Hey! It's Meghan. 

 

I'm baaaaack. And, I had a wonderful time in Ethiopia, driving from site to site in our sturdy 4WD during rainy season. Whew, we made our way through some really big rain storms and standing deep water. Thank you to Habtamu, who drove us expertly and safely through 4 zones and so many unpaved roads. 

 

I loved the rain because the fields are green, the corn is growing, potatoes are blooming, and families are busy with their fields and crops. The rich green tapestry of the countryside is gorgeous! 

 

I have so much to share, so let's get this started! 

The drive to Gimbichu is full of long stretches of deep water and mud. 

Fate Gimbichu Primary School is reaching new heights with students, teachers, and the community striving together to make sure children at Fate have a quality education. 

 

This school has so much good news! When the school improvement project was started the school was rated the lowest possible rating (rank of 1) in the government school system. Now, the school is ranked 3+ out of 4! What a rise this school has had. How did they do it?

 

Fate Gimbichu is a rural school that is a solid 2 hour drive from the nearest city. Students and their families are farmers. They know that the land can't support their needs, and they have turned to education as a way out of poverty. Teachers and families are ALL IN for quality education, making the most of the materials and teacher training that you support, and ALWAYS taking it one step further. 

 

For example, an average of 65 students a day use the school library. The librarian who is staffing the library is paid from all the teachers, who each give a portion of their own salary to support their full time librarian. Wow – dedication! 

 

In addition, the school has expanded the Roots Ethiopia 8th grade tutoring program. Your support provides tutoring for 50 students who need extra help. Teachers have organized themselves so that the entire 8th grade class can attend Saturday tutoring hours. Teachers here are rockstars!

 

I have to mention the school's reading room, created by donors. This pilot project is FULL STEAM AHEAD. 2 full time teachers teach in this classroom and help children achieve reading at grade level. The Ministry of Education is so pleased with this model of success that it is being used as an example for other schools in Hadiya. WHOA!  Check out Aster's reading in this video. 

 

Fate Gimbichu Primary School is amazing! And I've just skimmed the surface (the community built a latrine for preschool children, the PTA is helping to keep the school grounds groomed, and Aimee's garden is flourishing at the school). 

 

(There is more – the school needs a mirrored microscope because the electricity at the school is not reliable. If you want to help, you can give $300 on our donor platform — write a note “Fate” and I'll know what it's for!)

You'll often find the words “kids rock” on Roots Ethiopia hashtags. It's true – kids rock! Here is a great example of amazing kids doing good things….. 

 

I carried 15 lbs of pencils to Ethiopia. The pencils were collected from a 7th grade class at Longwood Junior High School. They gave them in honor of Jonah's Hands, who they learned about during Black History Month. The school had a pencil challenge – and this class chose Jonah as their winner! (An obvious choice, we all agree!). Thank you for the inspiration, Jonah and Ms. Hinkson's class! 

 

15 lbs. of pencils is A LOT of pencils, and the joy of a brand new sharpened pencil was fun to see! 

I want you to know that when you choose to give, YOU make a difference. It is an honor and a privilege to share your impact through photos and stories. Thank you for reading along. I can't wait to tell you more and for you to be inspired!

P.S.  I'm planning on another ‘special edition’ newsletter in May, organized as a trip report AND a special report on a new project. Because, if you want to dig deeper, you can! Some days I want to look at pictures, other days I want to dig in to the details…maybe you feel the same way? I really LOVE working with you! To get started, read our BRAND NEW Blog Post on how Magna-tiles are for Monitoring and Evaluation. For real!