The Carnevali Foundation provides daily education from pre-kindergarten through post-secondary school to over 2,000 children in reading, writing & arithmetic. Three years ago, Giuseppe Carnevali decided to finance a primary and secondary school in ADIGOBIYE, Hawzen district, Tigray Region (Ethiopia), at our request, to support 400 children in grades 5 to 8 who had to walk seven kilometres to reach the nearest facility. The result was a massive school dropout rate in the area.
The project’s first phase included constructing four large, fully furnished classrooms to accommodate 400 students across two shifts. A library, a storehouse, and offices for the director and assistant were also in the pipeline, along with eight latrines, a potable water well, and a fence to protect students.
The project, completed on time, was scheduled to open at the beginning of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic made travel to Ethiopia for the opening ceremony impossible. Two years of a cruel war between the Ethiopian Government and Eritrean forces against the region of Tigray caused the closure of all the schools in the area, and the use of these facilities became refugees for IDPs.
The war caused over 600.000 casualties and a desperate situation for the people in the region: all connections were cut, and humanitarian aid became impossible.
On May 3rd, 2023, following a peace agreement signed in Pretoria between the parties, all students were able to resume attending the regional schools after three years, despite widespread looting of furniture and stationery. The number of students attending the school increased to 500, requiring additional student desks to accommodate them.
On July 23rd, 2023, Adigobye School finally opened; over one thousand people attended the ceremony, covered by local media as well as by the bishop of the region, Tesfaselassie Medhin, who left for the first time after the war, his residency at Adigrat, to be present at the opening of this vital project. All participants, including 600 students, expressed their happiness, chanting and dancing for hours.
Three fully furnished classrooms, one room dedicated to school management (director and assistant), two rooms dedicated to the library and store, eight latrines for boys and girls, uniforms and T-shirts, and school materials have been provided. One water well, dug to a depth of 65 meters, provides clean, potable water to students and staff, and a fence along the school perimeter ensures student safety.
We are confident that this project, implemented by our local partner, ECC-ADCS, and subject to future extension, will profoundly change the lives of these children and their families.
We sincerely thank the Carnevali Foundation for its trust and confidence in the Butterfly Foundation, which will leverage its on-the-ground network to secure the project’s implementation, benefiting many families in this remote region.
Our unique regret was the absence of our friend Giuseppe Carnevali, who recently passed away and believed in this project. This aligns with his willingness to implement charity projects addressed to education. Our sorrow was mitigated by our belief that he was attending the ceremony, in any case, to be close to so many children once more.
During our last visit to the school in June 2025, the Butterfly Foundation committed to securing the required funding for five additional classrooms and associated latrines to serve over 200 children in the primary school and kindergarten, and the Carnevali Foundation confirmed its willingness to proceed with funding the second phase of this project.
Seventy-five three-seat benches will be delivered to students upon project completion.
It’s unnecessary to state the paramount importance of this unique project, given that more than 200 children are currently sitting on the floor of a dilapidated building to attend lessons.
Report #01: Construction Progress April 2020
Report #02: Construction Progress June 2020
Report #03: Construction Progress November 2025
Delivery of School the school benches donated by the Carnevali Foundation – 12.02.2026