Projects and Results
“A Journey Back to Sedika from Winnipeg”
Duration: 2015-2018
Location: Sedika, Ethiopia
Ultimate Result
To Support Sedika Elementary School students build a foundation of lifelong learning.
Projects beneficiaries
Sedika Elementary School students, teachers, parents, and the community.
Objective of the project:
Support Sedika students to access basic school supplies and other educational aid materials.
The Fanos Light is grateful of the results so far and wants to extend a thank you to all who supported in our journey. We particularly want to thank Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC) for their support of $5,400
CAD through the Community Solidarity Fund. We are also grateful to all the people who supported us in the process, by donating funds, time, knowledge, and experience and for their encouragements and prayers.
Context
Sedika is a rural town located in the Arsi Zone of Oromia Region , Ethiopia. It is located about 233 km from the capital city, Addis Ababa. Most of the people in Sedika depend on small scale agriculture and farming, and livestock is the main source of the economy. Sedika has only two schools one lementary school and one meddle school that was upgraded to grade 10 recently. We have learn that many students would drop of out school due to the need to support their families in their farming , and due to lack of access to support in their education materials and the support they need to progress in their learning. That is why we connected with Sedika community to work with them in their aspiration to support their students.
Farming is the main livelihood of the Sedika community. This is also the case in the rest of Ethiopia as 80% of the population of Ethiopia lives in rural areas. Often rural areas do not have schools, enough school facilities, classrooms, or necessary materials to conduct the process of teaching and learning. In Sedika, access to education is so limited because the population of children and youth is large. We understood there is only one elementary school and one school. We also have learned most of these students came to the school often do not have any prior learning experience or early learning experience before they come to elementary school. And those students who come to high school would lack competency because of their lack of access to proper support in their early years. As a result , teachers find it difficult to teach these children who come to the school because they come to grade one without any prior learning or pre school experience , which is vital in children growth and learning. This situation put children in tough situation and often forces them to drop of out school and take the alternative of staying home to support their families.
As indicated above also due to the fact that most families in the town and nearby villages depend on farming for their income , and they often would keep their children home to help them. This will put more pressure on students to stay home and support their families in their farming or other income generating activities.
The other thing is girls in most rural communities in Ethiopia, including Sedika experience gender barriers and do not have equal opportunity to go to school. There is a traditional belief that girls should stay home and learn basic skills from their
mothers and support the family in homework. As a result, they do not get equal opportunities like boys in rural communities.
The Executive Director of The Fanos Light, Samson Tadese, has worked extensively in the Sedika community. Through the local and school community engagement we understood the immediate need of some of the students coming to Sedika elementary school. Accordingly we decided to design the project, “A Journey Back to Sedika from Winnipeg”. This project was designed with the purpose of supporting Sedika elementary students to have access to resource, tools and the supprt they need. This project provided support to many sedika students and improved the quality of education as well as the success rate in continuing education in Sedika school.
Results
During the 2017/18 school years through The Fanos Light provided 115 Sedika elementary students to have access to educational aid materials like pens, pencils, exercise books, books, mathematical learning materials, equipment, uniforms, and sport kits for two soccer teams.
The project was designed and launched in August 2015 and was finalised in January 2020. The fist two years we spend time to learn about the community and the need of the community and the students. We were also able to organize events both to raise fundraiser and also to raise awareness about the importance of having access to educational aid materials, tools and the importance of having access to support system that would meaningfully support students growth and learning. We were able to raise 3500 Canadian dollar , and also received a 5400 Canadian grant from Manitoba Council for International Cooperation(MCIC) to accomplish the project objectives.
As indicated above through this project we were able to support 115 Sedika elementary Children, and youth. These children were selected by the community, school administration and the teacher parents’ council. From these children 47 were orphans, 37 came from a single parent and the rest came from a very low-income family. These children were able to have access to all school supplies and other education aid materials including uniform, sport kits and other resources. The school children and the teachers were inspired and established two soccer teams, “Dandi Boru” and “Anbesa” which translate from the local language, “The future of tomorrow, and Lion respectively.
Also, through this project we were able to build a large multi-purpose learning Centre and handed to Sedika elementary school in Jan 2020. This learning center was used by students, teachers, and the community. The Fanos Light was able to provide computers, and other educational material including books, and other resources that would help the center become a resource Centre for the entire community. We provided various workshops and training both for the teachers and students in various times.
Below are some pictures taken in various stages of the project.
The Sedika project with some pictures captured during the visit and also the commissioning of learning center.
