Every fall, Project Ethiopia provides support packages valued at $200 to aspiring young adults who have successfully passed the university entrance exam. All past awards have been provided to 50 students each year; the 20 top highest scoring girls, the 20 top highest scoring boys, and 10 students who have passed the exam and have special needs or represent the most economically disadvantaged. This year, we are delighted to report that we expanded our awards to 80 students by increasing the number of neediest student awards to a total of 40.

It’s that time of the year in the U.S. when back to school buzz is filling the air. There are advertisements for the newest fall fashions and school supplies popping up in all the stores where we shop. As an elementary school teacher, education is always in the forefront of my mind. I am constantly in awe of the human mind and our capacity to learn new things every day.

Happy World Water Day 2018! First declared by the UN in 1993, World Water Day focuses attention on the importance of universal access to clean water and the sustainable management of freshwater sources.

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.