In November 2023 we received an appeal from the sisters at Bahir Dar requesting our assistance with improvements to the playing field at the elementary school. The area was prone to flooding, and without drainage, dirty stagnant water on the surface was preventing use of the field for long periods of time. Teachers and parents were concerned that it was a health risk, as well as severely restricting the physical education of the children.
At the time we were not in a position to assist, but two generous legacies received last year meant that in October we were able to confirm that we would be in a position to provide the necessary funding after all. The work has now been completed, and as you can see from the “before and after” photos below, the transformation has been incredible! And this has been achieved at a time when the surrounding area continues to be beset by fighting. Fortunately it seems the combatants have been respecting school property.
Other news
In other news, we were very pleased to learn in March that the sisters at Dawhan have felt that conditions there are now stable enough for them to return to Dawhan on a trial basis. We understand that the region is still tense, with Eritrean soldiers still occupying some villages and making travel both dangerous and complicated. Nevertheless the school continues to operate safely and repairs are being made to the damaged facilities; we anticipate that part of our grant this year will be used to help build an overhead water tank for drinking water supply.
The Lord Jesus school at Zizencho continues to flourish, although Sr Prasantha says in her report that internal conflict is also affecting their village. The school is in the Eparchy (Diocese) of Emdibir; last July Bishop Musie retired as Bishop. We are incredibly grateful for the wise and sensitive support he has given to our work over the years, including introducing the Zizencho school at the time it was being established – we wish him every happiness in retirement. Bishop Musie has been succeded by Bishop Lukas, who has worked in the Eparchy for may years and is already well known to those Trustees who have visited Ethiopia, so we are confident that our close relationship will continue.
The other significant development to report is that there was a substantial devaluation of the Ethiopian Birr last August. In the short term this means that our grants go a lot further and may help the schoolos to make some investments in facilities, but local inflation is high and the Government continues to drive up teachers’ salaries at a faster rate, so costs will inevitably catch up.
The Trustees are extremely anxious to visit all the surviving schools at the earliest possible date, but FCDO continues to advise against all travel to the Bahir Dar region and the northern border areas.