A fly that has no one to advise it, follows the corpse into the grave. ~Gambia Proverb
Any guesses on what the next project might be? Here is another clue.
If you think education is expensive try ignorance. ~African Proverb
We, well primarily you, are going to help finish two school libraries here in Soddo!
Before I go any farther I want to let you know that as of the end of September, Glass of Hope has raised over $79,000 for the well! Thank you so much for any of you that donated!!! You can continue to follow the progress of the well at www.glassof hope.org.
Now, back to the libraries.
There are two libraries and 5,500 books will be arriving to Ethiopia on Friday. I am very excited to be partnering with two other people in this project, Daniel Thornton and Zeleka Cholcha. They have both spent lots of time, energy and money on this project! Let me introduce them:
Zeleka is a contractor that grew up in Soddo. If any of you have been following the construction at the Christian Hospital, he is the contractor of the homes for the physicians and the PAACS residents. He was once a student at the Otona School. He understands how important his education is and is giving back to his school by generously building a library. The library is currently under construction and should be done in November.
Daniel, a Peace Corp Volunteer, has been in Ethiopia for over a year and has been working in the schools. You may have also heard his name because he has been instrumental in helping with the street boys over the last year. He got them registered in school, was having breakfast at his house for them before school and was at my house for all the lunches and anything else with the street boys. Here is what he has to say about his time here in the schools:
One of the primary deficiencies of the Ethiopian student is creativity. This essential skill that should be engrained into every student is simply overshadowed by the ability to digest information through rote memorization. In the mind of an Ethiopian student, there is one answer for one question. Books are an instrument that can be used to break this bond and induce creativity. Through the injection of books into the daily lives, they can be introduced to information that will challenge the way they think and help them define new ways of absorbing material.
Daniel has a shipment of 5,500 books arriving in Ethiopia Friday. These books have been obtained through Books for Africa, which is an international organization that ships containers, each holding around 22,000 books, all over Africa.
So now, back to what this project is about. We have “libraries” and books. What we are missing are shelves, chairs, desks, tables, cabinets and some paint.
Here is the breakdown of the costs:
- Chairs (40 at $24 each) $960
- Tables (6 at $58 each) $350
- Shelves (7 at $193 each) $1350
- Cabinets (2 at $85 each) $170
- Desks (2 at $225 each) $450
- Paint (10 at $6 each) $60
- Small tables (4 at $85 each) $340
- Transport of Supplies $170
- Just in case prices change $170
Total $4000
You may have noticed that I only mentioned one school, but said two libraries. The other school the books will be going to is Abiyot Chora. They already have a library and a librarian, but do not have many books. This is one of the school where Daniel has been teaching. This school is also dear to me because it is the school that took in the street kids last year, free of charge.
$4000 is our dream goal. If you give just over $2,500 we will be able to buy the basics. If you give over $4000, it will go towards other projects. One of the projects I am considering, but do not yet have approval for, is putting in a toilet at the school. Last year, at parent teacher conferences, they said the toilet is full. It is just a hole that is dug deep with some sticks and dirt as walls around it. There is a flush toilet, but the kids have to pay to use it.
Another way you could help is by sending children’s books. This would allow your children to be a part of the giving. You can mail an envelope here first class (USPS) for $16.85 (weight up to four pounds). When I checked on the weight of children’s books most paperbacks were around 4-5 ounces and hard backs around one pound. Remember that English is NOT their first language, but they are learning it. I have already purchased some children’s Bibles in Amharic for the library. They can be sent to me if you send them in December. After that, please send them to Daniel Thornton.
You can mail these books to:
Stephanie Hail
Soddo Christian Hospital
Box 305
Wollaita Soddo, ETHIOPIA
OR
Daniel Thornton
Peace Corp
PO Box 210
Wollaita Soddo, ETHIOPIA
To donate online go to:
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/giving/wmm_doctors/
Put my name (Hail, Stephanie) into the search at the bottom of the page and you can give online. All donations are tax deductible. If you prefer to mail in a check send it to:
World Medical Missions
A Ministry of Samaritan’s Purse
Project # 003898 (don’t forget to include this on the check!)
PO Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607
For any doubters on the importance of education the World Bank website talks about education being central to development of a country. The benefits are vast.
For the individual:
- Improved Health
- Increased productivity and earnings
- Reduces inequality
For society:
- Drives economic competitiveness
- Has synergistic, poverty reducing effects
- Promotes peace and stability
For girls
- Lowers infant and child mortality
- Lowers maternal mortality
- Protects against HIV/AIDS
And now to close with some African Proverbs about education.
Give advice; if people don’t listen, let adversity teach them. ~Ethiopian Proverb
The iron never takes advice from the hammer. ~Congolese Proverb
Ears that do not listen to advice, accompany the head when it is chopped off. ~African Proverb
If you educate a man you educate one individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family. ~Fante Proverb
Dear Stephanie, this is Daniel’s mom. Thank you for the pictures and update about the libraries and Books for Africa project. We are excited about this new phase and hope that your fundraising goes well. Thanks for supporting Daniel throughout this process. I know he appreciates it very much.