Imagine you live in a remote rural area and the nearby school only serves students through grade 4. For your children to attend beyond grade 4, they must walk to a neighboring village, perhaps more than 3 miles away.

When students return to Dangla Meskerem Primary School in September, a beautiful, new building for science instruction and learning will greet them on campus. The new lab replaces a dilapidated building lacking electricity and proper storage for lab and teaching materials and will serve students in grades 3 – 8 (nearly 900 in total).

Sometimes all it takes is a strong, clear vision and a tarp.

At least that was case for Zagray Primary School located in a hilly, rocky area approximately 8 km from Dangla town. In 2008, local parents started an alternative school (a school that teaches only reading and writing and does not have grade levels) under some trees at the current site of Zagray Primary. They started with a strong desire to give their children an education and a study tarp strung between the trees to provide cover from the sun and rain.

Expanding access to a primary school education has been a core component of Project Ethiopia’s mission from the very beginning. Our work started with the kebeles and villages closest to Dangla town and has been expanding in ever-widening concentric circles over the years. In that time, we have built 23 new primary school buildings and improved 25 existing buildings for a total of 152 classrooms; creating access to primary education and a pathway to high school for thousands.