In Ethiopia and mainly in the Tigray region’s remote areas, the rural schools are dealing with everyday challenges; the young students are often obliged to walk several miles to reach the closest educational facilities and attend the daily lessons sat on stones.
SANUSLIFE INTERNATIONAL, with a seat in Bozen, Italy, an extraordinary donor of Butterfly Foundation for several years, financed a new primary school recently inaugurated at Oddarena, Irob district, Tigray region Ethiopia.
Oddarena School, 2020
The project, duly completed on time, was meant to be opened at the beginning of 2020 when the Covid 19 pandemic closed any possibility of travelling to Ethiopia for the opening ceremony. 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 living in the region: all connections were cut, and humanitarian aid became impossible.
Last May 3rd 2023, following a peace agreement signed in Pretoria between the parties, all the students could resume, after three years, their attendance at the regional schools, despite the general looting of any furniture and stationaries and several damages. The number of students attending this school increased, and additional students’ desks had to be added to the looted ones.
On July 27th 2023, we finally succeeded in opening the school of Oddarena, after three years, following the execution of the required repair works such as damaged false ceilings, windows and doors, water tank and re-painting of classrooms, as well as the supply of students’ desks,
Oddarena School is now sheltering 400 students in grades 1-8.
In the past, the limited number and conditions of the existing classrooms enabled 200 kids only to attend the lessons while the others were obliged to face the challenge of walking several miles to reach the school. A high school dropout occurred, and the parents often considered migration a possible solution.
We thank SANUSLIFE International company for its “SANUS CHARITY” project.
Update Oddarena School November, 2024