Ato Mola, a 45-year-old resident of Geduta Village, has dedicated himself to improving education for the community. Despite limited resources, he and his wife Mulu built a small school with community support and eventually expanded it to serve grades 1-8, with help from Project Ethiopia. Their efforts have allowed their five children and many others to receive a solid education close to home.

Work in the new year is well underway to bring new schools, safe water, dry homes, better sanitation, and farming support to communities throughout the Dangla area.

This past October, I had the privilege to travel to Dangla, meet the Project Ethiopia team, and visit many of our project sites. It was a quick and jam-packed week. From participating in the University Transition Awards ceremony within a couple of hours of our arrival, to witnessing the formation of two new farmers’ associations complete with a very lively nomination process to select the leadership, to visiting 10 schools helped by our project, I was so inspired by all that has been accomplished and the clear vision for what is yet to be done.

Imagine you begin your elementary school education in a small classroom with dirt floors and no desks. Parents from the village do their best to teach reading and writing, but only up to 3rd grade. Eventually a government-sponsored school for grades 1 – 8 with classrooms, desks, curricula, and teachers is built near your village. The pathway to high school is now possible where previously no such opportunity existed.