsor's letters in English, I LOVED that! Below are a few pictures of 2 different classrooms.  The first is an older building, mud walls and dirt floor.  The second was built 2 years ago and Ethiopian Orphan Relief funded it, it's newer and brighter.

These children seemed very eager to learn.  They definitely understand that their education is a privilege and it was neat to see these children LOVING school.  Most of their classes are taught in English.  The children are learning to read and write in 3 languages, Wolaytic (their local language), Amharic and English.  Their first language is Wolaytic but they are also learning to speak Amharic and English at school.  I was VERY impressed with the older children's ability to read in English and the efforts they made to talk with us.  

Their school supplies consist of a composition notebook and a pen. 

This young man's name is Israel and he was happy to show me his schoolwork. 

Here's the Kindergarten classroom.  In the public schools in Ethiopia you can have 120 children per classroom.  FOVC's private school is trying to keep the standard we have in the United States which is no more than 28 children per classroom.  However, the younger grades are packed and there are over 40 children in this class.  The hope is to raise more funding to keep those class sizes smaller, just like we want here in the United States :-) 

She's holding her sucker she received after her medical exam :-) 

They don't have books for every child, nor worksheets so most of the teaching is done on the chalkboard and the children repeat out loud and also write in their notebooks.  While I was visiting this classroom she was teaching addition.  It was cute because she was trying to see if the children were paying attention.  She said 1+1=3?  They giggled and said, "No, 1+1=2!"  It was cute.

$34 a month helps keep these children in school and participating in a lunch program.  As of today, not all the children have a paying sponsor.  The unsponsored children are already attending school BUT they are not in the lunch program because of lack of funding.  So the unsponsored children go home each day at lunchtime :-(  Also, because unsponsored children are in school, funds are being VERY stretched.  This funding is needed and I am praying daily for more sponsors.

To see the precious waiting children follow this link.  On "Status" click the arrow and select unsponsored.  If you have any questions please e-mail me at reachinghiskids@gmail.com  

This is a neat sponsorship program because there is personal involvement, please consider joining me to help support this great school!  I'll be heading back again to visit in 2014, if you sponsor a child you will be able to send them a letter, gift or better yet, you can come with me!