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Hedase School Project (January 2012)

“Train up a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6

This week, an AGCI mission team led by Dan Wilson, retired Seattle Mariners catcher and vice-chair of AGCI’s Board, and his wife Annie, are traveling to Addis Ababa to begin one of the largest orphan care community construction projects AGCI has ever undertaken.

Hedase Elementary School Classrooms

Hedase Elementary School: Hedase, which means “renewal” in Amharic, was named with the hope that through improved education, Ethiopian children will have a better future than previous generations. Admittedly, the 1,300+ students at this K-8 school have a chance of being part of a better future than most Ethiopian children. According to statistics from UNICEF, they have already beaten some very tough odds:

  • Nearly 1 in every 10 Ethiopian babies die at birth
  • Of the 9 infants that survive, another child will die before reaching the age of five
  • Only 36% of Ethiopian children will ever go to school

However, these children who are all from one of the poorest neighborhoods in Addis, are still at great risk. Because of poverty and disease, only 18% of all children in Ethiopia stay in school to grade five. Sadly, like most schools, Hedase’s classroom building is relatively new but the students and teachers lack even the most basic infrastructure and resources we take for granted in the United States.

Some of the Challenges at Hedase:

  • Inadequate Sanitation:The school’s one small toilet building is just a corrugated metal shed to hide a hole in the ground that more than 1,300 children use each day.

    Current Toilet For 1,300 Children

  • Limited Educational Resources: The library only has a handful of textbooks, reading materials and other resources. These few items are threatened by the wet season rains and rodents because the building is so dilapidated.
  • Inadequate Sports and Play Fields: Hedase has plenty of open space around the classroom building but the fields are rough and rocky ground that makes any form of organized play or sports almost impossible. In the wet season the ground becomes a muddy swamp; in the dry season large rocks create dangerous obstacles. There is no equipment for the children to use like soccer balls and nets, basketballs and hoops, and toys for the  younger children.

Making a Difference:  

The 17-person AGCI team will be providing the more than 1,300 children at Hedase Elementary School with:

  • New Restroom Building with eight new latrines – four for the boys and four for the girls
  • New Library Building
  • Soccer Field – leveled, graded and surfaced
  • Basketball Courts – leveled, graded and surfaced
  • Sports equipment and school supplies

Through the generous support of AGCI donors, more than 75% of the funds needed for this project have already been raised. But an additional $10,000 is needed to complete the project.

Current School Library

If you would like to help a vulnerable child have the opportunity for an improved education and a better future, please donate today.

AGCI will be posting updates from Ethiopia throughout the week on FACEBOOK and on our Blog. Follow the team as they work to help make a difference for the 1,300+ children at Hedase Elementary School.

Learn more about the Wilson family’s journey of adoption and orphan care at Signatures of Hope: Sofia Wilson.