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Warm Greetings, dear friends of East Africa Village Outreach (EAVO). As we near the end of 2018, we pray you have had a blessed year, and we hope you will rejoice with us in what your partnership with EAVO has accomplished.
In September, Executive Director Seifu Ibssa traveled to Ethiopia. Here is a summary of his trip.
In March of 2018, Seifu facilitated a trip to the Acheber region where an extensive water project was underway thanks to a successful partnership with the Sacramento Rotary Club. Four members of the Rotary traveled with him to see the progress. The project was extensive; it was designed to provide water to sixteen separate distribution centers in villages in the Acheber area. Each distribution center would be provided with four spigots providing clean water. Villagers would no longer have to travel long distances to obtain unclean water from rivers —usually a task for the girls in the family.
On that same visit, the team brought 96 solar lamps to students at Acheber High School. These lamps are provided to the female students since they often have family responsibilities that prevent them from studying until after sundown. With the solar lamps, the girls can complete their domestic chores and have access to light for study at night.
Using Nokero solar lamp, a young Acheber high school student studying at night
The team also distributed eighty reusable feminine hygiene kits to the high school girls to enable them to attend classes during their monthly cycles.
In September, Seifu was able to oversee completion of the water project and all eleven distribution centers are operable. Additionally, EAVO plans to construct five more distribution centers at a nearby village.
Student Support:
EAVO is currently supporting 42 college students from Acheber. There are 32 males and 10 females receiving monthly stipends to ensure that they are able to continue and complete their educations. These college students have been supported throughout their high school years.
We continue to provide support for high school students in 11th and 12th grades to board in Harba Chulele as the high school in Acheber serves only 9th and 10th grades at the present time.
The ratio of males to females continues to be unbalanced (three times more males than females complete their secondary or college educations), and EAVO continues to focus on culturally acceptable ways to encourage more girls to complete their educations.
The pre-schools in the Acheber region (Ajo village and the Lana Reese Preschool) currently serve roughly 120 students each. These students are entering elementary school better prepared than their peers who have not attended pre-school and are faring better academically in elementary school as well. In a recent awards program, a high school sent out a scholarship competition to a zone with 8 districts for outstanding eighth graders. All were from a single district where Acheber is a part of. We are excited to report that all three awards were given to Acheber students.
EAVO completed a preschool in Roben Jirecha last year, and that school is currently serving sixty-eight students from pre-school through eighth grade.
A Report from our Partners in Kisumu, Kenya
Hello Seifu,
I am writing to just give you brief update. The school has started doing exams and we began by giving children special African meal to motivate them. We normally do the special meal once in a while since they enjoy it a lot. We plan for the graduation for the students who have qualified to be transmitted to grade one next year to be held on 25th October next week, Thursday, where we will have a special school function inviting all parents, guardians, government education section, community opinion leaders among others at the school new building. Thereafter, we will be conducting interview for the new children who will be joining us next year in January 2019 as new admission.
Students during a feeding time at Purpose Driven School in Kisumu, Kenya
Preschoolers in Kisumu graduating
Thank you.
Samuel.
Board Members:
- Olana Aberra, Chairman
- Adele Ohs, Secretary
- Skip Ohs, Treasurer
- Mary Staples, Member
- Jim Reese, Member
- Jaime Major, Member
- Aberra Damessa, Member
- Seifu Ibssa, Member & Executive Director
We would love to hear from you!
Please send us your comments or questions via email to anyone of us as follows: [email protected]
Example: [email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
OR
At our mailing address below:
East African Village Outreach
9688 Ashstone Way
Elk Grove, CA 95624
Year-End is here!
Please help us reach the unreached in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Send your 2018 Tax-Deductible Gifts to the mailing address shown above.
You can also donate online at: www.eavo.org
Future Opportunities
In the Acheber region, the town of Acheber continues to grow in population. As the area develops, EAVO foresees a unique opportunity there to support community development. Seeing the success stories of our two preschools in Acheber, the town has donated 5,000 square meters of land to EAVO to develop a community center that would include a three-room preschool, a two-room multi-purpose community building, a latrine for those buildings, and a guest house with a bathroom/shower for visiting US students and teachers to provide English language support for students preparing for college exams, and community developers to work in the area. EAVO is in the planning stages of this, our most ambitious project to date. We want you to dream with us of a time, perhaps within the next five to ten years, when Acheber will be a model of culturally sensitive community building in the Horn of Africa (see design on last page).
Our objective is not only a preschool, but also a high school tutoring program in the Study Room with computers, books and tutors from the US and Ethiopian college students. Please mark your gift “Acheber Preschool”
A Vision Born Out of a Need
Help us make this dream a reality. Thank you!